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Gene-editing (also known as genome-editing or
genome-engineering) is a set of novel techniques that are used for
manipulating the genome of an organism at desired locations. The
most popular gene-editing systems are meganucleases (MNs), zinc
finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like
effector-based nucleases (TALENs), and the clustered regularly
interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR/Cas9). All of the
mentioned above gene-editing systems exploit the natural gene
repair mechanisms after double stranded DNA breaks caused by
nucleases.
In agriculture, these techniques are also becoming popularized
as new plant breeding techniques. To date, CRISPR is the most
advanced gene-editing system, however, to overcome its limitations,
scientists are trying to find out other alternatives to this system
as well. Many CRISPR-Cas9 classes and variants are being researched
and exploited for their applications in crop agriculture.
Significant growth in the agriculture biotechnology sector is
expected in the coming decade, which will be dominated by the
gene-editing sector. Although transgenic crops are the most adopted
agriculture technology with 191.7 million hectares of area covered
under biotech crops in 2017, the technology is being criticized by
the end consumers. Also, high costs and lengthy regulatory
procedures are constraining the growth of this segment.
The perception of gene-edited crops as natural products by many
countries is making them an easy substitute for transgenic crops.
USDA's 2018 decision on not regulating the plants developed through
traditional and new plant breeding techniques, if they are not
plant pests or developed using plant pests, has opened the
prospects of growth for gene-editing technology markets in the
agriculture sector.
Owing to the need for higher yields, federal governments all
over the world are becoming more open to the adoption of
gene-edited agricultural products. However, potential regulatory
requirements, environmental and ethical concerns, and consumer
acceptance might stall the growth of gene-edited crops in certain
regions of the world, such as the European Union.
The potential benefits of gene-editing in crop agriculture can
be broadly categorized as improved nutrition and greater
productivity. The private sector is mainly focusing on improvement
of maize, soybean, canola, cotton, rice, and wheat crops using
gene-editing technologies. As of 2019, among large agriculture
biotechnology firms, Corteva Agriscience (previously, an
agriculture division of Dow DuPont) is leading with around 65
patent applications in genome editing in agriculture at the World
Intellectual Property Organization.
The future looks bright. The agricultural gene-editing
technologies market was worth US$ 321.89 million in 2019 and is
expected to reach US$ 1446.14 million by 2024, witnessing a CAGR of
35.05%.
The NAFTA region dominates the market with 78% of the global
market share. With the presence of 12 gene-editing companies, the
United States forms the hub for the agricultural gene-editing
industry. APAC is the second largest market with 12% of the market
share. LATAM and EMEA accounts for 6% and 4% of the market shares,
respectively.
By product type, the agricultural gene-editing technology market
could be segmented into seeds, food products and technology/trait
licensing. In 2019, technology/trait licensing formed the largest
segment with a size of $193.13 million. The market for gene-edited
seeds is expected to flourish particularly in the US and Canada
over the coming decade.
Our latest report covers the market for gene editing
technologies, including market drivers and constraints,
regulations, patents, companies, market estimates and
forecasting.
