CRISPR/Cas9 is a technique of genome editing, with which the genetic material of plants can be specifically cut up and thereby modified. The method makes it possible to go to exactly the right place in the genome of a plant and cut the DNA double strand. In this context, one speaks of precision breeding or “gene scissors”.

This process only accelerates what is constantly happening in nature anyway: Mutations, small changes in the genetic material, the genome, are produced. Especially in crops that are cultivated in very large numbers, statistically every single position of the genetic material is mutated in every cultivation season. Moreover, natural mutations occur much more frequently than researchers induce them through genome editing. To emphasise the similarity to spontaneous mutations, the term targeted mutagenesis rather than genome editing is more purposeful, since in both DNA is first damaged and then repaired by the cell's machinery. If the repair is faulty, a mutation results.

In principle, the mechanism works in the same way as with natural mutations or conventional breeding by means of mutagenesis - only in a more targeted and time-saving way. Plants can be made more robust against environmental influences such as pests, diseases or climatic changes without losing their existing properties. Popular fruit varieties like Gala, traditional wine grapes like Merlot and Pinot or popular potato varieties like Bintje, which are no longer cultivated because of their susceptibility, benefit from this. Thanks to this process, the use of pesticides can be reduced to a minimum. The method will contribute to meeting future challenges in agriculture and should be able to play out its advantages in Switzerland as well. Due to the worldwide population growth, production and the efficiency of agriculture must be increased. At the same time, the impact on people and the environment must be kept as low as possible.

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 for their development of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors.