m.jones@murdoch.edu.au, adeel.muhammad@hotmail.com, j.fosu-nyarko@murdoch.edu.au, sadia iqbal29@gmail.com

More food is needed to feed the growing world population sustainably while preserving biodiversity for future generations. This requires the application of the best science and technology. Genome/Gene-Editing (‘GEd’) is providing exciting new opportunities for genetic crop improvement, and GEd is already contributing to a new understanding of gene function and to better produce.

The potential exists to break the nexus between Genetically Modified (GM) and GEd plants, and to avoid the issues that have prevented wider use of GM crops. Factors to consider related to commercial application include:

Confirming the absence of ‘external’ nucleic acid sequence by sequencing the site of gene-editing, Q-PCR to show the absence of backbone T-DNA, and checking the sequence at the edited site to determine that there is no new ORF or new allergen.

Complete genome sequencing is not necessary and would delay the application of GEd to wheat improvement.

Possible off-target edits – the history of safe use of foods in which many mutations/edits are present shows that the vast majority off-target mutations/edits are of no biological significance to consumers

Licensing of GEd technology

Unintentional low-level presence of GEd seeds/produce in bulk trade

National and international policies/regulations on GEd produce are advancing rapidly. International harmonisation, or at least alignment, is a pre-requisite for achieving the full benefits and enabling international trade in GEd produce. Many countries in N & S America, the Asia-Pacific, and more recently in Africa and Europe, are reassessing their regulatory regimes.

The underlying principle is that if the GEd undertaken could have been achieved by conventional breeding, then there is no reason why produce developed using GEd, which achieves the same ends as conventional breeding but more rapidly and precisely, should be regulated any differently from conventionally bred varieties.

The international regulatory status of GEd crops will be presented, focusing on trade in the Asia-Pacific region.