A team of researchers mainly from RIKEN and Osaka University has developed a method to commercialize potatoes that are free from toxic compounds in their sprouts and other parts by using genome-editing technology that modifies targeted genes.
The team plans to start outdoor test cultivation as early as the next fiscal year hoping to commercialize the vegetables within five years.
The study result was presented at the Japanese Society for Genome Editing's meeting in Hiroshima on Wednesday.
The most common genome-editing method to improve varieties is to introduce artificially-made exogenous genes into cell nuclei to modify the crop's genes. However, some researchers have pointed out that crops made via such a method would destroy biodiversity if they are crossbred with other wild species.
Therefore, there are many restrictions when it comes to sales of such crops in Japan, including one to require those who intend to sell them to undergo an impact study on the ecosystem.
The team focused on the fact that genome editing can take place even if exogenous genes were not introduced into cell nuclei. It then came up with a method to select genes that do not contain exogenous genes among crops that underwent genome editing.
With the method, the team inhibited the expression of particular genes for the synthesis of poison, resulting in reducing the amount of toxin in potatoes to less than 10 percent.
The team will submit an application for approval of outdoor cultivating the crops in September at the earliest.
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