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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Author Spotlight: Streamlining Rice Breeding with CRISPR/Cas for Obtaining Optimal Phenotypic and Agronomic Traits
Published on: January 3, 2025
The economics and policy of genome editing in crop improvement
Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes1, Christopher Willig2, Kenneth Zahringer1
1Division of Applied Social Sciences, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Abstract:
In this review article we analyze the economics of genome editing and its potential long-term effect on crop improvement and agriculture. We describe the emergence of genome editing as a novel platform for crop improvement, distinct from the existing platforms of plant breeding and genetic engineering. We review key technical characteristics of genome editing and describe how it enables faster trait development, lower research and development costs, and the development of novel traits not possible through previous crop improvement methods. Given these fundamental technical and economic advantages, we describe how genome editing can greatly increase the productivity and broaden the scope of crop improvement with potential outsized economic effects. We further discuss how the global regulatory policy environment, which is still emerging, can shape the ultimate path of genome editing innovation, its effect on crop improvement, and its overall socioeconomic benefits to society.
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