A recent study published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal shows improvement in bananas' resistance to Xanthomonas wilt disease by knocking out the MusaENODL3 gene. According to the researchers, this is the first study to show the potential of the ENODL gene in developing disease-resistant plants.

CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool has solved several problems in the agriculture sector. The same potential for addressing aquaculture problems is being attributed to CRISPR-Cas9, especially because of its cost-effectiveness, ease of designing and delivering the construct, and minimal off-target modifications. Researchers from Central Agricultural University, together with partners in India, explored the current applications of CRISPR-Cas9 in fish and published it as a chapter in Biotechnological Tools in Fisheries and Aquatic Health Management.

“Sixty years ago, the objective was to highlight the rapidly growing importance of internationally accepted food standards as a means of protecting consumers and producers globally and to reduce trade barriers effectively – these objectives are still very relevant today,” said QU Dongyu, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director-General, during the opening ceremony of The Codex Alimentarius Commission's 60th anniversary and annual meeting.

ISAAA Inc., in collaboration with the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Biotechnology Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA Biotech), Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, Inc. (BCP), Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), and Corteva Agriscience, successfully conducted the webinar series on Biotech Innovations for A Sustainable Agriculture from November 8 to 10, 2023, via Zoom. This webinar series is a build-up activity for the 19th National Biotechnology Week (NBW), which aims to promote biotech innovations and their potential to help build a sustainable food system in the Philippines.

Researchers from China investigated the impact of knocking out the Neuropeptide Y receptor Y2 (npy2r) in the behavior and food intake of Japanese rice fish, also known as medaka (Oryzias latipes). Results of the study showed that the absence of npy2r reduced anxiety and increased the food intake of Japanese medaka.

In the spirit of Ruth Ginsburg’s words urging people to fight for what they care about in a way that inspires others to join, the CGIAR initiative of Mixed Farming Systems (MFS) team took a proactive approach. Embracing the significance of research and partnerships for development, the team in Malawi organized an Innovation Packaging and Scaling Readiness workshop in early November.

The CFSA is an agribusiness support program within The CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa, also known as Ukama Ustawi. It is a science-driven accelerator designed to empower agribusinesses with climate-smart innovations. By combining investment readiness with tailored science-based technical assistance, CFSA equips agribusinesses with the tools and knowledge to become commercially viable, environmentally conscious, and sustainable.

Fighting global hunger requires greater and better investments in science, technology and innovation to ensure that our agrifood systems are able to produce more with less while leaving no one behind, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) told a Global Food Security Summit in London on Monday.

Researchers from Nofima, a food science research institute in Norway, and partners presented a guide for evaluating gene editing in aquaculture. Their review paper is available in Reviews in Aquaculture. Gene editing can transform aquaculture through improved animal welfare, nutrition, and farming efficiency. However, side effects on other vital traits or gene transfer to wild populations must be managed. Thus, Nofima created a framework for risk-benefit analysis of gene editing in aquaculture.

Researchers from Germany produced a novel method to find and create peptides that can be used against different types of bacteria. Their findings demonstrate the great potential of the technique in the health industry. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the top 10 health threats in the world, causing over 1 million deaths annually. To add to this troubling issue, the production of new microbials is also lagging behind. Researchers from various institutions in Germany combined AI with synthetic biology to develop a cell-free protein synthesis pipeline that can be used to create antimicrobial peptides from DNA templates.