Researchers from around the world will meet in Canberra later this month for a conference showcasing the latest scientific advances in gene-editing technologies and research on gene-edited crops. Organised by Murdoch University, the conference, Gene-edited crops: enabling future commercialisation and trade, will run from 26-27 April at the Shine Dome in Canberra. The conference is open to researchers, farming bodies, research and development corporations, diplomats, international organisations and more, with leading speakers from universities, the grain and horticultural industries, CSIRO, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), with presenters from north and south America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
Archive for April, 2023
AUS - New CSIRO project to crack pest species codes
The CSIRO has embarked on an ambitious new project to unravel the genetic blueprints of Australia’s top pest and invasive species to better enable their management or eradication. The Australian Pest Genome Partnership (APGP) will generate the genomic data of hundreds of pests and weeds and make it freely available, along with digital solutions to help analyse the data. The data will assist researchers working on pest and weed species and underpin next generation species-specific solutions.
USA - GM Teff and Safflower Approvals
Two more genetically engineered plants have passed a Regulatory Status Review [in the USA]…The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently completed the review…[the finding means] from a plant pest risk perspective, these plants may be safely grown and used in breeding in the United States. Teff is an ancient grain grown widely in northeast Africa because of its drought tolerance and climate adaptability. An iron- and protein-rich food source, productivity is limited because of its tendency to fall over, preventing proper ripening. The teff plant from the Donald Danforth Center was modified to produce shorter (semi-dwarf) plants and reduce the likelihood of lodging, or stem buckling. Moolec Science’s safflower plant was modified to produce gamma-linolenic acid, an essential omega-6 fatty acid in seeds to alter their nutritional value. Although GLA is common in plant seeds, Moolec intends to continue modifying plants to produce animal proteins using animal genes within plants.
USA - World’s First-to-Market Cultivated Meat Receives Clearance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has completed its second pre-market consultation for human food made from cultured animal cells. California-based GOOD Meat, a division of Eat Just, Inc., uses animal cell culture technology to take living cells from chickens and grow the cells in a controlled environment to make cultured animal cell food…The United States joins Singapore as a global leader in creating a regulatory pathway to market for real, safe, and high-quality meat produced directly from animal cells. GOOD Meat won several regulatory approvals for its chicken in Singapore in 2020, 2021, and 2023, and is the only cultivated meat producer in the world with the ability to sell to consumers.