Plant molecular biology came to the fore in the early 1980s and there has been tremendous growth in the subject since then. The study of plant genes and genomes, coupled with the development of techniques for the incorporation of novel or modified genes into plants, eventually led to the commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the mid-1990s. This was seen as the start of a biotechnological revolution in plant breeding. However, plant biotechnology became one of the hottest debates of the age and, in Europe at least, has been mired in controversy and over-regulation. Nevertheless, recent years have seen further technological innovation in the development of a range of techniques that enable scientists to make specific changes to target genes.Through a detailed history and development of the science and techniques that underpin crop biotechnology, this title is concise, comprehensive and readable. As well as new sections on genome editing, this edition includes expanded sections on current GM crops and future developments in plant biotechnology, and updated sections on techniques, legislation and the GM crop debate.The previous edition of this book, titled Genetically Modified Crops, 2nd Edition, was published in November 2011.

This book provides in-depth insights into the regulatory frameworks of five countries and the EU concerning the regulation of genome edited plants. The country reports form the basis for a comparative analysis of the various national regulations governing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in general and genome edited plants in particular, as well as the underlying regulatory approaches.The reports, which focus on the regulatory status quo of genome edited plants in Argentina, Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan and the USA, were written by distinguished experts following a uniform structure. On this basis, the legal frameworks are compared in order to foster a rational assessment of which approaches could be drawn upon to adjust, or to completely realign, the current EU regime for GMOs. In addition, a separate chapter identifies potential best practices for the regulation of plants derived from genome editing.

Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology is not reaching its potential to improve human health and the environment because of stringent regulations and reduced public funding to develop products offering more benefits to society. While the debate about these and other questions related to the genetic engineering techniques of the first 20 years goes on, emerging genetic-engineering technologies are adding new complexities to the conversation. Genetically Engineered Crops builds on previous related Academies reports published between 1987 and 2010 by undertaking a retrospective examination of the purported positive and adverse effects of GE crops and to anticipate what emerging genetic-engineering technologies hold for the future. This report indicates where there are uncertainties about the economic, agronomic, health, safety, or other impacts of GE crops and food, and makes recommendations to fill gaps in safety assessments, increase regulatory clarity, and improve innovations in and access to GE technology.

Assists policymakers in evaluating the appropriate scientific methods for detecting unintended changes in food and assessing the potential for adverse health effects from genetically modified products. In this book, the committee recommended that greater scrutiny should be given to foods containing new compounds or unusual amounts of naturally occurring substances, regardless of the method used to create them. The book offers a framework to guide federal agencies in selecting the route of safety assessment. It identifies and recommends several pre- and post-market approaches to guide the assessment of unintended compositional changes that could result from genetically modified foods and research avenues to fill the knowledge gaps.

CRISPRized Horticultural Crops: Genome Modified Plants and Microbes in Food and Agriculture summarizes applications of CRISPR/Cas systems and its advanced variants e.g., CRISPR/Cpf1, base editing and prime editing, for precise editing of horticultural crops. The book discusses vector transformations methods, epi-genome, deep learning, synthetic biology, and precision breeding for improving yield and quality related attributes in horticultural crops. With coverage of the relevant technologies and their applications, the book also includes bioinformatics and large-scale databases and their potential application in fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants and sections on regulatory concerns related to CRISPR edited crops. Horticultural crops, including fruit, vegetable and ornamental plants are an important component of agriculture production systems and play an important role in sustaining human life. - Reviews CRISPR for editing horticultural crops - Discusses vector transformation methods, epigenome, deep learning, synthetic biology and precision breeding - Includes bioinformatics and large-scale databases - Contributes engineering approaches for crop improvement programs

Part 1 of this volume reviews advances in gene editing techniques such as insertion-based genome edits, base editing, guide RNAs and CRISPR/Cas off targeting. Part 2 surveys applications of gene editing in key cereal and vegetable crops.

This collection presents various interesting aspects of genetic engineering. Many thought-provoking queries like "Is gene revolution an answer to the world hunger? Do GM crops with more complex transformation contribute to the enrichment of multinationals? Why the US increases food aids?" have been analyzed. Transformation protocols and retrieval of recombinants are essential to the success of genetic engineering. The book throws light on new transformation strategies which can be used to increase the transformation efficiency in most plant species. Genetic engineering offers potentially viable solution to look for alternatives beyond Bt toxins with similar pattern of toxicity. An interesting chapter is dedicated to in vitro fig regeneration and transformation systems. To address the long juvenile phase of fruit trees, the book includes a chapter on plant breeding technique that can significantly shorten the breeding periods. The book dwells on aspects of genome editing which will enable researchers to produce transgenic plants in a more convenient and safer way to genetic modification of stem cells holding significant therapeutic promise to treat complications of diabetes and obesity. I hope this book will serve as a seed for further investigations and novel innovations in the area of genetic engineering.

The contributions of plant genetics to the production of higher yielding crops of superior quality are well documented. These successes have been realized through the application of plant breeding techniques to a diverse array of genetically controlled traits. Such highly effective breeding procedures will continue to be the primary method employed for the development of new crop cultivars; however, new techniques in cell and molecular biology will provide additional approaches for genetic modification. There has been considerable speculation recently concerning the potential impact of new techniques in cell and molecular biology on plant improvement. These genetic engineering techniques should offer unique opportunities to alter the genetic makeup of crops if applied to existing breeding procedures. Many questions must be answered in order to identify specific applications of these new technologies. This search for applications will require input from plant scientists working on various aspects of crop improvement. This volume is intended to assess the interrelationships between conventional plant breeding and genetic engineering.