Ghent, Belgium
July 8, 2026
A new EU regulation on New Genomic Techniques opens opportunities for faster crop innovation. Professor Laurens Pauwels explains the impact for plant research, breeding companies, and CropFit’s role in bridging science and practice.
Europe Opens the Door to Genome Editing: Now What?
On 17 June 2026, the European Parliament formally adopted the new Regulation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), marking the most significant reform of EU legislation on plant biotechnology in more than two decades. The new framework distinguishes certain genome-edited plants from traditional genetically modified organisms (GMOs), opening the door to faster development of crop varieties that are more resilient to climate change, pests, and diseases. To discuss what this landmark decision means for plant research and crop innovation, we visited Professor Laurens Pauwels, a CropFit member and Professor of Plant Biotechnology at Ghent University, at campus Proeftuin. He leads the Laboratory for Plant Transformation & Gene Editing at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering.
Why is the new NGT regulation an important development for plant research and crop innovation?
Until now, crops developed using genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 were regulated under the same strict rules as transgenic GMOs, even when they contained only small genetic changes that could also have arisen naturally or through conventional breeding. This made bringing many promising innovations to farmers prohibitively slow and expensive, putting European researchers and breeders at a competitive disadvantage compared with countries such as the United States, China and even the United Kingdom. where many genome-edited crops are regulated more proportionately.
Under the new regulation, these simpler genome-edited crops (NGT-1) will face a much lighter regulatory pathway, making it easier for researchers and breeders to develop improved varieties with traits such as disease resistance, climate resilience, higher yields, or reduced pesticide use. However, the reform is only partial: more complex genome-edited plants remain subject to the existing GMO legislation, and some politically sensitive traits, such as herbicide tolerance, continue to be excluded from the simplified pathway. It represents a pragmatic and broadly supported compromise that balances innovation with regulatory oversight.
What are still the main technical bottlenecks for applying genome editing in crops?
Although genome editing itself has become remarkably precise and efficient, several important bottlenecks remain. The first is identifying which genes should be edited to produce useful traits such as disease resistance or improved climate resilience. Plant genomes are complex, and many agronomically important traits are controlled by multiple genes interacting with the environment. A second major challenge is how to introduce these edits into plants. Delivering the editing machinery into plant cells and regenerating whole fertile plants from those edited cells remains difficult for many crop species and elite breeding varieties. Finally, there are practical barriers beyond the science itself. Many of the technologies used for genome editing and plant transformation are protected by intellectual property, which can limit access for breeders and smaller companies. Developing efficient transformation methods and alternative editing technologies that are both effective and accessible will therefore be essential for ensuring that genome editing benefits a wide range of crops and users.
How does your research help address these bottlenecks?
Our research focuses primarily on overcoming the "how" of genome editing. We aim to develop improved methods for delivering genome-editing tools into plant cells and regenerating edited plants, for example by engineering Agrobacterium, nature's own genetic engineer, and by identifying plant genes that make plant transformation more efficient across different crop species and varieties. We also evaluate alternative genome-editing systems, and transformation and regeneration technologies that may reduce dependence on existing patented tools, making these technologies more accessible to both academic researchers and plant breeding companies. By improving the efficiency, versatility, and accessibility of the entire genome-editing pipeline, we aim to help translate scientific discoveries into improved crop varieties more rapidly.
How can CropFit support companies interested in translating these innovations into practical applications?
CropFit provides a bridge between fundamental research and practical applications by connecting companies with the expertise available at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering. Through collaborative projects, we can help identify suitable genome-editing strategies and optimize transformation methods, keeping in mind freedom-to-operate of different technological approaches. Our lab already collaborates with industry through Flemish innovation funding schemes, such as VLAIO Baekeland PhDs and O&O grants, which enable companies to co-develop solutions with academic partners while sharing costs and expertise. A good example is our current VLAIO LA project with Professor Emmy Dhooghe (also CropFit member) and ILVO, in which we are systematically mapping both the technical and intellectual property hurdles that need to be overcome to deploy genome editing in the Flemish ornamental breeding sector. By addressing these challenges together with breeders, we aim to lower the barriers for companies to implement genome-editing technologies in practice.
More information: www.pauwelslab.be
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