Gm Crops & Food-Biotechnology in Agriculture and the Food Chain最新文献

In this study, we present the bibliometric trends emerging from research outputs on consumer perception and preference for genetically modified (GM) foods and policy prescriptions for enabling the consumption using VOSviewer visualization software. Consumers' positive response is largely influenced by the decision of the governments to ban or approve the GM crops cultivation. Similarly, the public support increases when the potential benefits of the technology are well articulated, consumption increases with a price discount, people's trust on the government and belief in science increases with a positive influence by the media. Europe and the USA are the first region and country, respectively, in terms of the number of active institutions per research output, per-capita GDP publication and citations. We suggest research-, agri-food industries-, and society-oriented policies to be implemented by the stakeholders to ensure the safety of GM foods, encourage consumer-based studies, and increase public awareness toward these food products.

Recently, there has been a remarkable increase in rice production owing to genetic improvement and increase in application of synthetic fertilizers. For sustainable agriculture, there is dire need to maintain a balance between profitability and input cost. To meet the steady growing demands of the farming community, researchers are utilizing all available resources to identify nutrient use efficient germplasm, but with very little success. Therefore, it is essential to understand the underlying genetic mechanism controlling nutrients efficiency, with the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) being the most important trait. Information regarding genetic factors controlling nitrogen (N) transporters, assimilators, and remobilizers can help to identify candidate germplasms via high-throughput technologies. Large-scale field trials have provided morphological, physiological, and biochemical trait data for the detection of genomic regions controlling NUE. The functional aspects of these attributes are time-consuming, costly, labor-intensive, and less accurate. Therefore, the application of novel plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) with context to genome engineering has opened new avenues of research for crop improvement programs. Most recently, genome editing technologies (GETs) have undergone enormous development with various versions from Cas9, Cpf1, base, and prime editing. These GETs have been vigorously adapted in plant sciences for novel trait development to insure food quantity and quality. Base editing has been successfully applied to improve NUE in rice, demonstrating the potential of GETs to develop germplasms with improved resource use efficiency. NPBTs continue to face regulatory setbacks in some countries due to genome editing being categorized in the same category as genetically modified (GM) crops. Therefore, it is essential to involve all stakeholders in a detailed discussion on NPBTs and to formulate uniform policies tackling biosafety, social, ethical, and environmental concerns. In the current review, we have discussed the genetic mechanism of NUE and NPBTs for crop improvement programs with proof of concepts, transgenic and GET application for the development of NUE germplasms, and regulatory aspects of genome edited crops with future directions considering NUE.

Advances in genome editing technologies have tremendous potential to address the limitations of classical resistance breeding. CRISPR-Cas9 based gene editing has been applied successfully in plants to tolerate virus infections. In this study, we successfully tested CRISPR-Cas9 system to counteract cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) caused by whitefly transmitted cotton leaf curl viruses (CLCuVs). We also analyzed the ability of CLCuV to escape the Cas9 endonuclease activity. Targeting overlapping genes of most prevalent CLCuVs with three gRNAs resulted in virus interference, as validated by low virus titer. Furthermore, multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 construct simultaneously targeting six genes of CLCuV, was found more effective to interfere with virus proliferation compared to targeting single region individually. Additionally, transgenic N. benthamiana plants expressing multiple gRNAs simultaneously showed enhanced tolerance against CLCuV infection when compared to wild-type plants. T7 Endonuclease-I (T7EI) assay, showing indels in the CLCuV genome, confirmed the occurrence of double strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA at target sequence induced by Cas9 endonuclease. We observed that targeting CLCuV genome at multiple sites simultaneously resulted in better interference, also with inefficient recovery of altered virus molecules. Next, we tested multiplex construct in cotton to interfere CLCuV infection. We found significant decrease in virus accumulation in cotton leaves co-infiltrated with multiplex cassette and virus compared to cotton leaves infiltrated with virus only. The results demonstrate future use of CRISPR-Cas9 system for engineering virus resistance in crops. Moreover, our results also advocate that resistance to mixed virus infections can be engineered using multiplex genome editing.

