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Gene Editing for Growth: How CRISPR Could Redefine Africa’s Agricultureral Landscape
While Morocco has yet to embrace CRISPR, early research is underway at UM6P. Professor Valentine Otang Ntui believes the technology could position the country as a leader in genome editing in North Africa.
Rabat - Africa is grappling with severe food insecurity in the wake of consecutive droughts, climate change, and ongoing conflicts, which are affecting millions across the continent.
According to the United Nations, global hunger has sharply increased in recent years, especially in Africa. The organization projects more than 582 people to be “chronically undernourished” by 2030, more than half of them in Africa.
To combat these challenges, governments, researchers, and international organizations are implementing various strategies to enhance agricultural resilience and improve food security.
These efforts include innovative farming techniques, improved soil fertility, and the development of climate-resilient crops. They also include investments in irrigation, sustainable land management, and better access to seeds, fertilizers, and financial resources. Adopting advanced agricultural technologies to increase crop yields is a key component of these solutions.
Among these approaches is CRISPR, a gene editing technology used to make precise changes to the DNA of plants and animals. Morocco World News spoke with Valentine Otang Ntui, an associate professor of genome editing at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), who shared his insights about the technology and its potential to address the continent’s food security issues.
He explained that CRISPR falls under the broader field of genome editing, which is used to help organisms adapt to environmental challenges like climate change. In nature, genetic changes occur over time, which leads to different traits in plants and animals.
However, some genetic elements can make organisms more vulnerable to diseases. CRISPR works by identifying these specific elements and modifying them so that they no longer contribute to disease susceptibility. This process enhances the plant or animal’s ability to survive under harsh conditions by mimicking natural genetic changes but at a much faster pace in the lab.
“With CRISPER, instead of taking several years for those changes to occur naturally, we can now make them occur much faster in the laboratory so that the plant can withstand those environmental stresses,” Ntui told MWN.
Unlike traditional genetic engineering, which introduces foreign genes from other organisms, CRISPR works only with the organism’s own DNA, the professor explained. It acts like molecular “scissors” that cuts specific parts of the DNA to improve characteristics like disease resistance and adaptability to harsh environments, he added.
This means that the final product does not contain any foreign genes, which makes it more similar to plants and animals that have evolved naturally or through traditional breeding or mutation breeding. The fact that CRISPR only edits existing genes within the same organism makes it faster, more precise, and free from foreign DNA, Ntui explained.
CRISPR in Banana farming
Speaking about real-world application of CRISPR to improve crops, the professor discussed the different genome editing strategies he developed for bananas, a major staple food in East Africa. He conducted this research under the guidance of Doctor Leena Tripathi, Director, East African hub, at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nairobi, Kenya, where she leads transgenic and gene-editing research.
One of the biggest threats to banana farming in the region is Banana Xanthomonas Wilt, Ntui says. It is a bacterial disease that can wipe out entire banana fields and cause up to 100% crop loss. To solve this problem, Ntui and his team used CRISPR to identify and remove a specific gene in the banana plant that helps the bacteria infect it.
When they tested the edited bananas in the greenhouse, they found that the CRISPR-generated plants were resistant to the disease, while the unedited ones became infected.
CRISPR has also been used to improve plantains, a type of banana widely grown in West Africa, Ntui noted. He explained that plantains suffer from a viral disease that stays dormant in the plant’s DNA and only activates under “unfavorable conditions” like drought or heat.
But once the virus becomes active, it weakens the plant and makes it sick before eventually killing it. Scientists at IITA used CRISPR to inactivate the virus from the plantain’s DNA and when they tested the edited plants under drought conditions, they remained healthy.
“We were able to successfully use CRISPR to make plantain not fall sick in the presence of the virus,” Ntui remarked.
The revolutionary potential of CRISPR has not gone unnoticed in the global scientific community. In 2020, scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology.
CRISPR-Cas9, often referred to as “genetic scissors,” works by utilizing a natural defense mechanism found in bacteria, where it cuts DNA at specific locations. Charpentier and Doudna realized that this CRISPR-Cas9 system could be adapted to cut DNA in plants, animals, and humans and figured out how to program the Cas9 protein to target specific stretches of the genetic code.
Their research enabled the adaptation of this mechanism for use in gene editing with high precision.
