Gene-edited crops, EU NGT law
In the EU, gene-edited plants with changes that could also arise by breeding will be treated like conventional crops under a regulation adopted in June 2026.
Open in the interactive tree →CRISPR allows precise edits without inserting foreign DNA. Japan launched a gene-edited high-GABA tomato in 2021. The EU's New Genomic Techniques regulation sorts edited plants into category 1 (comparable to conventional breeding, exempt from GMO rules apart from seed labelling) and category 2 (more complex changes, still under GMO rules with authorisation, traceability and labelling).
As of October 2026
The European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2026/1388 on 17 June 2026, after the Commission proposed it in 2023; it entered into force on 16 July 2026 and applies from 17 July 2028. Practical effects for breeders and farmers will therefore only appear from mid-2028. Category 1 excludes herbicide-tolerant plants, and category 2 plants are barred from organic production and can be opted out of by member states.
Open steps
- Predicting gene-editor hits in crops High AI leveragePredict guide-RNA on-target efficiency and off-target activity in crop genomes before transformation, reducing failed edits and breeding cycles.
- Novel Cas via protein models High AI leverageUse protein language models to design Cas enzymes with targeting rules different from SpCas9, expanding the editable genome space.
- Mining pangenomes for high-impact edits Medium AI leverageLink natural variants in crop pangenomes to yield, drought and disease traits, so editors can prioritize which mutations matter.
Where AI could help
Medium AI leverage. AI speeds editor and trait-gene design, but the EU rules apply only from July 2028 and every edited variety still needs breeding and field trials.
- Predict guide-RNA activity and off-target edits in crop genomes before transformation
- Design or pick Cas editors with different targeting rules using protein language models
- Mine pangenomes and trait data to choose edits for heat, disease or yield gains
- Check whether a given edit could also arise by conventional breeding
Shown so far
- In July 2025, Nature published OpenCRISPR-1, a gene editor designed with language models (Profluent-led) that edited human cells with activity comparable to SpCas9; it was not tested in crops. source