b"Investing in CRISPR for Crops of the Future Has CRISPR fully delivered on its potential? What should we expect ahead? Syngentas Gusui Wu tackled these questions at World Agri-Tech in San Francisco.Madeleine BaergTHE 2024 WORLD AGRI-TECHwe expect ahead? Syngentas Gusui Wu,Syngenta scientist Mary-Dell Chilton, yet Innovation Summit in San Franciscohead of Seeds Research at Syngenta,the first transgenic trait wasnt commer-in March, brought together more thantackled those questions in his presenta- cialized until 1996. Why such a delay? The 2,500 delegates from across the agricul- tion.regulatory process is certainly part of the ture value chain and from more than fourIn the past decade, depending onstory, but not all of it. The major reason dozen countries. The two-day Summithow you do your calculation, somewhereit took more than 10 years is because focused on commercializing solutions forbetween $4- $6 billion were invested inthe plant transformation technique, as climate-resilient agriculture and was jam- start-ups that are applying CRISPR inrevolutionary as it was, was not in itself packed with food for thought. Not surpris- agriculture. About the same amount ofsufficient to build a transgenic trait. ingly, one of the major topics that camedollars or higher were invested by seedIn order to successfully build a trans-up throughout the Summit was CRISPR. companies big and small to do genegenic trade, you need plant transforma-Over the past 10 years, there has beenediting in crops. Significant investmenttion for sure, but a number of associated incredible progress in CRISPR thanks toor funding has happened in the publicapplication technology were needed (as enormous private and public investment.sector in plant gene editing research. Aswell), Wu said.Yet, has the technology yet fully deliv- of January there were 53 USDA exemp- In the case of transgenic traits, the ered on its potential? And what shouldtions of gene edited traits in about 17associated technologies included trait crops, he said. gene engineering, plant expression tools, Yet, he pointed out, at-scale deliveryand trait introgression technologies to of CRISPR-influenced products hasnt yetintroduce traits into elite varieties of occurred. These may be indicators thathybrids.investor enthusiasm is waning.The delay in CRISPRs uptake and It's probably fair to say we have notcommercial application is similar. seen the kind of big impact, large-scaleCRISPR technology itself is not new commercialization of gene edited prod- breeding technology. Let's be clear about ucts in the market. And the venturethat. It's simply a tool that enables a lot of funding has plateaued in the lastbreeding technologies that can happen, few years in gene editing in ag,Wu said.he said. Already, traits can be developed with Do we still believegene editing today if those edits are CRISPR is a dis- simple. For example, Syngenta is currently ruptive, revolution- working on several key traits, including ary technology that canextended shelf-life and disease resistance bring about new breeding tech- in tomato, as well as Asian Soybean Rust nologies? Do we still believe CRISPR isresistance. a good investment opportunity that canWe see in the pipeline a lot of new make the crop of the future happen?traits that are being developed by vari-Absolutely, said Wu. The issue isous entities, public and private. There is a simply one of timing.democratization of the technology, which To understand todays reality for geneis different than (how) GM technology editing technology and use, look at thehappened in the last couple of decades, last disruptive, revolutionary technologywhich is a good thing, Wu said.in plant breeding: transgenic technol- The next stage for CRISPR may be its ogy for genetically modified traits. Thatmost exciting and an opportunity to make technology was first published in 1983 byits biggest impact on the market.SW26/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2024"