ARTICLE: Top 15 advances on GM crops and gene editing in Latin America during 2017
The following is an blog post at the Cornell Alliance for Science website highlighting to top 15 advances in GMOs and agriculture in the past year.
Latin America is a vital region in the global production of genetically modified (GM) crops, with Brazil and Argentina ranked as the world’s second and third largest producers, respectively. Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia are major producers of GM soy, with Chile and Costa Rica functioning as important counter-station seed countries. Other nations, like Colombia and Mexico, still have enormous potential to develop if new crops are approved.
During 2017, several advances were made in terms of experimental research, new commercial approvals, reviews of technology benefits and efforts to streamline regulatory frameworks. The 15 most relevant advances in the region during last year were:
15. Chilean university develops GM wheat with higher yield and grain weight
Scientists at the Austral University of Chile, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of New York, cloned a gene of the enzyme expanzin — a protein that allow the elongation of the cell walls of plants — from wheat to achieve the first transgenic wheat that increases both yield and grain weight. It is also expected to improve industrial quality.
14. Argentine scientists develop non-browning potatoes and hypoallergenic milk with gene editing
Researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Technology of Argentina (INTA), a state institution, used gene editing techniques to develop potatoes that don’t turn brown and milk that doesn’t affect allergic patients. In the case of potatoes, the genes of the sugars responsible for the browning process and production of acrylamide — a potential carcinogen — were silenced, or turned off. In the case of milk, the calf's genome was edited to silence the genes of the proteins that cause allergic reactions in milk.
13. Mexican scientists improve the use of fertilizers in crops through biotechnology
A group of scientists from Cinvestav-Langebio in Iraputao, Mexico, have genetically modified plants that can make efficient use of phosphorus fertilizer. The trait also allows the plant to use phosphite, instead of phosphate, so it does not compete with weeds for the uptake of soil fertilizer. This results in a 50 percent reduction in the use of fertilizers and herbicides, which implies both a higher yield and less contamination of water sources and other environmental impacts.
12. Argentine scientists develop cloned horses with edited genes
Scientists from the company Kheiron, together with FLENI researchers, developed cloned equine embryos, which would improve the potential of polo horses through the gene editing technology known as CRISPR. The researchers achieved improvements related to the horses’ muscle development, endurance and speed, but genetic editing in combination with the cloning technique could also be used to repair defective sequences and eliminate genetic pathologies.
To find out all 15 advances, please visit the Cornell Alliance for Science website.
