b'this revolutionary technology, Krieger adds. One of the biggest advantages across all crops is that it allows us to develop prod-ucts faster to respond better to grower and market needs.He says genome editing can save considerable time to develop updated disease resistance traits, react faster to new strains and to help growers minimize crop loss. Syngenta Seeds owns proprietary HI-Edit technologyor haploid induction editing. HI-Edit combines CRISPR-Cas9 with the reproductive process of haploid induction (HI) that occurs naturally in hybrid crops, Kreiger says. It allows breeders to modify crops at various stages in the seeds research and devel-opment process, reducing the substantial cost and time associ-ated with trait introgression.One of the key benefits of gene editing tools, such as CRISPR, is its ease of implementation. This means that up-front investment costs dont hinder small entities to develop innovative products. This enables many players active in vegetable breeding such as public sector institutions, smaller companies, and start-ups to leverage these tools to conduct research and develop improved crops, says Ruthner. Theres no question that gene editing meth-ods are widely accessible, evident by the number and diversity of gene edited crops, including vegetables under development.However, the breeding of new varieties is a multi-year long pro-cess. Latest breeding methods such as genome editing can speed up this process and make it more efficient. Conventional plant breeding involves the crossing of one line with another, often with an objective to move a new trait into an elite background, says John Lindbo, a senior biotechnology man-ager at Sakata. Often times, the trait we are moving is coded bySakata broccoli seed passes through milling equipment.a gene that has a very small difference in DNA sequence from theIMAGE COURTESY OF SAKATAsame gene in the elite background. Gene editing has the potential to edit the sequence so that only the targeted gene is changed. In contrast, gene editing can enable precise changes in DNA, While gene editing is not yet being widely used in the vegetableso just the desired gene can be brought into a plant without all sector, Lindbo adds that there is still a lot of work to discover newthe genetic baggage from older breeding methods. promising gene targets to work with and some concerns aboutLindbo says molecular markers are used a lot to facilitate the whether the typical consumer is ready to accept products createdfixation of important traits and increase the potential of plants with this technique. we take to the field for evaluation. Using these DNA tests lets us make better varieties in a Breeding Techniques way that uses less resourceslike less water or field space. When it comes to plant breeding, Ruthner emphasizes that thisTissue culture is used to create dihaploid lines. These are finished requires foresight and innovation because the breeding pro- (genetically stable) lines that can be used immediately in the cess can take years of a selection and performance evaluationdevelopment of new hybrid varieties. This technology enables before a new variety is ready for the market.the development of parental material in a much shorter time, so I believe that one of the best ways to gain consumer trustthe development process has a smaller carbon footprint. is to speak about the benefits that new products can bring toPeter Visser, the R&D crop lead for leafies, okra, asparagus, them, he says. This could certainly be an advantage for theceleriac at BASFs vegetable seeds business, says molecular mark-vegetable seed sector as their products are directly consumeders, genomic tools, double haploids and statistical (or genomic) so any improved characteristics, such as nutrition profile, taste,prediction of line and hybrid performance are some examples of shelf life, etc. are immediately visible to the consumers. breeding techniques that are increasingly being used.Lindbo adds that breeding is a messy process where a lot ofThese technologies are not new, but the increased power and unintended and undesirable genes or DNA sequences can getspeed of computing gives them new life in aiding plant breeding moved into a new plant along with the one or two genes thein vegetable seeds, he says. Also worth mentioning is that the breeder really wants.cost of each has significantly decreased over the years. Now theseThe breeders job, he says, is to keep the genes he/shetechnologies are intertwined into the variety development steps.wants and get rid of the undesirable ones. This process takesAdditionally, advancements in computing power such as many years, lots of land, water and other resources to grow largecomputer vision and machine learning enables digitalization of numbers of plants needed in traditional breeding. phenotyping in field and greenhouse. This can be used to either FEBRUARY 2022SEEDWORLD.COM /29'