TY - JOUR
T1 - Precision Genome Engineering and Agriculture
T2 - Opportunities and Regulatory Challenges
AU - Voytas, Daniel F.
AU - Gao, Caixia
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Plant agriculture is poised at a technological inflection point. Recent advances in genome engineering make it possible to precisely alter DNA sequences in living cells, providing unprecedented control over a plant's genetic material. Potential future crops derived through genome engineering include those that better withstand pests, that have enhanced nutritional value, and that are able to grow on marginal lands. In many instances, crops with such traits will be created by altering only a few nucleotides among the billions that comprise plant genomes. As such, and with the appropriate regulatory structures in place, crops created through genome engineering might prove to be more acceptable to the public than plants that carry foreign DNA in their genomes. Public perception and the performance of the engineered crop varieties will determine the extent to which this powerful technology contributes towards securing the world's food supply.
AB - Plant agriculture is poised at a technological inflection point. Recent advances in genome engineering make it possible to precisely alter DNA sequences in living cells, providing unprecedented control over a plant's genetic material. Potential future crops derived through genome engineering include those that better withstand pests, that have enhanced nutritional value, and that are able to grow on marginal lands. In many instances, crops with such traits will be created by altering only a few nucleotides among the billions that comprise plant genomes. As such, and with the appropriate regulatory structures in place, crops created through genome engineering might prove to be more acceptable to the public than plants that carry foreign DNA in their genomes. Public perception and the performance of the engineered crop varieties will determine the extent to which this powerful technology contributes towards securing the world's food supply.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001877
DO - 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001877
M3 - Article
C2 - 24915127
AN - SCOPUS:84903317244
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - PLoS Biology
JF - PLoS Biology
SN - 1544-9173
IS - 6
M1 - e1001877
ER -