New plant breeding techniques and their regulatory implications: An opportunity to advance metabolomics approaches

Over the previous decades, biotechnological innovations have led to improved agricultural productivity, more nutritious foods and lower chemical usage. Both in western societies and Low Medium Income Countries (LMICs). However, the projected increases in the global population, means the production of nutritious food stuffs must increase dramatically. Building on existing genetic modification technologies a series of New Plant Breeding Technologies (NPBT) has recently emerged. These approaches include, Agro-infiltration, grafting, cis and intragenesis and gene editing technologies. How these new techniques should be regulated has fostered considerable debate. Concerns have also been raised, to ensure over-regulation does not arise, creating administrative and economic burden. In this article the existing landscape of genetically modified crops is reviewed and the potential of several New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBT) described. Metabolomics is an omic technology that has developed in a concurrent manner with biotechnological advances in plant breeding. There is potentially further opportunities to advance our metabolomic technologies to characterise the outputs of New Plant Breeding Technologies, in a manner that is beneficial both from an academic, biosafety and industrial perspective.

Automated summary

This article reviews the impact of biotechnological innovations on agricultural productivity, food nutrition, and chemical usage, introduces new plant breeding technologies, and discusses how they should be regulated to avoid unnecessary burden. It also highlights the potential of metabolomics technology in characterizing the outputs of new plant breeding technologies, beneficial from academic, biosafety, and industrial perspectives.