b'Sakatas Havasu iceberg lettuce in pelleted form.IMAGE COURTESY OF SAKATANew Breeding Techniques Could Change Vegetable BreedingThe industry can clearly see the huge potential that the latest breeding methods can bring to the seed sector.Lisa KopochinskiEAT YOUR VEGETABLES.Who hasnt grown up hear- Genetic Studies and Genome Editinging their mother recite these very words?Classically, genetic studies relied on the discovery and analysis We all know that vegetables are good for you. And withof spontaneous mutations or random mutagenesis radiation or advances in plant breeding innovation, this can accelerate theusing different chemical agents. improvement of seed varieties for the benefit of agriculture andIt is not really known, but the first targeted genomic changes consumers on a global basis. were produced in yeast as early as the 1970s and 1980s. It was In the last decade alone, crop-focused gene editing researchalready very precise, but at the same time rather inefficient, says projects have grown exponentially, says Szabolcs Ruthner, Ruthner. The secret to high-efficiency genome editing is the regulatory affairs specialist at the International Seed Federation. ability to make a targeted DNA double-strand break (DSB) in the Studies that focused specifically on bringing gene editedchromosomal sequence of interest. Realization that such a break plant products into the marketplace have already surpassed 200would stimulate gene targeting and local mutagenesis did not arise peer-reviewed publications, he says. That number continuesde novo but came from research on DNA damage and repair. to grow. We see a huge diversity in developers, species, andIn early 2000, genome editing systems like Talen and Zinc improved characteristics in 25 different countries. This gives usFinger nucleases started to be applied, but mostly remained plenty of reasons to be thrilled about the future of this method. a research tool. Few products were developed from these Uri Krieger, head of vegetables and flowers R&D at Syngentatechnologies. Seeds, says in the past decade there have been some majorWhat really revolutionized genome editing was the discov-trends in the way Syngenta develops its products. ery of the CRISPR/Cas9 complex, says Ruthner. CRISPR/Cas9 For generations, the plant breeding space was associatededits genes by precisely cutting DNA and then letting natural with plant scientists, psychopathologists and geneticists whoDNA repair processes to take over. This is a rapidly evolving field used the tools in their areas along with their expertise to addressof technology. We now have many variations of Cas proteins, but their breeding objectives, he says. As data and data sciencealso new technologies such as prime editing or base editing are tools became more prevalent, the field of plant breeding begancapable of small genetic base pair changes in the genome with-to explore new ways to scale the selection process with greaterout the necessity of inducing a double stranded break.levels of precision. It created space for expertise from differentLast years Nobel Prize in chemistry for CRISPR technology disciplines to work together towards solving the big problems. helped to bring more awareness and mainstream recognition for 28/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2022'