Letter to the Editor: The World’s First CRISPR Tomato Launched to a Japanese Market: The Social-Economic Impact of its Implementation on Crop Genome Editing
Hiroshi Ezura
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins 9) technology was awarded the Nobel Prize 8 years after its initial publication, which represents unprecedented speed. Genome editing (GE) is featured as a technology for rapid plant breeding, and CRISPR/Cas9 technology is attracting attention due to its convenience and editing efficiency. On 11 December 2020, notification was given to the Japanese government of the first GE tomato containing a high level of GABA (ɣ-aminobutyric acid), which is well known for its human health-promoting benefits, and developed using this technology (Waltz 2022). By 12 May 2021, a venture company launched from the University of Tsukuba, Sanatech Seed Co. Ltd., had begun providing seedlings to 4,200 home gardeners free of charge to monitor cultivation. Subsequently, on 15 September 2021, online sales of GE tomato fruits began. This was the first agricultural product in the world to be launched using CRISPR/Cas9 technology....