Ag Daily

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.