Crispr-edited crop research could be crippled by European court ruling

A photograph of a wheat field

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Warnings that European court’s decision will setback crop biotechnology for a decade

Plant scientists have reacted with shock, even anger, to the July decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on gene editing. The court ruled that any gene edited plant was a genetically modified organism (GMO) and fell under onerous 2001 EU regulations. Researchers are now warning that the ECJ ruling could cripple European funding for Crispr–Cas9 gene editing in crop science.