Forget GMOs: New Advances Allow Scientists to Genetically 'Edit' Produce

Could we genetically enhance produce without introducing foreign genes? That might just be the future for our crops. Recent advances now allow the precise editing of genomes and raise the possibility of genetically improving crops.

Genetically modified organisms, also known as GMOs, have so far met with resistance-especially in Europe. This is partly due to the fact that genes from other plants and animals are often introduced into the organism that's being modified. Yet the ability to avoid introducing these foreign genes could be a new way to create enhanced crops while assuaging fears.

"The simple avoidance of introducing foreign genes makes genetically edited crops more 'natural' than transgenic crops obtained by inserting foreign genes," said Chidananda Nagamangala Kanchiswamy, one of the researchers, in a news release.

Small genetic tweaks, not dissimilar to what is used in plant breeding, could be used to increase or decrease the amounts of natural ingredients that plant cells already make. In fact, gnome editing of fruit has become possible today due to the adventure of new tools and due to the growing knowledge of fruit genomes.

That said, these editing tools haven't yet been used for the genetic modification of fruit crops. So far, most genetically modified fruit crops have been developed using a plant bacterium to introduced foreign genes. Only the papaya has been commercialized due in part to the stringent regulation of the European Union. Yet genetically edited organisms (GEOs) could be a way to get past this stigma.

"We would like people to understand that crop breeding through biotechnology is not restricted only to GMOs," said Kanchiswamy. "Transfer of foreign genes was the first step to improve our crops, but GEOs will surge as a 'natural' strategy to use biotechnology for a sustainable agricultural future."

The findings are published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology.