b'REGULATORYKEEPING YOU INFORMED OF LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CHANGES IN EUROPE AND ABROAD FROM LAWSUITS TO APPROVALS TO OTHER REGULATORY ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR BUSINESS.NATIONAL cereals and Cimegra for potatoes and corn. Both products will be available to Canadian growers for the 2021 season.EU SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED FOR REGULATORY REFORM ON GENE EDITING USDA-APHIS DESIGNATES 12 ADDITIONAL CIBUS TRAIT Ahead of a forthcoming Defra consultation on post-Brexit regula- PRODUCTS AS NOT REGULATEDtion of new precision breeding techniques, the British Society ofCibus announced an additional 12 of its trait products have been Plant Breeders (BSPB) has highlighted a recent industry surveydesignated as non-regulated by the United States Department of which found that potential investment in new breeding tech- Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-niques such as gene editing is being stifled by current EU rules. APHIS) Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS). This brings The survey of 62 plant breeding companies in Europe, con- Cibus total number of designated non-GMO trait products to 14. All ducted by an EU plant breeders organization Euroseeds and14 new trait products are developed or under development utilizing published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, confirmedCibus Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS). This technology very strong commercial interest, regardless of company size, increates targeted genetic changes without integrating recombi-using new breeding techniques (NBTs) across a wide range ofnant DNAforeign genetic materialat any stage in the crops crop species and traits. development. As a result of this designation, the USDA-APHIS BRS However, the survey also highlighted the negative impacthas confirmed the plants do not meet the definition of a regulated on EU-based research and investment of a July 2018 Europeanarticle under 7 CFR Part 340, which enables Cibus to proceed and Court ruling which classified varieties developed using thesecontinue with field testing of these 12 additional trait products.new breeding techniques as GMOs. The ruling may also have hit smaller European breeding companies the hardest becauseREGULATORS IN THE UNITED STATES AND COLOMBIA CLASSIFY they are less able to move research activities outside the EU. GENE-EDITED RICE VARIETIES WITH DISEASE RESISTANCE AS EQUIVALENT TO CONVENTIONAL VARIETIESINTERNATIONAL The Healthy Crops team, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have used gene editing tools to develop new ARGENTINA BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY TO APPROVEvarieties of disease-resistant rice that regulators in the United GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT States and Colombia have determined are equivalent to what could Argentina has become the first country to approve the growthbe accomplished with conventional breeding. Bacterial blight can and consumption of genetically modified wheat, the country\'sreduce rice yields by up to 70 percent, with the heaviest losses agriculture ministry announced Oct. 8. The ministry\'s scientifictypically experienced by smallholder rice growers in low and mid-commission said in a statement released in Buenos Aires that itdle-income countries. This has a profound impact on farmer pro-had approved a drought-resistant variety of wheat in the world\'sductivity and economic mobility. The Healthy Crops team turned fourth-largest exporter of the crop. to gene editing to develop disease-resistant varieties as a way to "This is the first approval in the world for drought-tolerantprovide farmers with a safe, affordable, effective solution.genetic transformation in wheat," the National Commission forThe team used gene editing to create rice lines in elite vari-Science and Technology (CONICET) said in a statement. eties that are comparable to naturally occurring variants. These However, experts expressed concern about the growth andlines can resist infection by bacterial leaf blight, which leads to marketing of genetically modified crops (GMOs), citing difficul- major losses for one of the worlds most important food crops. ties in marketing such produce to consumers concerned aboutThe rulings from the United States Department of Agriculture their effect on health and the environment. (USDA) and the corresponding authority in Colombia, the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), clear the way for field BASF RECEIVES HEALTH CANADA PMRA REGISTRATION FORtests to select the best material for distribution to breeders in NEW GROUP 30 INSECTICIDE the U.S. and Colombia.Health Canadas Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)The improvements were accomplished via gene editing, has granted registration approval for BASFs products Teraxxawhich did not introduce any DNA into the plants and focused on F4 and Cimegra, which contain Broflanilide, BASF says in a newspromoter regions in three genes that are targeted by the caus-release on Oct. 19. Broflanilide, is the first IRAC Group 30 avail- ative agent of rice blight, the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae able in Canada, the release notes. It is an insecticide used inpathovar oryzae. The research was described in an article in two new productsTeraxxa F4 insecticide and fungicide forNature Biotechnology in 2019. 34IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'