Some Thoughts on CRISPR-Cas9 Genetic Modification

Genetic modification/engineering in society is hotly debated upon. The basis of these debates lie in the ethicality of genetic engineering: what are we really eating if it’s not natural? Moving away from the bio-genetic engineering this post will focus on the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology pioneered by Doudna and Charpentier (2014).

This summer gone, I saw an intriguing Panorama episode on CRISPR–Cas9 in layman terms CRISPR is a gene editing technology that allows the replacement of DNA base codes with another, or completely cut it out (figure 1). The geographer in me began to think and research about this gene editing tool in the context of climate change! This post is the culmination of my thoughts and research and will focus on the ability of crop modification through the CRISPR-Cas9 technology and the environmental benefits and consequences this has for climate change. Song et al (2016) praise the CRISPR-Cas9 technology for being ‘simple, economical and versatile’, they further identify the application for the technique in crop and agricultural genome editing, to improve a multitude of factors in crops.

Figure 1. CRISPR technology (Source: Business Insider)

There are a multitude of different impacts and effects of climate change in the world today, disease, floods, droughts and rising population and food resources etc. all which undoubtedly affect human well-being and activity. With CRISPER-Cas9 there is the ability to address agricultural issues (Lefferts 2016) which can then in turn help to resolve the above issues that are intricately woven with climate change. The use of gene editing in crops can essentially cut out the middle man: pesticides. The use of pesticides in the agricultural industry have borne a multitude of sins for the environment: eutrophication, water quality issues and consequential decline of untargeted species.

Of course, there are many issues attached with the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, using it can have consequential effects on ecological trophic cascades. Ethicality is also a large role player in my hesitance to 100% invest my support in the technique. But it should be said and considered that this technology has the ability to mitigate some very important climate change impacts like drought resistant crops and so on.

Let me know what you think about CRISPR-Cas9. Would YOU eat anything genetically modified in this fashion?