Is CRISPR the solution to controlling the pest plaguing California’s wine industry? In this episode, we take you to a lab where researchers are using CRISPR to genetically modify a frightening insect responsible for spreading a bacteria and killing vines.

Clarification: While Dr. Tim Martinson holds healthy skepticism about the hype around CRISPR technology now, he acknowledges that it's just starting to be used and he believes it will become a valuable tool – one of many in a grape breeder’s toolbox.  

Resources

• To learn more about wine grape breeding techniques, we highly recommend reading up on Dr. Tim Martinson's research on the subject here and here.

Interviews

• Dr. Tim Martinson, Senior Extension Associate (retired), School of Integrative Plant Science, Horticulture Section, Cornell AgriTech
• Dr. Peter Atkinson, Professor of Entomology, University of California, Riverside
• Dr. Linda Walling, Professor and Geneticist, Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside

Credits

A CRISPR Bite is supported by the Jean Monnet Network, which is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union through the GEAP-3 Network of scientists. More about our project here. This podcast does not reflect the views of our funders. 

This podcast was co-written and hosted by Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr. Our executive producer is Corinne Ruff. She co-wrote, edited and produced the show. Jake Harper edited this episode. The show was sound designed and engineered by Adriene Lilly. Aaron Crossland made our theme music. Rachael Marr designed our logo.  Legal support from New Media Rights and marketing help from Tink Media. 

Thank you to the GEAP-3 team! Special thanks to Matthew Schnurr, Klara Fischer, and Glenn Stone for their support and advice on this podcast. 

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