Indian scientists avoid GMO regulations through gene editing

With their ambitious plans to undertake genetic modification of crops failing to take off as the debate on the suitability of GM crops remaining inconclusive in the country, scientists in India are looking at ‘gene editing’ to tweak the crop without attracting the ire of skeptics.

Speaking to Express, Ajay Parida, executive director of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, said the Department of Biotechnology was paving the way for research on gene editing. “Here, the genes of a plant variety is edited. This is a non-transgenic method, done without importing genes from another crop,” he said.

Scientists working on it said that by editing the genes of rice varieties, they could raise high-yielding disease resistant and nutritious crops.

As it does not entail introducing new, foreign traits to a plant as is the case with a transgenic plant, gene editing would not have to undergo the stringent checks and regulations like the GM crops, he said. Unlike transgenic crops, which require antibiotic marker, gene editing process does not require any such tests.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Desi Scientists Turn to Crop Gene Editing

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