Researchers from the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)
Balcarce in Argentina were able to modify the gene that causes browning in
potatoes.

According to Sergio Feingold, director of INTA's Agrobiotechnology
Laboratory, using CRISPR-Cas9 they were able to generate a gene editing
machinery within a potato cell that specifically targets the chosen gene and
changes its genetic sequence. They focused on the polyphenol oxidase gene,
which causes browning in potatoes when they are cut and exposed to air.

"This achievement is the basis of new breeding techniques that allow us to
do the same thing that was done for years through conventional breeding, but
more quickly and accurately," Feingold said.

[inta.gob.ar]
ga-negra