USDA's revised biotechnology regulation's contribution to increasing agricultural sustainability and responding to climate change.

Biotechnology can provide a valuable tool to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals and U.S. initiatives to find climate solutions and improve agricultural sustainability.

Revisions to USDA biotechnology regulations: The SECURE rule.

In keeping with the directive in Executive Order 13874 (Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products) to adopt regulatory approaches that are proportionate to risk and avoid arbitrary distinctions across like products, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) revised its biotechnology regulations by promulgating the Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, and Efficient (SECURE) rule. Specifically, the SECURE rule 1) establishes exemptions for plants modified by genetic engineering where the modification could otherwise have been made through conventional breeding, 2) uses risk posed by the introduced trait to determine whether an organism is regulated, rather than relying on whether the organism was developed using a plant pest, and 3) provides a mechanism for a rapid initial review to efficiently distinguish plants developed using genetic engineering that do not pose plausible pathways to increased plant pest risk from those that do. As a result of the focused oversight on potentially riskier crops developed using genetic engineering, USDA is expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its oversight program.

Canonical signal recognition particle components can be bypassed for posttranslational protein targeting in chloroplasts.

The chloroplast signal recognition particle (cpSRP) and its receptor (cpFtsY) target proteins both cotranslationally and posttranslationally to the thylakoids. This dual function enables cpSRP to utilize its posttranslational activities for targeting a family of nucleus-encoded light-harvesting chlorophyll binding proteins (LHCPs), the most abundant membrane proteins in plants. Previous in vitro experiments indicated an absolute requirement for all cpSRP pathway soluble components.