An international team of researchers led by The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) have found a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn, a discovery that will enable the breeding of deeper-rooting crops with enhanced ability to take up nitrogen. The gene, called ZmCIPK15, was found to be missing in a naturally occurring mutant corn line that grows roots at steeper angles that make them go deeper into the soil.

Experts at the New York Genome Center (NYGC) and New York University (NYU) have developed chemically modified guide RNAs for the CRISPR system that targets the RNA and not the DNA. This modification in the guide RNA has improved its ability to target RNA in human cells. The results are published in Cell Chemical Biology. The researchers explored a range of RNA modifications and found improved CRISPR efficiencies from 2- to 5-fold compared to the unmodified guides

In a letter to the Chair of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) urged the board not to support Measure M, an ordinance that prohibits the planting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the California county, citing it as anti-science and harmful to American agriculture. Measure M states that "it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to propagate, cultivate, raise, or grow genetically modified organisms in Humboldt County." 

Efforts to fight a global surge in acute food insecurity are being stymied in several countries by fighting and blockades that cut off life-saving aid to families on the brink of famine, warn the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) in a new report issued today. Bureaucratic obstacles as well as a lack of funding also hamper the two UN agencies' efforts to provide emergency food assistance and enable farmers to plant at scale and at the right time.

For the past 25 years, scientists have faced the challenge of applying genetic modifications to marsupials because they are born prematurely, continue their development inside their mother's pouches, have thick shells around their eggs, and lack a functional placenta. Riken researchers reported that they have successfully cracked the code and edited the genes for pigment production in gray short-tailed opossums.

Researchers led by Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and the European CHIC Project have identified the genes involved in the production of bitter compounds in chicory using the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas. Chicory's taproots are a source of inulin, a natural sweetener used in bread and dairy products and as dietary fiber for healthy intestinal function.

The National Food Strategy, the United Kingdom's first commissioned independent review of the government's food policy, was launched last week. Leading groups in the United Kingdom's crop improvement pipeline, from fundamental and applied genetic science to commercial plant breeding, have issued a joint call on the Government to take action on regulation and R&D to harness the unique contribution of plant genetics in securing a more sustainable food future.

A group of scientists from the University of Chicago, Peking University, and Guizhou University has found a genetic tweak that targets RNA to help grow crops that yield significantly more food and show increased drought tolerance.In their initial tests, the scientists found that adding a gene encoding for a protein called FTO to both rice and potato plants increased yields by 50 percent in field tests.

The Philippines has approved Golden Rice, a rice variety genetically engineered to contain additional levels of beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. The Philippine Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) announced that a biosafety permit for propagating the Golden Rice has been issued on July 21, 2021. Golden Rice is engineered to provide up to 50 percent of the estimated average requirement (EAR) for vitamin A of young children, the age group most susceptible to VAD in the Philippines.

The Pre-Summit of the UN Food Systems Summit will set the stage for the culminating global event in September by bringing together diverse actors from around the world to leverage the power of food systems to deliver progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In partnership with the Government of Italy, the Pre-Summit will take place in Rome from 26–28 July 2021.