Researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Organisation (Embrapa) have developed the first gene-edited sugarcane varieties that are considered non-transgenic. The Flex I and Flex II sugarcane varieties offer higher cell wall digestibility and higher concentration of sucrose in plant tissues increasing the access of enzymes to sugars contained within the cell and facilitating the production of ethanol and extraction of other bioproducts.

The Flex I sugarcane variety is the result of the silencing of the gene responsible for the rigidity of the plant’s cell walls. This structural modification has demonstrated increased digestibility, as enzymes have more access to break down the cell wall during enzymatic hydrolysis. The Flex II variety was generated by silencing a gene in the plant tissue, causing an increase in the production of sucrose.