Grainswest - Fall 2024

Fall 2024 Grains West 30 BY GEOFF GEDDES PHOTOS COURTESY OF AAFC LETHBRIDGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE Wheat breeders see immense potential in gene editing FEATURE I nterest in gene editing is on the rise, and this technology is now being used in cereal breeding for the first time. As wheat farmers continue to grapple with climate change, politics and consumer demand in their quest for black ink, gene editing—the process of adding to, removing or changing an organism’s DNA—may help balance these demands. “Plant breeding has been around for thousands of years and, until recently, has been a slow, tedious process,” said John Laurie, a research scientist with the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. “For the longest time, we relied on natural evolution and mutations, as well as crossing of plants by breeders to form new lines.” When GMO crops first appeared in 1994, they were touted as a game changer. Soon after, however, public resistance became entrenched. Despite the international proliferation of GMO varieties in Canadian crops such as canola, corn, potatoes and soybeans, wheat needed a new breeding tool, which it has found in gene editing. TARGET PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT “Over the last 10 years, CRISPR [a technology used to edit genes] has enabled us to target genes of interest with a non-GMO approach,” said Marcus Samuel, professor in the University of Calgary’s Department of Biological Sciences. Unlike GMO technology, gene editing does not introduce foreign genes to a plant, which has made this approach more palatable to consumers. It also found greater acceptance with government. In 2022, Health Canada declared gene-edited crops to be as safe as conventional ones and did away with pre-market safety assessments. “Gene editing is like sending a molecular surgical team into the nucleus of a cell,” said Samuel. “After taking little snips from the genes that breeders want to shut down, the team is extracted, leaving no trace of its presence behind.” THE NEXT BIG THING