Addressing Africa’s ‘hidden hunger’
Ntui pointed out that another major challenge Africa faces is “hidden hunger,” a form of malnutrition in which people consume enough food to feel full but lack essential nutrients needed to maintain good health.
“ Hidden hunger is one of the major issues that is affecting a lot of people in Africa, especially in sub Saharan Africa,” he lamented. Many African diets are starch-heavy but deficient in vital micronutrients like iron, Zinc, protein, and vitamin A, which leads to health problems such as blindness, anemia, and complications during pregnancy.
Many of the continent’s population rely on what they produce and cannot afford diverse diets, Ntui deplored. As such “CRISPR can be used to increase the nutritional content of those plants.”
This means CRISPR offers a promising solution by enhancing the nutrient content of common crops like rice, wheat, sorghum, potato, yam, and bananas. This would help ensure that those with limited access to a varied diet receive essential vitamins and minerals.
In Japan, CRISPR-edited tomatoes are available that could lower blood pressure. This is the first gene-edited product to enter the market. The tomatoes were edited to contain high amounts of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which can help lower blood pressure and promote relaxation.
CRISPR can also help reduce food wastage by extending the shelf life of crops, Ntui explained. Many farmers in Africa struggle with poor storage facilities, which causes harvested produce to spoil quickly before reaching the market, but CRISPR can be used to produce crops that will last longer allowing farmers more time to sell their produce.
For Ntui, CRISPR has the potential to transform African agriculture by tackling major challenges like climate change, drought, and food insecurity. But research alone is not enough, he cautioned, adding that African policymakers should make sure to accompany or supplement it with impactful solutions that directly benefit farmers.
“Our interest is actually not to do the work that will remain in the lab, but to do the work that the farmers will be able to bring to real life… because those are the end users of their product,” he said.
The professor reiterated how CRISPR can increase crop productivity by making plants more resilient to harsh conditions and also help reduce reliance on fertilizers and lower costs for farmers, as they won’t have to spend money on chemicals to protect their crops.
In addition, CRISPR would help protect the environment by reducing chemical pollution caused by excessive pesticide and fertilizer use.
Public perception and misconceptions about CRISPR
When a new technology is introduced, one of the biggest obstacles it usually faces is often public skepticism. People tend to be cautious, especially when it comes to innovations that involve science and food. CRISPR is no exception, as many people mistakenly classify it under GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), even though the two are fundamentally different.
“Many people feel that because this is done in the lab, then it is almost the same thing as GMO. But they are completely different,” Ntui remarked.
Unlike GMOs, he explained, CRISPR does not introduce foreign DNA into plants. Instead, it makes precise changes to the plant’s existing genes, similar to natural mutations. “CRISPR can produce a final product without any foreign genetic element in it… It is just like a conventionally bred plant or animal,” Ntui added, stressing that strict testing ensures that CRISPR food is safe to consume. He stressed that gene edited products are safe, example can be drawn from GABA tomato in Japan.
The professor also highlighted the importance of better communication to educate the public about CRISPR’s benefits. He compared it to early misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines, where misinformation led to fear and rejection of life-saving technology.
“There was not much communication to make people understand the benefits, the advantages, and the importance of GMOs. But now that CRISPR has come… I think we should not be left behind in Africa,” he said.
The future of CRISPR in Africa
When asked about the future of CRISPR in Africa over the next 10 years, Ntui said he believes the technology will revolutionize agriculture on the continent, provided the necessary support is in place. “I actually see [CRISPR] as a major tool that will transform agriculture in Africa, if only we embrace it.”
Countries like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and Burkina Faso have already developed regulations to support CRISPR research. However, more investment in research, the training of scientists, and regulatory frameworks is needed, Ntui argued.
Meanwhile, North African countries like Morocco have yet to adopt guidelines for the technology. Still, early-phase research is already happening in Morocco. Otang Ntui is working on developing virus-resistant tomatoes using CRISPR alongside students. He hopes that as more projects emerge, Morocco will take a leadership role in genome editing in North Africa.
“We are looking forward to actually doing some good work with CRISPR in Morocco and maybe put Morocco in that position of one of the countries leading genome editing in North Africa,” the professor concluded with hope.
