March 23, 2023

expert reaction to precision breeding bill passed into law

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act has been granted Royal Assent and passed into law in the UK today.

Prof Dale Sanders, former director of the John Innes Centre and Honorary Chair in Plant Science, University of York, said:

“The news that precision breeding will now form part of a diverse toolkit used to develop novel varieties of sustainable and resilient crops in the UK is indeed welcome. Genome editing will markedly enhance the speed with which new and important traits can be used for crop production in a way that is fully integrated with the existing framework for approval of improved crop varieties.”

Prof Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute in Norwich, said:

“This important legislation will help to realise the potential of precision breeding technologies, enabling our research to support sustainable crop production with improved nutritional benefit while reducing environmental impact.

“At the Earlham Institute, we use genomic technologies to understand which genes are responsible for important agricultural traits. Genome engineering technology will allow us to directly incorporate changes to these genes in agricultural varieties, accelerating improvements in agriculture.”

Prof Jane Langdale, Professor of Plant Development at the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford and lead author of the UK Plant Science Research Strategy, says:

“This very welcome Act unlocks the potential to provide faster and more sustainable solutions to the problems facing agriculture today – from the provision of more robust and healthy food crops to the reduction of carbon emissions from the sector. The current salad and vegetable shortages associated with weather fluctuations across Europe highlight how fragile our food supply chains can be. The Act paves the way for new products to be delivered to farmers more expediently.”

Prof Lord John Krebs, Emeritus Professor of Zoology, Department of Biology at the University of Oxford, and current member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee, says:

“This legislation is excellent news for UK science, business, and consumers. I would like to express my personal thanks to scientists at Oxford, The John Innes Centre, The Sainsbury Laboratory, and The Roslin Institute for their patience and support in briefing Peers on the science of precision breeding.”

Prof Steve Kelly, Professor of Plant Sciences at the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford and co-Founder of Wild Bioscience, says:

“The challenge of providing a sustainable future for humanity and more space for wildlife has never been greater in all of human history. This Act provides innovators in the UK with the unprecedented ability to address this challenge, safeguarding the world’s food supply and reducing the impact of agriculture on the natural world.”

Prof Lars Østergaard, Sherardian Professor of Botany, Department of Biology, at the University of Oxford, says:

“With an urgent requirement for innovative solutions to address global challenges around sustainable food production, this Act is an important step forward and will allow society to benefit from recent game-changing scientific and technological advances.”

Prof Nick Harberd, Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science, Department of Biology, at the University of Oxford, says:

“Today’s passing of this Act into law enables UK crop science expertise to enhance global food security and environmental sustainability.”

Prof John MacKay, Wood Professor of Forest Science, Department of Biology, at the University of Oxford, says:

“The ability to use these new technologies opens the door to more rational use of natural diversity in response to environmental change, new learning, and new governance models. It opens a world of opportunities, such as more sustainable wood and fibre crops that can resist invasive pests.”

Prof Giles Oldroyd, Director of the Crop Science Centre, University of Cambridge, said:

“The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill is a crucial development that opens up new possibilities for science and innovation to transform the pace of agricultural research and development. The UK, along with countries around the world, is in a race to climate-proof food systems, and conventional breeding alone cannot keep up with the rapidly changing challenges of new growing conditions.

“Precision breeding through gene editing allows scientists to accelerate what might otherwise be possible through natural processes and conventional breeding over a longer time frame. UK science and research has made extraordinary advances in this field over the last 30 years, and this law expands the remit of scientific exploration, which can only bring benefits.”

Dr Penny Hundleby, Senior Scientist in the Crop Transformation group at the John Innes Centre said:

“The passing of the Bill is a positive step forward for research and innovation, and will align England’s regulatory path with other countries. We have used precision breeding techniques for the last 10 years as a research tool to further our understanding of plants, determining which genes underpin which characteristics. This new Act means that we will start to see the outcomes of our research being used to develop crops which are more resilient, and foods that are more nutritious.”

Prof Nigel Halford, Crop Scientist at Rothamsted Research, said:

“This is a real milestone and a great moment. I think plant scientists all over the country will have a spring in their step as they head into work in the morning.”

Prof Johnathan Napier, Research Leader, Rothamsted Research, said:

“It is hard to fully express the massive sense of optimism I feel as this Bill becomes law – for the first time, regulation of plant biotechnology has become less restrictive. I am looking forward to these enabling changes delivering significant benefits to society”

Prof Sophien Kamoun FRS, Group Leader at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, said:

“Ever since it became routine about 10 years ago, GE tech has allowed us to break free from the limitations of traditional plant breeding methods. With the shackles off, we can now use GE to develop crops that are more resilient to disease and environmental stress, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and productive agricultural system.”

Prof Nick Talbot FRS, Executive Director of The Sainsbury Laboratory, said:

“With gene editing, we now have the opportunity to revolutionize plant breeding and tap into the vast biodiversity of plants in a more precise manner. This is a crucial innovation that can help break our dependence on agrochemicals and ensure a more sustainable future for all.”

Prof Jonathan Jones FRS, Group Leader at The Sainsbury Laboratory whose research group developed a fully late blight resistant PiperPlus potato using genetic modification, said:

“After many decades researching the science that can make our crops resistant to disease and less reliant on fungicides, I am delighted to finally see changes in legislation that will allow some of these innovations to be applied in the field and benefit UK farmers and the UK environment. While I would’ve hoped to see the same proportionate regulations also apply to other, more established, plant breeding technologies such as genetic modification, I think enabling gene editing for crop improvement is a step in the right direction.”

Prof Dale Sanders, former director of the John Innes Centre and Honorary Chair in Plant Science, University of York, said:

Prof Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute in Norwich, said:

Prof Jane Langdale, Professor of Plant Development at the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford and lead author of the UK Plant Science Research Strategy, says:

Prof Lord John Krebs, Emeritus Professor of Zoology, Department of Biology at the University of Oxford, and current member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee, says:

Prof Steve Kelly, Professor of Plant Sciences at the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford and co-Founder of Wild Bioscience, says:

‘The challenge of providing a sustainable future for humanity and more space for wildlife has never been greater in all of human history. This Act provides innovators in the UK with the unprecedented ability to address this challenge, safeguarding the world’s food supply and reducing the impact of agriculture on the natural world.’

Prof Lars Østergaard, Sherardian Professor of Botany, Department of Biology, at the University of Oxford, says:

‘With an urgent requirement for innovative solutions to address global challenges around sustainable food production, this Act is an important step forward and will allow society to benefit from recent game-changing scientific and technological advances.’

Prof Nick Harberd, Sibthorpian Professor of Plant Science, Department of Biology, at the University of Oxford, says:

‘Today’s passing of this Act into law enables UK crop science expertise to enhance global food security and environmental sustainability.’

Prof John MacKay, Wood Professor of Forest Science, Department of Biology, at the University of Oxford, says:

‘The ability to use these new technologies opens the door to more rational use of natural diversity in response to environmental change, new learning, and new governance models. It opens a world of opportunities, such as more sustainable wood and fibre crops that can resist invasive pests.’