Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44NEW CANOLA EXPECTED FOR 2017 SU Canola trait has been approved for commercialization. CIBUS,a precision gene-editing firm based in California, has received approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency of its first non- genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant canola trait for Canada — SU Canola (sulfonylurea tolerant). Depending on success in the hybrid registration process, Cibus expects a full commercial launch for the 2017 growing season, according to James Radtke, senior vice-president of product development with Cibus. SU Canola is a new weed control strategy that will provide Canadian farmers with stewardship options to deal with resistance resulting from overuse of current herbicide toler- ant, genetically modified varieties. “We are excited to be able to provide Canadian and U.S. canola farmers with a new non-GM alternative,” says Radtke. “SU Canola offers an excellent alternative for weed control. “The SU herbicide tolerant system controls glyphosate resist- ant weeds, such as pigweed, and offers an alternative as a crop rotational partner for glyphosate-tolerant soybeans.” Cibus has already launched its SU canola in North Dakota in limited quantities for the 2016 season. Technology Allows for Gene Editing According to Radtke, SU Canola is Cibus’s first commercial seed product developed using its rapid trait development system (RTDS), a patented gene-editing tool. RTDS is considered non-GM and non-transgenic, meaning that breeders do not introduce foreign genes into the variety that is being developed. An exciting breakthrough in developing new traits in plants, RTDS provides precise and predictable results with benefi- cial traits that are indistinguishable from those developed through traditional plant breeding, but with faster results. The system employs a gene repair oligonucleotide to act as a template to make a desired changed in the plant’s DNA. It “We can make small changes through our technology that do not fit into the GM or transgenic umbrella. We can do anything that can also happen in nature.” — James Radtke 18 works within the cells natural DNA repair system, which will change the spelling of genes in the plant, thereby creating new traits in the plant. “We can make small changes through our technology that do not fit into the GM or transgenic umbrella,” explains Radtke. “We can do anything that can also happen in nature with our RTDS technology, such as mutations that occur naturally. “We can make them at will and specifically look and target a specific gene or genes and know the change we want to make and use the technology in a very precise way for breeding.” Benefits include: •  Replicable precise trait development to achieve both selectable and non-selectable traits. •  More rapid product development than traditional breeding and transgenic approaches. •  Simultaneous targeting of multiple traits. • Clear regulatory path in target markets. •  Promise of global acceptance for its products in farming and in commerce. “SU Canola can provide expanded market access, especially into regions that have been reluctant to buy GM varieties,” Radtke says. “We fully expect farmers to embrace products using this new technology in the coming years.” North America is home to about 22 million acres of canola, and Cibus estimates that there’s potential to grow canola acres to more than 26 million by 2020.