46 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM INDUSTRY NEWS TAILORED TO SEED PROFESSIONALS, INDUSTRY NEWS DELIVERS THE PEOPLE, RESEARCH, BUSINESS AND PRODUCT NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW. SUBMISSIONS ARE WELCOME. EMAIL US AT NEWS@ISSUESINK.COM. INDUSTRY NEWS Leading scientists representing more than 85 European plant and life sciences research centers and institutes have endorsed a position paper that urgently calls upon European policy makers to safeguard innovation in plant science and agriculture. The scientists are deeply concerned about the recent European Court of Justice ruling around modern genome editing techniques that could lead to a de facto ban of innovative crop breeding. As a result, European farmers might be deprived of a new generation of more climate resilient and more nutritious crop varieties that are urgently needed to respond to current ecological and societal challenges. Subjecting crops obtained through modern genome editing to GMO regulations will deny European consumers, producers, researchers and entrepreneurs important opportunities in sustainable agriculture, the position paper says. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have identified networks of genes and gene regulators that allow plants to direct nitrogen to different parts. This knowledge may speed breed- ing new plant varieties to be more effective with how they use nitrogen, according to a paper published in Nature. ARS Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research Laboratory molecular biologist Doreen Ware and her team identified 23 proteins termed “tran- scription factors” that play specific roles in how plants make use of nitrogen. Researchers from Cornell and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will tap into genetic information found in more than 700 species of related grasses, in hopes of making maize and sorghum more productive and resilient to extreme weather brought about by climate change. The investigation of the Andropogonae tribe of grasses – which include maize, sorghum and sugarcane – is made pos- sible thanks to a four-year, $5 million National Science Foundation grant. Rice, the most widely consumed food crop in the world, takes a beating in hot weather. To combat the high tempera- tures, a global group of scientists, led by a University of Florida researcher, has found the genetic basis to breed a more heat-tolerant rice cultivar. BASF has attained a global, non-exclu- sive licensing agreement with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for the use of CRISPR-Cpf1 genome editing tech- nology to improve products in agricultural and industrial microbiology applications. CRISPR-Cpf1 has demonstrated distinct advantages for certain applications over CRISPR-Cas9, which BASF has previously licensed from the Broad Institute. Researchers from The University of Western Australia have found that an enzyme in plants, ATP Synthase, plays a critical role in how plants respond to the cold. The discovery, published in New Phytologist, could be used to produce frost-resistant crops, which would save the agricultural industry millions of dollars every year. The researchers say the new finding could prevent the impact of signif- icant weather events, such as record low temperatures in the Wheatbelt this year, which wiped out a million tonnes of wheat. PEOPLE NEWS Advanta Seeds, a global agriculture company specializing in seeds and agri- cultural solutions, announces Barry Lubbers as Business Director for North America. Lubbers is a proven leader in agricultural sales, marketing and busi- ness development. He has over 25 years of experience matching product solutions to grower needs for improved agricultural production and profitability. Lewis Lydon – considered one of the Australian onion industry’s biggest sup- porters – has been awarded the 2018 Reg Miller Award at the Onions Australia annual conference in Ulverstone. January 2019 marks Lydon’s 30th anni- versary in the vegetable seed industry as a plant breeder focused primarily on allium crops. BUSINESS NEWS Syngenta announced it will establish a major Global and North America Seeds office in the western suburbs of Chicago. Approximately 50 Syngenta Seeds business managers and employees will relocate from other U.S. locations beginning in the first half of 2019. The new site can accommodate expansion for planned growth. Rijk Zwaan presented a new conveni- ence concept called Snack Lettuce. The snack-sized lettuce has been specially developed for warm preparation, keep- ing its firm and crunchy bite. The lettuce spoon is tasty and sweet and brings new solutions and possibilities to the modern cuisine. An additional advantage of Snack Lettuce is the reduction of plastic, when using it as an edible cup.