Disease resistant GM & GE crops: A regulatory trip around the world

Disease resistance has become one of the most important and desirable traits across all cultivated crops, for conventionally-bred, as well as transgenic (GM) and gene-edited (GE) crops. For over two decades, the largest cultivated transgenic crops focused on insect and herbicide resistance. Disease resistance presents a more complex task due to the sheer diversity of pathogens and infection mechanisms. Genome editing offers a precise, efficient, and affordable technique resulting in new GE crops entering regulatory schemes for commercialisation. We aver that the law is not static and must adjust to the mores of society, informed by the experiences of over 25 years of cultivation and regulation of GM crops. This work consolidates the global legislative landscape on GM crops, as well as specifically addressing how GE crops fit into the existing frameworks. Our presentation aims to highlight key regulatory developments that may impact the future of GE research and ultimately, GE products. To this end, countries leading in cultivating and exporting traditional GM crops are quickly adopting disease resistant GE products as non-GMO. This legislative development, first implemented in Argentina, and soon followed by many, demonstrates considerable shifts in the landscape of agrobiotech products. We further illustrate the complex legal frameworks using specific examples of disease challenges such as potato late blight, and possible solutions