According to Emma Kovac, senior food and agriculture analyst at the Breakthrough Institute, “The captivating aspect of CRISPR gene editing lies in its ability to make targeted modifications exactly where needed.” “It truly stands out in terms of its efficiency, offering significant benefits for both financial savings and time management.”
While CRISPR is remarkably effective and exact, its precision requires significant effort to target a specific genomic region, evaluate potential benefits, and ensure that modifications do not compromise overall plant health or food safety.
Despite significant advancements in gene-editing technology, researchers have also made strides in deciphering and accelerating the analysis of plant genomes, which can be several times longer than the human genome. This work enables scientists to identify genes responsible for associated traits and the modifications necessary to induce improvements.
As gene editing technology advances, Doudna predicts a significant increase in the development of crop varieties tailored to withstand localised climate shifts, as research continues to illuminate effective solutions.
“As scientists continue to uncover the fundamental genetic principles governing trait development, it’s likely that CRISPR technology will emerge as a practical solution for cultivating crops capable of addressing the impending challenges.”
Thriving vegetation and politely grazing cattle
Researchers at IGI are meticulously exploring ways to cultivate crops that are inherently more resilient to drought conditions than their conventional counterparts, highlighting both the opportunities and obstacles in this endeavour.
Researchers utilizing CRISPR technology have successfully disabled a specific gene responsible for regulating the formation and diversity of microscopic pores on plant leaves. The tiny openings on the surface of rice plants, known as stomata, play a crucial role in regulating temperature by allowing the absorption of carbon dioxide, release of oxygen, and transpiration of water. The hypothesis suggests that reduced stomatal density could enable vegetation to conserve excess water and thrive in arid conditions by developing strategies for survival.
However, it has proven to be a challenging task to strike a balance. An earlier investigation successfully eliminated the supposed STOMAGEN gene. The treatment reduced pore size by approximately 80%, subsequently minimizing water evaporation. However, this degradation also significantly impaired the vegetation’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, both crucial components of photosynthesis?
