Genome-edited tree crops: mind the socioeconomic implementation gap

Manuel Toledo-Hernández; Tonya Allen Lander; Chen Bao; Kabin Xie; Acheampong Atta-Boateng; Thomas Cherico Wanger

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2021.08.007

Genome-edited tree crops: mind the socioeconomic implementation gap

Trends Ecol Evol. 2021 Nov;36(11):972-975. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.08.007. Epub 2021 Sep 6.

Authors

Manuel Toledo-Hernández¹, Tonya Allen Lander², Chen Bao³, Kabin Xie⁴, Acheampong Atta-Boateng⁵, Thomas Cherico Wanger⁶

Affiliations

¹ Sustainability, Agriculture, and Technology Laboratory, School of Engineering, Westlake University, China; Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang Province, China; Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Germany; GlobalAgroforestryNetwork.org, China. Electronic address: mtoledo@gwdg.de.
² Christ Church College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³ Sustainability, Agriculture, and Technology Laboratory, School of Engineering, Westlake University, China; Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang Province, China.
⁴ National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
⁵ School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁶ Sustainability, Agriculture, and Technology Laboratory, School of Engineering, Westlake University, China; Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang Province, China; Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Germany; GlobalAgroforestryNetwork.org, China. Electronic address: tomcwanger@gmail.com.

PMID: 34503839
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.08.007

Abstract

The discussion about CRISPR/Cas genome editing is focused mostly on technical aspects to improve productivity and climate resilience in major tree crops such as cocoa, coffee, and citrus. We suggest a solution to the largely ignored socioeconomic impacts for farmers, when new genome-edited varieties are introduced from the laboratory to the field.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas genome editing; agricultural diversification; agroforestry; research implementation; smallholder farming; tree crops.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

CRISPR-Cas Systems*
Genome, Plant
Plants, Genetically Modified / genetics
Socioeconomic Factors
Trees*