Can CRISPR Technology Save Citrus From Greening Disease?

The citrus industry is looking for any solution to cope with the deadly citrus greening disease. Scientists see genetic editing – CRISPR technology in particular — as one potential avenue to rescue Florida’s signature crop. And consumer perceptions of the technology are key.

Bachir Kassas, an Assistant Professor in the UF/IFAS Department of Food and Resource Economics, is working to assess consumer acceptance of biotechnology. This work will help guide scientists, citrus growers, and other industry stakeholders with insights on consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, and preferences for gene editing and modification in citrus.

CRISPR allows scientists to modify DNA by cutting sections of the genetic code. This way, scientists can remove, add or alter genes with goals to make the resulting trees more resistant to disease or, for example, to improve the taste of fruit.

In genetic modification, scientists can modify crops and other organisms by taking genes from one species and inserting them into another to achieve similar goals.

To gauge consumers’ willingness to buy orange juice made from CRISPR-edited citrus, consumers first need to understand the basics of CRISPR.

Kassas already has an idea of consumer knowledge of CRISPR. He conducted focus groups in New York City and Jacksonville in 2021, and he showed a video to them. Even after watching the video, they still didn’t understand the acronym, nor the difference between gene editing and modification.

“Most people think it’s something in a refrigerator,” Kassas says.

Over the next year, Kassas plans to test the effectiveness of different communication formats on consumers’ acceptance and willingness to pay for orange juice produced from citrus developed through genetic modification and CRISPR.

The study, which will be conducted in Gainesville, FL, will present consumers with different formats of a promotional message. It will examine their resulting neurophysiological responses to citrus and biotech stimuli as well as their valuations for orange juice made from citrus grown with and without biotechnology.

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