Genetically edited oats: Canada opens a new page in grain breeding

writes The Western Producer. According to Professor Yaswinder Singh, modern methods have made it possible to make point-by-point changes to the oat DNA that would have taken years to make using traditional breeding. Since CRISPR technology does not require the integration of foreign genetic material, such crops are potentially more acceptable to society, including consumers who are against GMOs. Scientists expect that new oat varieties will be able to bloom and ripen faster, which is critical for farmers who grow the crop in places where climatic conditions often limit the growing season. “Developing oats that mature earlier or are more cold-tolerant is our contribution to sustainable grain production in regions with short seasons or unpredictable weather,” said Mehtab Singh. CRISPR technology has been known since the early 2010s, but its official implementation in the agricultural sector in many countries took years. It was not until 2024 that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ...