CRISPR Chardonnay – Italy Doubles Up

The University of Verona’s edited vines are already in the field, and soon it could be the turn of the Edmund Mach Foundation and CREA-CNR. Once again, the focus is on Chardonnay, edited to resist downy mildew (with a double knock-out approach) or powdery mildew. I spoke with the key figures of this new chapter in Italian research: Mario Pezzotti, Sara Zenoni, Umberto Salvagnin, Riccardo Velasco, and Vittoria Brambilla. Returning to write for Nature Biotechnology is a joy for me, especially because this time, Italy is leading the way in innovation rather than holding it back, as in the past. Prosit!

CRISPR vines make their field debut in Italy

Testing of Chardonnay edited to resist downy mildew starts today near Verona, while the prosecco variety awaits its turn in the greenhouse

The president of the influential farmers’ association Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini, formerly very hostile to GMOs, as he plants an edited vine with his own hands in the Verona experimental field on Sept. 30, 24
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