Scientists have recently developed a new gene-editing tool that could potentially revolutionize the productivity of rice crops. Dubbed “CRISPR-Cas12a,” this tool is a modified version of the popular CRISPR-Cas9 system, which has already been used to make numerous improvements to plant genomes. With CRISPR-Cas12a, scientists are now able to edit multiple sites in the genome at once, making it easier to insert multiple genes into a single rice cell. This could potentially lead to increased crop yields, as well as more drought- and pest-resistant varieties of rice. The potential of this new gene-editing tool is exciting and could be a huge boon to the world’s food supply.

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source: Phys.org