Crop Biotech Update

April 29, 2020

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Nanoengineers Combine Molecular Farming and Advanced Manufacturing to Develop COVID-19 Vaccine

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) are working on an unusual candidate for COVID-19 vaccine: a plant virus. Led by UC San Diego nanoengineering professors Nicole Steinmetz and Jon Pokorski, the team's goal is to use plants to create a stable, easy to manufacture vaccine that can be shipped around the globe.

Rice Genetically Engineered to Resist Extreme Heat also Produces Up to 20% More Grain

As plants are exposed to light, the protein complex photosystem II (PSII) energizes electrons to help power photosynthesis. But heat or intense light can damage a key subunit, known as D1, and stop PSII's work until the plant makes and inserts a new D1 into the complex. Chloroplasts have their own DNA, including a gene for D1, and most biologists assumed the protein had to be made there.

Brightest Engineered Plants Glow Throughout Life Cycle

Nature Biotechnology reports genetically engineered tobacco plants that glow brightly during its entire lifetime. The findings of the study conducted by researchers from Planta and the Russian Academy of Sciences could be used in the development of imaging tools for plants.

Ag-economist Pushes for Regulatory Reforms, Renewed Public Debate on New Plant Breeding Techniques

Agricultural economist Dr. Matin Qaim of the University of G�ttingen in Germany recommends that regulatory reforms and a more science-based public debate towards new plant breeding technologies are necessary to maximize the potential of this new science that can greatly contribute to sustainable agricultural development and food security, especially in developing countries.

COVID-19 ALERTS

NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

PLANT BREEDING INNOVATIONS

GM APPROVAL UPDATES

Russia approved corn TC1507 for food, feed, and processing.
Russia approved corn MZHG0JG for food, feed, and processing.
Russia approved corn DAS40278 for food, feed, and processing.
South Korea approved canola MS11 for food use.
The Philippines approved corn Bt11 x MIR162 x MON89034 x GA21 for food, feed, and processing.
The Philippines approved potato Y9 for food, feed, and processing.

Visit GM APPROVAL DATABASE

The Crop Biotech Update is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a non-for-profit organization. The CBU is distributed for free to over 23,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in agricultural biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.

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