Biotech Updates

Ethiopia's State Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, H.E. Mr. Kare Chawicha has urged African governments to consider biotechnology for improving food security and overcoming economic challenges. H.E Chawicha expressed concern over the region's vulnerability to climate change and lauded the application of advanced technologies in agriculture. He was speaking at a biotechnology and biosafety communication training workshop for media practitioners held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 7-9, 2017.

University of Arizona Scientist Develops Aflatoxin-free Corn Using RNA from Fungus

University of Arizona (UA) plant geneticist, Monica Schmidt, genetically engineered a variety of corn to turn off the ability of a plant fungus to make aflatoxin. Her findings are published in the open-access journal, Science Advances.

Agricultural Academy of Japan Proposes Conduct of Confined Field Trial of GM Crops

The Agricultural Academy of Japan, a professional academic organization for agriculture, held a press conference on their proposal to conduct a confined field trial of various GM crops, with priority to herbicide tolerant GM sugar beet in Hokkaido farms. The media briefing was held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry in Tokyo on March 1, 2017, and attended by representatives from 10 media outlets in the country.

CRISPR/Cas9-based Gene Knockout in Watermelon

Genome editing offers a great advantage to reveal gene function and generate agronomically important mutations to crops. Recently, RNA-guided genome editing system using the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been successfully applied to several plant species.