Gene editing to provide traits of value in pasture and forage plants

Abstract

Plant breeding has and will continue to be required to deliver cultivars to assist with overcoming potential intractable current and future challenges facing pastoral agriculture whether they be economic, environmental or societal. The role of gene editing in achieving success and deliver crops and forages of benefit is discussed. Research into the use of gene editing of forages, which are important to New Zealand’s primary sector, has been a low priority compared with gene editing in row crops and food plants. Records of forage species that have been gene edited, the traits targeted and their likely impact in forages are described. Gene editing of New Zealand’s major pasture species is possible and could provide trait improvements that would be of value to pastoral agriculture. However, to effectively deliver gene edited forages and pasture species costs of development and regulation need to be proportionate to the value of the resulting pasture or forage crop, concerns about co-existence need to be effectively managed, benefits need to be quantified, and risks understood to allay societal concerns, regulatory processes need to be trusted and deliver evidence-based risk assessments, and poor understanding of how genes contribute to complex traits in forage species.