{"id":59550,"date":"2025-11-20T19:27:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=59550"},"modified":"2025-11-21T13:44:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T08:14:43","slug":"indigenous-gene-editing-crop-breeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-11-2025\/indigenous-gene-editing-crop-breeding","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous Gene Editing Technology to Aid Cheaper, Commercial Crop Breeding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indian scientists at ICAR\u2019s Central Rice Research Institute have developed a patented<strong> indigenous Genome-Editing(GE) technology using TnpB<\/strong> proteins as a compact alternative to the globally patented <strong>CRISPR-Cas systems.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Do you know?<\/strong><br>&#8211; In May 2025, ICAR released <strong>two genome-edited rice varieties<\/strong> developed by&nbsp; Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)<br>&#8211; IIRR enhanced yields in <strong>Samba Mahsuri rice by editing the cytokinin oxidase 2 gene using CRISPR-Cas12a<\/strong>, while IARI improved drought and salinity tolerance in MTU-1010 (Cottondora Sannalu) by editing the DST gene with CRISPR-Cas9.<br>&#8211; Despite these advances, commercial cultivation faces hurdles due to intellectual property restrictions on CRISPR-Cas technologies.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>TnpB or Transposon-associated proteins<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It acts as \u201cmolecular scissors,\u201d&nbsp; and precisely cuts and modifies plant DNA, enabling desirable traits without introducing foreign genes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unlike bulky Cas9 and Cas12a proteins, the hypercompact TnpB (408 amino acids) can be easily delivered into cells via viral vectors, bypassing tissue culture methods.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ICAR secured a 20-year Indian patent in September 2025 and has filed for international protection, with adoption by plant breeders seen as the next critical step.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<strong>Features<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It has smaller proteins compared to CRISPR-Cas, reducing complexity and cost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It enables targeted DNA cuts and modifications for crop improvement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It reduces dependence on foreign proprietary technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is designed for commercial application in crop breeding programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<strong>Benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It cuts down licensing and royalty costs associated with foreign technologies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is seen as a potential game-changer because CRISPR-Cas tools are heavily patented by the Broad Institute and Corteva, which may impose license fees on commercial cultivation of genome-edited (GE) crops.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indigenous tools could eliminate these IP barriers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has the potential to deliver high-yield, climate-resilient, and pest-resistant varieties at lower costs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It strengthens India\u2019s position in the $165.7 billion bioeconomy, projected to reach $300 billion by 2030.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It enhances India\u2019s ability to meet rising food demand sustainably.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It positions India as a leader in affordable GE crop technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s GE crops face strict biosafety and approval hurdles under the Plant Variety and Farmers\u2019 Rights Protection Authority Act.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Concerns around GM\/GE crops persist among consumers and activists.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure Gaps: <\/strong>Need for advanced labs, trained personnel, and seed distribution networks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-05-2025\/genome-edited-seeds-to-mark-second-green-revolution-beginning\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-05-2025\/genome-edited-seeds-to-mark-second-green-revolution-beginning\">indigenous gene-editing technology<\/a> <\/strong>offers a cost-effective alternative to global platforms, with the potential to democratize access to GE crops, enhance food security, and empower farmers.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To fully realize its promise, there is a need for&nbsp; streamlining regulatory approvals while safeguarding biosafety and farmer rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a need for building public trust through awareness, integrating efforts with national bioeconomy and innovation missions, fostering international collaboration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/now-desi-gene-editing-technology-to-aid-cheaper-commercial-ge-crop-breeding-10375188\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In News<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Indian scientists at ICAR\u2019s Central Rice Research Institute have developed a patented indigenous Genome-Editing(GE) technology using TnpB proteins as a compact alternative to the globally patented CRISPR-Cas systems.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>TnpB or Transposon-associated proteins<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It acts as \u201cmolecular scissors,\u201d\u00a0 and precisely cuts and modifies plant DNA, enabling desirable traits without introducing foreign genes.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Unlike bulky Cas9 and Cas12a proteins, the hypercompact TnpB (408 amino acids) can be easily delivered into cells via viral vectors, bypassing tissue culture methods.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">ICAR secured a 20-year Indian patent in September 2025 and has filed for international protection, with adoption by plant breeders seen as the next critical step.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-11-2025\/indigenous-gene-editing-crop-breeding\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59550"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59590,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59550\/revisions\/59590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}