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Talen gene-edited soybeans

There’s a type of gene editing that might soon make its crop debut. Dr Kevin Folta, chair of the Horticultural Sciences Department, with the University of Florida, says gene editing will revolutionize agriculture. While CRISPER-Cas 9 is the one most talked about, there’s a different gene editing process called Talen. Folta tells Brownfield Ag News, at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention, “This is a different way that you can edit a gene. And, this is one that WILL be on the market this year. You’ll see gene-edited soybeans on the market probably in 2018.”

He says both methods are very precise, “Most of this is being done through a company called Calyxt up in Minnesota. They have a large gene-editing pipeline. CRISPR-cas9 gets the limelight but Talen technology has been used and has created excellent products that don’t look like they’ll need much regulation, if at all.” Folta says he is unsure who will be commercializing the gene edited soybeans.