ABSTRACT Drought events can have a devastating impact on agriculture, and due to climate change, such extreme events are expected to become more frequent. Sugarcane plays a critical role in the Brazilian economy by producing sugar and bioethanol, contributing positively to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Although sugarcane is considered resilient to drought, this stress remains the primary abiotic factor reducing sugar and biomass yields. Here, we describe the role of a sugarcane gene, ScTpx2, which is induced by drought in sugarcane leaves under field conditions. When overexpressed in Arabidopsis, ScTpx2 enhanced plant survival under extreme water deficit and improved performance under mild stress conditions, which better represent field scenarios. We subsequently overexpressed the ScTpx2 gene in sugarcane plants. After 10 days of water deficit at 30% field capacity in a greenhouse, net photosynthesis in ScTpx2-overexpressing lines (ScTpx2OE) was 12–23% higher than in wild-type plants. While malondialdehyde (MDA) content, a marker of oxidative stress, increased by 129% in wild-type plants under water deficit, in ScTpx2OE plants, the increase ranged from 20% to 107%. Additionally, the vascular bundles and xylem areas were larger in ScTpx2OE compared to WT. These findings suggest that the ScTpx2 protein influences the development of the vascular system, thereby improving water transport efficiency. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of the ScTpx2 gene mitigates the effects of water deficit in sugarcane, offering promising opportunities for biotechnological applications in developing drought-tolerant commercial cultivars.

ABSTRACT Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have often divided public opinion, one factor influencing perceptions of GMO technologies has been misunderstood or poorly communicated scientific messaging. However, advancements in gene editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9 offer new crop modification possibilities, prompting different regulatory frameworks than traditional GMO technologies. This research examines public understanding of GMOs, awareness of CRISPR crops, and how prior experiences with GMOs shape perceptions of new genetic technologies. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a public survey of adults in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton area and interviews with science journalists. Results show hesitance toward GMOs and CRISPR crops, with acceptance most impacted by consumer behavior and cost. Key interview themes include journalist’s concerns about levels of public education, the role of social media, and the cost of goods. Our findings suggest increased transparency and effective communication could improve public acceptance of GMOs and CRISPR crops. While CRISPR crops do not come under the GMO regulatory framework in Canada, our findings show that the public does not recognize this distinction. Without increased transparency and more effective communication CRISPR crops may become widely associated with the negative media frames that have shaped perceptions of GMOs.

ABSTRACT Climate change-driven single and combined abiotic stresses pose escalating threats to sustainable, climate-smart agriculture and global food security. Melatonin (MLT, a powerful plant biostimulant) has established noteworthy potential in improving stress tolerance by regulating diverse physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses. Therefore, this review delivers a comprehensive synopsis of MLT-enabled omics responses across genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, miRNAomics, epigenomics, phenomics, ionomics, and microbiomics levels that collectively regulate plant adaptation to multiple abiotic stresses. We also highlight the crosstalk between these omics layers and the power of integrated multi-omics (panomics) approaches to harness the complex regulatory networks underlying MLT-enabled stress tolerance. Lastly, we argue for translating these omics insights into actionable strategies through advanced genetic engineering and synthetic biology platforms to develop MLT-enabled, stress-smart crop plants.

ABSTRACT The systematic evaluation of the safety and environmental impact associated with genetically modified (GM) crops is currently underway within the scientific community, with a particular focus on their effects on the gut microbiota, which plays a vital role in host health. In this study, we compared the effects of a non-GM rapeseed cultivar with those of an herbicide-resistant GM rapeseed cultivar containing the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase gene on the gut bacterial community of Eisenia fetida. The 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and data analysis showed no significant differences in gut bacterial community composition or diversity between E. fetida fed GM rapeseed and those fed non-GM rapeseed. Principal component analysis indicated that, rather than plant type, external factors influenced the community structure. Polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed no evidence of horizontal gene transfer from GM rapeseed to microbes or earthworms. Overall, GM rapeseed had a negligible effect on gut microorganisms and did not significantly alter the gut bacterial community of E. fetida.

ABSTRACT Allergenicity risk has been one of the safety concerns for genetically modified (GM) crops that are generated using modern biotechnologies. When there is the presence of endogenous allergens in a host crop, one question is often raised if genetic modification could increase their allergenicity risk. In this study, lipid transfer protein (LTP), the major endogenous allergen in maize, was measured and compared between various GM maize with their non-GM control as well as non-GM, commercial maize varieties. The results showed LTP levels have no meaningful difference in GM maize, and the LTP levels observed in GM maize were well encompassed within the potential natural variation range from non-GM maize varieties. Therefore, such endogenous LTP quantitation comparison in GM and non-GM control maize does not bring valuable information to the safety assessment of GM maize.

