CRISPR Cas9 system for plant genome editing within the European Union

Abstract: CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat) Cas9 systems is a novel technique for genome editing. In this thesis a start-up attempt using CRISPR Cas9 to induce site-specific mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana has been made. By this means, a guide RNA sequence targeting the specific site of interest has been created, amplified and ligated into a vector containing a pcoCas9-expression cassette. The work performed shows that the CRISPR Cas9 method is easy to set up. This thesis also evaluates the current EU legislation on genetically modified organisms and the impact of extending it to CRISPR Cas9 as well as seven other new plant breeding methods. Subjecting CRISPR Cas9 as well as the majority of the other discussed plant breeding techniques to the EU GMO legislation requires considerable amendment and reworking, as the condition of traceability cannot be met. To avoid making amendments for each new technique that may be developed in the future and to increase legal certainty in this field, this thesis proposes a rewriting of the EU GMO legislation into a technology neutral biosafety legislation. Rather than focusing on the plant breeding techniques used in a particular case, the legislators should define a GMO by the phenotypic criteria an organism displays after induced genetic modification.