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Plant Gene Editing panel discussion
On 11 September 2019 Michiel de Both (KeyGene) visited the Vikki Plant Science Centre of the University of Helsinki (Finland), to give a seminar as an invited speaker in their seminar series in plant science. The seminar covered genome editing technology in crop plant breeding, as well as the CHIC program, and was attended by ~80 people.
Because of the strong concerns in the Finnish plant science community about the 2018 Court of Justice ruling, the institute organized a panel discussion to debate issues of regulation, IP and science policy related to genome editing.
The panel consisted of a representative of the Finnish seed company Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd., of the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, of Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey of CHIC partner institute VTT, of Michiel de Both on behalf of KeyGene and of Alan Schulman, the current president of the European Plant Science Organization EPSO.
Journalists and politicians present in the audience took part in the discussions, which concluded with the realization that any change in the European regulation must be instigated by the EU member states, supported by informing stakeholders and the general public of the importance of plant breeding and innovation for the European economy.
More news about this project:
What are New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs)?
New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs) are innovative tools that enable plant breeders to develop novel plant varieties that may provide solutions for environmental and food quality as well as food supply challenges.
Are you wondering why this European project is called CHIC?
CHIC is the Chicory Innovation Consortium. Its objective is to implement New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs) in chicory in order to establish it as a multipurpose crop for the production of health-related products.
Postdoctoral position available at Lille University
A postdoctoral position is available in the group Evolutionary genomics of plant mating systems of the Evolution, Ecology, and Paleontology laboratory of the Lille University, directed by Prof Dr Xavier Vekemans.