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\u201cWe\u2019re using gene editing to improve canola yield, but as a result of some of the work we\u2019ve done, it\u2019s also enabled us to protect that yield and increase stress tolerance in the plants that we\u2019ve produced.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHY IT MATTERS: Conventional crop sectors have hailed gene editing for its potential to speed up variety development<\/a> compared to older gene modification technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n The high-biomass canola may be less prone to lodging, although the researchers have not yet been able to test that theory in the field.<\/p>\n It does, however, appear to perform well under drought and heat, said Tetlow, speaking at the Canola AgriScience Cluster Research Roundup webinar June 26.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen these plants are droughted, you can see there\u2019s an increase over the wild type (canola) in seed, seed weight, seed yield per plant, and this is extended further under heat treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n It may also come with increased resilience against heavy-hitting canola diseases like sclerotinia and clubroot, he added.<\/p>\n Maize enzymes fuel growth<\/p>\n The team \u2014 comprised of Tetlow, Liping Wang and Michael Emes \u2014 used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to \u201cknock out\u201d some canola genes and stitch in replacement genetic information from maize.<\/p>\n CRISPR acts as a proverbial set of gene-editing scissors, allowing scientists to more precisely single out, \u201csnip,\u201d and modify DNA <\/a>sequences<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t The project built on previous studies experimenting with thale cress, another brassica plant that shares genetic similarities with canola. In that study, scientists targeted endogenous starch branching enzymes (SBEs), enzymes key to the ability of a plant to produce its own starch and which help lay out that starch\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n Without those enzymes, plants produced were small and unable to produce starch, but featured thickened stems. The project then added in genetic material associated with SBE expression in maize. This restored starch production capability.<\/p>\n The result was more biomass, more branching, thicker stems and, potentially, better flow of carbon reserves around the plant.<\/p>\n The team mimicked those results in canola.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t entirely understand why the change in both thale cress and canola had such huge benefits, Tetlow noted.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think of improving yield on an oilseed crop, the logical thing perhaps to consider would be to manipulate the oil biosynthetic pathway,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s not what we\u2019ve done. What we\u2019ve done is improved the yield of this plant via an indirect mechanism, manipulating starch biosynthesis in the vegetative parts of the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on what they can see in the plants they\u2019ve produced in controlled conditions, there is no impact to oilseed quality, Tetlow added.<\/p>\n Into the field<\/p>\n Of course, if the transgenic canola only works in controlled conditions rather than real-life production, it\u2019s not much use to farmers.<\/p>\n The next step is bringing their genetic lines into the field to see how they fare.<\/p>\n Tetlow and his team are conducting field trials at two sites in Ontario. The plants are growing well, the researcher said. Past that, it\u2019s too early to tell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe field trials are going to be important to hopefully demonstrate that we can maintain this increase in yield and biomass and also the protection from environmental stresses in the field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s work ongoing. We\u2019re in the process of conducting further heat tolerance and drought experiments and also looking at root growth and root architecture in these plants. So far, we\u2019ve only looked at the aerial parts of the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n He expects to report more fulsome results by next summer.<\/p>\n There are also other things the Guelph team would like to explore about the transgenic canola plants, such as investigating increased lignocellulose (a type of biomass) they\u2019ve observed in the seed pods.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a whole suite of increased agronomic traits or improved performance traits associated with these plants that we\u2019re in the process of examining and evaluating,\u201d Tetlow said.<\/p>\n The Canola Council of Canada funded most of the gene-editing and transgenic work, said Tetlow. The Ontario Canola Growers Association is funding the Ontario field trials.<\/p>\n Gene editing and food security<\/p>\n Although developed through gene editing, the transgenic canola is likely classed under Canada\u2019s more stringent regulatory pathway for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).<\/p>\n The federal government has loosened the leash on crops developed with gene editing<\/a> in recent years, although those changes pertained to crops where gene editing was used to modify a plant\u2019s existing genes. As of 2023, those crops have faced the same level of regulatory approval as those developed through conventional breeding.<\/p>\n Plants with foreign DNA added, however, are still considered to have novel plant traits, and must face Canada\u2019s GMO hoops.<\/p>\n That decision was lauded by many conventional agriculture groups, although the organic sector continues to oppose the move, arguing that lack of traceability for gene edited crops<\/a> and the risk of contamination are a threat to their industry.<\/p>\n Although controversial in some circles, gene editing isn\u2019t going anywhere, said Stuart Smyth, a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan who has specialized in biotechnology <\/a>regulation<\/a>. In fact, he argued it may be a key to reducing world hunger.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that in the next five to 10 years, we could make the most significant advancements to reducing global food insecurity by using this targeted knockout to get 10, 15, 20 per cent yield increases within a matter of a couple of years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Such yield increases are already happening, he added, using the example of one Australian field trial for wheat two years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThey knocked out one or two genes and they were getting an over 20 per cent yield increase. Now, in a field trial that\u2019s going to be bumped up a little bit, but let\u2019s say that correlates to 15 per cent. If you could commercialize that wheat in Africa, what a tremendous advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n Canadian researchers, food companies and producers have been generally on board with genetic editing<\/a> since the Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency\u2019s (CFIA) 2023 decision, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only ones that are being really vocal are the same groups that have been opposing biotech in Canada for 25 plus years.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s still work to do on the file, Smyth said.<\/p>\n Canada, for example, does not yet have a framework for the inevitable day someone wishes to conduct gene editing in livestock. That\u2019s already on the table for our southern neighbour. Pigs gene edited<\/a> to be resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome are on track to being a commercial reality as soon as 2026 in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have no regulatory system for gene-edited livestock in Canada or even genetically modified livestock, so this sort of becomes our challenges,\u201d says Smyth.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd based on the changes that Health Canada (and) the CFIA have put in place, to me it looks like that\u2019s intended for plants and maybe some food additives \u2026 gene-edited yeast or the bacteria for fermentation or something like that, but not necessarily pertaining to non-plant species.\u201d<\/p>\n Farmer would \u2018absolutely\u2019 plant<\/p>\n Nicolea Dow runs a mixed farm with her father and brother east of Portage la Prairie, Man. She chairs the Manitoba Canola Growers research committee as well as the Western Canadian Canola and Canola\/Rapeseed Recommending Committee.<\/p>\n These experiences have given her an appreciation for innovation, she said. So when asked if she would grow the University of Guelph line if it was made available today, her answer was a resounding \u201cabsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a farmer, I\u2019m very, very pro-innovation, particularly in canola. Anything that is going to give us a more robust plant is a win,\u201d Dow said.<\/p>\n \t![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/152413_web1_PBY-canola-seed-in-bin-horizontal-241007.jpg\")
The promise of transgenic canola developed out of the University of Guelph includes a bump in yield without impacting oilseed quality. Photo: File<\/p>\n![\"Canola](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/152413_web1_Canola-flowers.jpeg\")
Canola in Western Canada may one day benefit from improved genetics thanks to the University of Guelph gene editing project. Photo: File<\/p>\n![\"Researchers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/152413_web1_Canola-blooming-vertical-close-up-summer-as.jpg\")
Researchers out of Ontario hope gene editing will help create a more robust plant for future canola crops. Photo: File<\/p>\n
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