In the United States, adult public perception of genetic modification has been well documented in the domain of agriculture and food; however, recent international news on gene editing in medical applications may present new challenges for science communicators who seek to proactively share benefits of emerging gene editing technology. While research traditionally considers perceptions of agricultural and medical applications separately, gene editing may bridge the gap between the two domains. We find that when asked about thoughts regarding gene editing, adult focus groups discussed medical applications more frequently and extensively than agricultural applications. Although, when examining the length of discussion about specific topics, designer babies, cures for disease, and food were discussed at similar lengths. Understanding audiences' current perceptions of the technology is the first step in shaping strategic communication efforts to inform public opinion. A proper understanding of the benefits and risks of new technology is central to its application.

Promoting sustainable agriculture and improving nutrition are the main united nation sustainable development goals by 2030. New technologies are required to achieve zero hunger, and genome editing technology is the most promising one. In the last decade, genome editing (GE) using the CRISPR/Cas system has attracted researchers as a safer and easy tool for genome editing in several living organisms. GE has revolutionized the field of agriculture by improving biotic and abiotic stresses and yield improvement. GE technologies were developed fast lately to avoid the obstacles that face GM crops. GE technology, depending on site directed nuclease (SDN), is divided into three categories according to the modification methods. Developing transgenic-free edited plants without introducing foreign DNA meet the acceptance and regulatory ratification of several countries. There are several ongoing efforts from different countries that are rapidly expanding to adopt the current technological innovations. This review summarizes the different GE technologies and their application as a way to help in ending hunger.

Agricultural biotechnology is enhancing agricultural productivity, food security, and livelihoods globally. Some developing countries have established functional biosafety regulatory systems and have commercialized genetically modified (GM) crops. Release of GM crops requires enhanced capacity for regulatory compliance and product stewardship to help ensure sustainable use of biotechnology products. We conducted a survey of 66 stakeholders, mostly from Africa and Asia, in two-week international agricultural biotechnology short courses. Respondents showed knowledge of biotechnology benefits and expressed potential barriers to commercialization. They identified 16 crops in the "pipeline for commercialization." Stakeholders also shared ideas about how to build capacity for product stewardship. Product stewardship is a concept which requires each person in the product life cycle - innovators, scientists, and technology users, to share responsibility. This paper focuses on adoption of product stewardship for post-release management of GM crops which encompasses trait performance, resistance management, integrated pest management (IPM), good agricultural practices, high-quality seeds and planting material, intellectual property management, labeling, identity preservation, consumer acceptance, and effective marketing.

This study examined the influence of consumers' knowledge on their perceptions and purchase intentions toward genetically modified foods, and the implications of these consumer responses for sustainable development in the food industry. This study distinguished between objective and subjective knowledge and identified how an imbalance between the two knowledge types influenced consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward genetically modified foods. Results of a multinomial regression analysis showed that consumers with higher levels of education, income, and food involvement and more exposure to negative information about genetically modified foods tended to overestimate their actual knowledge level. The overestimation group showed a higher risk perception, lower benefit perception, and lower intention to purchase genetically modified foods than other participants. Consumers with less education and higher income were more likely to underestimate their knowledge.

The seed industry in Chile has thrived since the implementation of a stringent, voluntarily self-imposed coexistence strategy between genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and non-GMO seed activities. GMO varieties of maize, soybean, and canola represent the vast majority of biotech seeds produced in Chile. Chile's exports of genetically modified (GM) seeds and organically grown food products (which excludes GM seeds and materials) continue to expand. Organic Chilean farmers predominantly produce and export fruits such as blueberries, wine grapes, and apples. Under normal agricultural conditions, the inadvertent presence of GMOs in non-GMO or organic crops cannot be ruled out. Producers of organic foods are required to implement stringent measures to minimize contact with any non-organic crop, regardless of whether these crops are GM. Only very small amounts of organic maize, soybean, and canola - if any - have been produced in Chile in recent years. Given the characteristics and nature of Chile's agriculture, the direct impact of the GM seed industry on organic farming in Chile is likely to be negligible. The Chilean experience with coexistence between GM seed and organic industries may inform other countries interested in providing its farmers with alternative agricultural production systems.