Biotech Updates

Planting Intacta soybeans with herbicide tolerance and insect resistance traits benefitted farmers in South America with an increase in income of US$7.64 billion for the first five years of adoption. This is according to the study conducted by Graham Brookes of PG Economics published in GM Crops and Food journal.

APHIS Announces Deregulation of GE Canola

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced the deregulation of a canola variety genetically modified (GM) to contain high levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is an omega-3 fatty acid. The GM canola is from Nuseed Americas Inc.

CRISPR-Cas9 Used to Reduce Symptoms of Cassava Brown Streak Disease

Scientist Michael Gomez from the University of California, Berkeley and colleagues aim to contribute in alleviating this problem by targeting novel cap-binding proteins (nCBP-1 and nCBP-2) for CRISPR-Cas9-mediated editing. These proteins are among the elF4E isoforms involved in the onset of CBSD.

Global Biotech Crop Adoption Report Launched in Bogor, Indonesia

The ISAAA report titled Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crop: 2017 was launched in Bogor, Indonesia on August 20, 2018. The event was organized by ISAAA, the Indonesian Biotechnology Information Centre (IndoBIC), and the Ministry of Agriculture. It was attended by 80 government and private sector representatives and media practitioners.