Belgium Grants Permits for New Field Trials of 3 Genome-Edited Maize

Federal authorities in Belgium have granted permission for the conduct of three new field trials for genome-edited maize. In these new trials, VIB scientists hope to confirm that the genome-edited maize plants are more resilient to climate stress and better digestible when exposed to actual field conditions.

The approved field trials will be conducted in close collaboration with the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) and are part of research projects running at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology. The field trials will be conducted over three years.

The maize plants in these studies are developed using CRISPR-Cas9, and the field trials were authorized by three federal ministers for Health, Environment, and Agriculture based on the favorable opinions of the Biosafety Advisory Council.

For more details, read the article in VIB News.