b"Youre using gene editing to bolsterWhat does the regulatory landscape look protein content in crops like canola andlike globally, and where is it going?soybean. Tell us about that. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the We have investigated a handful ofU.S. and a number of South American candidate genes and have found thatcountries have all come forward these have a significant influencewith a similar regulatory approach on the function of genes regulatingof saying that provided youre not Logan Skori protein production and accumula- Ian Affleck adding foreign DNA to the product, CEO, AgGene tion. Our aim is to alter the func- Vice-President,we can leverage our long history of Logan hastion and activity of these candidatePlantexperience with conventional plant expertise in thegenes using gene editing to driveBiotechnology,breeding. If you did add foreign DNA, field of gene editingseed protein increase. Our extensiveCropLife Canada were not saying that's inherently and developmentpreliminary studies evaluating geneIan works withrisky, its just that theres less familiar-of geneticallyediting shows that disabling thesedomestic andity with what traits that can produce. engineered crops.candidate genes leads to proteininternationalTherefore, there are different levels of He was raised onincreases ranging from 5-10 per cent agriculturalregulatory oversight that are needed. a grain farm andin total protein content. Were lookingstakeholders andIts not about what is safe and what has experience inat expanding the technology into soy- governments onis unsafeits about saying that we the ag sector as abean and cereal crops, including rice.the developmenthave familiarity with one and less so sales agronomist. of policies,with the other.What gene editing system did you regulations, decide on? and scienceHow is Canada approaching thisWeve chosen to pursue a gene edit- related to plantspecifically?ing system called MAD7. Right now,biotechnology. In the Canadian regulatory environ-in a commercial setting, there arement, Health Canada has already a number of different gene editingcompleted a public consultation on systems that companies can use, theupdated policies which align with most popular being the CRISPR-Cas9what we are seeing globally with system. The one major advantage ofgene editing being treated like con-the MAD7 system is the favourableventional breeding. Were awaiting intellectual property landscape andthe final publication of that. the ability to use without having to pay royalties and licensing fees. TheHow would you say we rate on our MAD7 platform, like the CRISPR-Cas9progressiveness when it comes to new system, has two really important com- breeding techniques?ponents.Canada is heading in the right direc-The first component is called thetion. Health Canada has made a very guide RNA, which is a customizablestrong statement of safety saying that fragment of RNA. The second majorthe use of gene editing technology component is the MAD7 nuclease.does not present any unique safety The nuclease is going to interact withconcerns compared to other methods this guide RNA on a scaffold, and theof plant breeding. nuclease will eventually cut the DNA. Right now, we have a canola variety harboring our MAD7 gene editing system. Within the next few months, well hopefully be able to confirmView our full-length Retail Roundtable webinar on this topic!that this is a viable system for geneVisit germination.ca/new-productsediting. SUPPORTED BY: ENDORSED BY:42GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2021"