New plant breeding techniques. State-of-the-art and prospects for commercial development

Harmonised EU legislation regulating organisms produced by modern bio-techniques (GMOs) goes back to the year 1990 and the definition of GMOs was not up-dated since. During the last decade new plant- breeding techniques have been developed. The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission in cooperation with the JRC’s Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) has reviewed the state-of-the-art of these technologies, their level of development and their current adoption by the breeding sector and prospects for a future commercialisation of crops based on them. The technologies discussed included cisgenesis, intragenesis (technologies using transformation with genetic material restricted to the species’ own gene-pool), emerging techniques to induce controlled mutagenesis or insertion (ODM, Zinc Finger Nuclease technologies 1-3) and other applications such as grafting on GM rootstocks or reverse breeding. The following methods were used in the study: literature and patent searches, search in a database of field trials, a survey directed to plant breeders and a workshop with participants from public and private sector. Additionally challenges for the detection of these techniques were evaluated. The study showed that the development of these techniques is differently advanced. Technical advantages, but also challenges for the commercialisation (technical constraints, acceptance and regulation) have been identified. The mission of the Joint Research Centre is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies. As a service of the European Commission, the Joint Research Centre functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national. How to obtain EU publications Our priced publications are available from EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu), where you can place an order with the sales agent of your choice. The Publications Office has a worldwide network of sales agents. You can obtain their contact details by sending a fax to (352) 29 29-42758. 218 N ew p la nt b re ed in g te ch ni qu es . S ta te -o f- th e- ar t a nd p ro sp ec ts fo r co m m er ci al d ev el op m en t LF -N A -2760-E N -C ISBN 978-92-79-19715-4 New plant breeding techniques State-of-the-art and prospects for commercial development