by PressScientists from Brazil unveiled a new soybean variety
A new soybean variety with improved qualities will soon be launched
Brazilian scientists created a new variety of soybean and managed to bypass the rules under which the crop receives the status of GMO. The main goal of the specialists was to create an oilseed variety that would not need heat treatment of the seeds. The variety has passed all the necessary tests and is now at the stage of preparation for commercialization.
The CTNBio National Profile Commission has thoroughly examined the scientists’ discovery. According to its conclusion, the gene editing to which the soybean was subjected is not a procedure that makes the variety transgenic. According to conventional designations, a plant is considered genetically modified only if it contains the DNA of another plant. For the designated variety, scientists used CRISPR technology to turn off a number of components that negatively affect the crop’s nutritional properties.
The CRISPR conclusion makes it much easier for scientists to use the new variety. In the case of a GMO species, they would have to go through a lengthy procedure to obtain permission to use the crop commercially. In the case of the non-transgenic status, the variety goes through all the procedures more easily and can enter the market much faster and at a lower cost.
To create the new variety, scientists deactivated the lectin in the DNA, which is considered an anti-nutritional factor. In addition, CRISPR genome editing succeeded in mimicking a number of processes found in nature. This result would take 10-12 years to achieve using classical selection methods, while CRISPR makes it possible to achieve the desired qualities in just six months.
A number of components of soybeans are non-nutritive and are used as a protein element in animal feed production, as well as in human food. At the same time, they negatively affect the process of digestion of soybeans, making it difficult to absorb nutrients. Especially the harm of such factors is felt in chickens and pigs because their single-chamber stomach can not fully digest oilseed.
To reduce negative factors, soybeans are heat-treated, but this increases the cost of feed production. The new soybean variety eliminates the need to subject the beans to additional processing, which makes it possible to reduce the cost of making food for animals.
CTNBio praised the quality characteristics of the bean crop, noting its value to the agricultural industry. In addition, the approach itself is important, with innovative methods creating useful and improved varieties that can be introduced into mass production in a short time. In turn, the scientists hope that their new variety will be an excellent example for other researchers to work on improving the qualities of various plants.