BULLETIN 1
Study Reveals Consumer Acceptance of Gene-Edited Food
ISAAA February 26, 2025

 

 

A study conducted by researchers from FLAME University, Arkansas Tech University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln explored the role of knowledge, trust, and information in consumer acceptance of gene-edited food. The study focused on wheat flour developed using CRISPR to produce lower levels of the potentially carcinogenic compound acrylamide.
An online survey of 1,638 individuals was conducted to examine consumer preferences, attitudes, and willingness to pay for CRISPR-based food products that enhance safety and health benefits. Preliminary results showed that although most participants had low subjective and objective knowledge scores, they were more inclined to seek additional information. The use of CRISPR and GM technology in crops was more acceptable to the respondents than its use in animals or humans. The most cited concern was the possible negative effects of CRISPR and limited access to technology. These concerns were evident among those who had less knowledge or understanding of CRISPR.
The study found that universities and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) were more trusted over multinational cooperations and domestic startups as developers. The results also showed that USDA and medical professionals were more trusted as a source of information. Based on the results, the researchers said that this is an opportunity for targeted education interventions to increase knowledge and consumer acceptance of gene-edited food.
For more information, read the preliminary results from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

 

BULLETIN 2
Researchers Find Corn Lines with High Flavonoid Content Could Kill Major Crop Pest

  

The flavonoids that provide insecticide-like protection to some corn lines against corn earworm larvae also provide pigments to the plants that show up in the silks, husks, and kernels. Pictured here are the lines used in the research. (Photo Source: Penn State)
A team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) reveals that genetic lines of corn have inherent compounds called flavonoids that serve as insecticides, protecting them from the corn earworms that feed on them.
Corn earworm causes losses of more than 76 million bushels of corn in the United States annually. Increasing extreme weather events and temperatures will exacerbate the damage done to agricultural output by insect pests, according to previously conducted studies. In findings published in the March issue of Plant Stress, the researchers reported that corn earworm larvae feeding on the silks, husks, and kernels of corn lines with high levels of flavonoids — chemicals that play essential roles in many biological processes and responses to environmental factors in plants — grow much more slowly and many die, compared to larva feeding on corn lines without flavonoids.
The researchers found that larvae feeding on high-flavonoid corn lines experienced increased mortality and reduced body weight and developed symptoms similar to a leaky gut syndrome. This suggests that changes in the microbiome of the larval gut may be involved. To conduct their study, the researchers compared corn earworm larvae fed genetically identical corn strains, differing only in specific, known attributes. Some strains expressed high flavonoid content in their silks, husks, and kernels, while others did not. The corn used in the experiment included a line engineered to have a gene that triggers flavonoid production and a line that was conventionally bred to produce flavonoids.
Researchers observed a significant difference in mortality rates and body weight among corn earworm larvae that fed on flavonoid-overproducing plant lines compared to those that fed on control lines. Both the genetically engineered line and the line derived from the mutant exhibited similar effects on the larvae.
For more details, read the article in Penn State News.
See: https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21225

 

SCIENTIFIC NEWS

Brems1 mutation induced tapetum deficiency leading to male sterility in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis)
Chuanhong Liu, Lin Wang, Chong Tan, Di Zhao & Zhiyong Liu
Theoretical and Applied Genetics; February 24 2025; vol.138; article 50

Key message
The mutation in Brems1 resulting in male sterility in Chinese cabbage were validated through two allelic mutations.

 

  

Abstract
Male sterile lines are ideal for hybrid seed production in Chinese cabbage. Herein, the complete male sterile mutants M5026 and M5073 were obtained through ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis in the Chinese cabbage double haploid line ‘FT’. Cytological observations revealed that M5026 exhibited an absence of the tapetum, an overabundance of microsporocytes, and abnormal exine formation in pollen. The male sterility phenotype of M5026 was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. Using mutmap sequencing and kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) identification and gene cloning, two distinct SNPs in BraA10g029920.3.5C, encoding EMS1 (excess microsporocytes 1), were identified to be associated with the male sterility of M5026 and M5073. The gene was named as Brems1. M5026 and M5073 were determined to be allelic variants. Both BrEMS1 and Brems1 were subcellularly localized at the cell membrane. Brems1 exhibited the highest expression level in buds, while no expression was detected in roots. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that Brems1 mutations reduced the expression levels of genes associated with the tapetum, pollen tube, and LRR-RLK family. These results suggested that Brems1 played a critical role in pollen development and contributes to elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying tapetum development and male sterility in Chinese cabbage.
See https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00122-025-04841-y