Scientists have published research suggesting genetic engineering could be used to increase disease resistance in cacao plants . Globally , around 20 - 30 % of cocoa pods are lost to disease each year . Testing on detached leaves , the team at Penn State University , led by Andrew Fister , used the CRISPR - based gene editing tool to knock out a small number of copies of a gene that suppresses the plant 's disease response . "We want to evaluate as many as we can," he said. They found the detached cacao leaves were more resistant . Gene - edited cacao embryos were also created and will be grown to test whether the approach can have the same effect on a whole plant .
Scientists have published research suggesting genetic engineering could be used to increase disease resistance in cacao plants . Globally , around 20 - 30 % of cocoa pods are lost to disease each year . Testing on detached leaves , the team at Penn State University , led by Andrew Fister , used the CRISPR - based gene editing tool to knock out a small number of copies of a gene that suppresses the plant 's disease response . They found the detached cacao leaves were more resistant . Gene - edited cacao embryos were also created and will be grown to test whether the approach can have the same effect on a whole plant .