ABSTRACT New Breeding Technologies (NBTs), particularly gene editing, are reshaping the global competitive landscape of the seed industry and providing technological support for ensuring food security and advancing the green transformation of agriculture. This study aims to assess China’s distinctive position within the global regulatory spectrum of NBTs, an intermediary status between the European Union’s process-based model and the product-based model adopted by countries such as the United States and Argentina. Building on this, the article constructs an institutional analysis framework centered on the agricultural industry chain, encompassing four critical stages: research and development collaboration; biosafety assessment and administrative licensing; intellectual property and plant breeders’ rights protection; and consumer perception and labeling governance. Through comparative legal analysis and an examination of the entire chain, the study systematically reveals the institutional challenges confronting China’s commercialization of NBTs. These challenges include: weak mechanisms for linking the interests of industry, academia, and research institutions; path dependence on approval procedures rooted in traditional genetic modification logic; plant variety protection and relief mechanisms that fail to respond promptly to the technical attributes of NBTs; and consumer distrust driven by the interplay between qualitative labeling and risk narratives. In response, four key areas of reform are proposed: strengthening benefit-sharing and collaborative innovation mechanisms; introducing differentiated, risk-proportionate review pathways for low-risk gene-edited crops; improving breeders’ rights and substantive derived variety rules, complemented by punitive damages and insurance mechanisms; and reforming risk communication and labeling systems by adopting quantitative thresholds and tiered information disclosure as the core principles.

ABSTRACT In Brazilian eucalyptus farms, the brown looper caterpillar (Thyrinteina arnobia) causes severe defoliation and up to 40% reduction in biomass production. In controlling T. arnobia, transgenic eucalyptus event 1521K059 was developed to produce the Cry1Ab, Cry1Bb, and Cry2Aa pesticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. We performed bioassays with leaf material from eucalyptus events and the purified individual pesticidal proteins to establish susceptibility in T. arnobia larvae, and competition binding assays with the three Cry proteins and midgut brush border membrane vesicles of T. arnobia. The results from bioassays support high toxicity against T. arnobia for all three Cry proteins and that eucalyptus event 1521K059 is a high-dose event for T. arnobia. Lack of competition between the three Cry proteins supports that event 1521K059 is a pyramided trait. These observations support the high activity of eucalyptus event 1521K059 against T. arnobia larvae and a low risk of resistance evolution.

ABSTRACT This paper estimates the annual global carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions from the manufacture, distribution and farm level use of glyphosate and estimates the annual contribution of glyphosate to reducing CO2e emissions through its role in facilitating a shift in farming production practices that are tillage-based into conservation tillage systems based on reduced and no tillage. Total annual global use of glyphosate is 749.27 million kg of active ingredient, applied to 646.11 million (spray) hectares. The CO2e emission generated from the manufacture, distribution and application of glyphosate in global agriculture is annually 9.76 billion kg. The total global combined annual fuel and soil carbon retention-related CO2e emissions of conservation tillage are a net reduction of −138.2 billion kg CO2e. This compares with +41.47 billion kg CO2e emissions if this area had been plowed with conventional tillage practices. Therefore, conservation tillage practices provide a net reduction in combined annual fuel and increased soil carbon retention-related emissions of −179.67 billion kg CO2e relative to a conventional plow-based alternative production system. The total global combined annual fuel and soil carbon retention-related CO2e emissions of conservation tillage attributable to glyphosate is estimated at a net reduction of −41.93 billion kg CO2e. This compares with +13.01 billion CO2e emissions if this area had been plowed, providing a net reduction in combined fuel and soil carbon-related emissions attributable to glyphosate of −54.94 billion kg CO2e annually or the equivalent of taking 21.8 million cars off the road each year.

ABSTRACT Gene editing (GEd) technologies are rapidly transforming agricultural biotechnology; however, their regulatory treatment remains ambiguous under international instruments such as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), which was originally developed for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This regulatory uncertainty creates challenges for product developers and regulators. This study critically examines the role of the Precautionary Principle (PP) in governing emerging genetic technologies. While the PP underpins the CPB, its interpretation, particularly in the European Union, has been criticized for creating legal barriers that have delayed the adoption of beneficial technologies. In contrast, a Principle-Based Approach (PBA) provides a more adaptive governance framework, grounded in high-level principles that enable flexibility with evolving scientific evidence. Through a review of global regulatory trends, this study identifies jurisdictional challenges and contrasts the theoretical and practical implications of the PP and PBA. It concludes with policy recommendations advocating a hybrid model integrating precaution and principle-based flexibility.

ABSTRACT In the European Union, the food and feed containing more than 0.9% of approved genetically modified organisms (GMOs) per ingredient must be labeled before placed on the market. In this legislative context, the official control laboratories have to perform validated PCR assays, according to the principles and requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 standard, regarding event-specific methods for the detection, identification and quantification of GMOs. In recent years, with the advent of digital PCR (dPCR) techniques, a growing number of laboratories have transferred the previously validated real-time PCR testings into a dPCR format. Compared to real-time PCR, the dPCR offers the advantage to provide accurate quantification without the need for external calibration samples, show less sensitivity to PCR inhibitors and is more suitable for multiplexing. In this study, an in-house validation of quantitative duplex dPCR methods was performed involving MON-04032–6 and MON89788 assays with the lectin reference gene, on the two different platforms Bio-Rad QX200 and Qiagen QIAcuity. All evaluated data and the validation parameters agree with the acceptance criteria validation performance parameters according to the JRC Guidance documents and technical reports in both platforms. The duplex PCR methods here investigated are equivalent in terms of performance to the singleplex real-time PCR method and suitable to perform a collaborative trial for a full validation.