New Genomic Techniques can help increase the resistance of crops to climate change, reduce the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, and increase the nutritional value of plants. But are scientists and biotechnology companies confident that they control what NGT plants put into the environment? Dr. Marzec, director of the Research Centre for New Genomic Techniques and a professor at the University of Silesia, talks about it in an interview with PAP.

CONTEXT: NEW GENOMIC TECHNIQUES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

New genomic techniques - especially the Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR/Cas-9 and its later variants - enable very precise gene modifications. These methods are so precise that they can be used to change individual, precisely indicated nucleotides in living cells and slightly change the cell's operating program.

NGT AND GMO

Older techniques - which allowed for the creation of GMOs subject to restrictive regulations - were based on introducing large packages of foreign information into the genome, often entire genes. These packages 'attached' to the genome in quite random places and, in addition, they needed fragments of genetic information from viruses or bacteria to work efficiently.

In the case of GMOs, it was a case of randomly adding subsequent 'chapters of the DNA book'. And in NGT - just like in natural mutations - individual 'letters' of the DNA chain are corrected. On to of that, these are specific, carefully selected changes.

LAW IN THE EU

Because there are significant differences between NGTs and GMO techniques, the European Union is working on regulations to introduce and regulate the possibility of growing plants obtained using certain NGTs.

The draft regulation introduces a division into two categories of NGT plants. Category 1 NGTs are techniques that introduce changes to the genome that are so small that they could occur in nature. Such plants, according to the provisions, will be allowed to be grown in the EU on similar terms as new varieties created using classical selection.

Category 2 NGTs would include modifications that are so far-reaching that they could not occur spontaneously in nature (for example, adding genes from one species to another). Category 2 NGTs would be subject to similar restrictions as the cultivation of GMO crops.

In September 2023, Poland presented a negative opinion on this project.

PAP: Europe is planning to allow the cultivation of some NGT plants in agriculture. Why do we need such plants here?

Dr. Marek Marzec: We live in difficult times. There are more and more people, and we have already reached the maximum on Earth when it comes to the possibility of allocating land for cultivation. There are climate changes, droughts, flooding, and the emergence of pathogens in new areas. In addition, due to pollution and biodiversity protection, it is important to conduct agriculture in a sustainable way, which includes, among other things, restrictions on the use of fertilizers and plant protection products.

With NGTs, we can address these problems: deliberately change genes so that the plant becomes more tolerant to drought, resistant to fungal attacks, and has better nutritional values. And to achieve these goals, we are able to use tools that are not random.

PAP: How does the cultivation of NGT plants look in the world?

M.M.: When we look at the world map, Europe, apart from the UK, is a black spot. Field experiments with the first NGT plants are already underway in the UK. Permitting NGTs in Europe is simply catching up with the rest of the world. If we do not allow NGT cultivation here, we are left behind.

And you need to know that each region of the world has different conditions. NGT varieties that perform well in Asia will not perform well here. So we need our own varieties, adapted to our climatic conditions.

The sooner detailed regulations regarding the NGT market are prepared, the better. Currently, some of the NGT plants are indistinguishable from plants obtained using classical methods. Putting NGT crops in the same category as GMOs, and thus making them illegal to grow, can lead to a lot of confusion. For now, there are no regulations that would apply to NGT-1 plants and allow to use their potential

PAP: Do you remember the science-fiction book and movie Jurassic Park? It contains still valid social concerns related to biotechnology. The dinosaur park turned out to be a disaster for several reasons: one of them was the hubris of the scientists. Researchers thought they knew everything about genes. And suddenly, genetically modified dinosaurs began to breed uncontrollably. Could a similar 'out of control project' happen with NGT crops?

M.M.: In Jurassic Park, dinosaurs were 'obtained' thanks to very large genetic modifications - the missing fragments of dinosaur DNA were supplemented with frog genes. In the case of selected new genomic techniques that will be approved for plant cultivation (NGT-1), such serious changes and the introduction of genes from other species into the genome will not occur at all.

The EU project only allows plants with minor genome changes to be placed on the market. These will be plants that could emerge naturally and do not contain any foreign genetic information.

Such random mutations - 'mistakes' of the cellular machinery when copying DNA - are one of the mechanisms leading to evolution, and they occur all the time in all organisms.

Classical cultivation also uses mutations, but random ones: growers rely on luck or expose the seeds to the presence of mutagens - e.g. chemicals or radiation - to make mutations occur faster. And then, for example, out of 10,000 offspring individuals, those with the best characteristics are selected.

Using NGTs, we accelerate and direct certain processes that occur both naturally and in the traditional process of creating new varieties.

PAP: In Jurassic Park the greed of entrepreneurs was also a source of danger. The owner of the park wanted to start making money as soon as possible: he cut costs on safety measures and employees. Could it also happen in the case of NGT that the idealistic ideas of scientists will crash into the harsh market reality? Meaning that instead of varieties resistant to drought or insects, the varieties that will be available for sale will be those that can earn the most money: e.g. those that will need to be fertilized with specific products...

M.M: While such a potential could exist in the case of GMO plants, where the introduction of a specific sequence could change the plant's need for a specific substance, I do not see this potential in NGTs. In the case of the techniques we are talking about, the changes introduced are subtle, they concern single genes and, above all, correspond to those occurring naturally. I cannot imagine how they could be used for nefarious purposes.

Of course, companies that implement new technologies incur increased costs, but they are treated as an investment, because introducing improved varieties to the market will make farmers more willing to use them. And this is the profit from the use of NGTs, the production of better varieties expected by the market, and not those that will require further financial outlays from the farmer. Moreover, it is also worth mentioning that, according to the information regarding work on the approval of NGT for cultivation in the EU, before registering a new NGT variety, it will be necessary to precisely describe what change was introduced and where.

PAP: CRISPR and its variants are very young techniques. How do we know that, in addition to the desired changes, they do not cause any unexpected mutations elsewhere in the genome?

M.M.: The fact that NGT methods are safe is proven by the fact that the FDA has approved gene therapies based on NGT in humans for the treatment of sickle cell anaemia. Since there are no concerns about allowing these techniques to edit the human genome, these techniques are already well researched. NGTs are the future of treating genetic diseases.

When it comes to the use of NGTs in plant cultivation, field tests of the first NGT varieties are already underway in the UK. One of the more famous examples is a tomato variety obtained using NGT, which was approved for sale in Japan in 2021.

PAP: Scientists are often focused only on their area of knowledge and unable to predict the impact of the commercialisation of their research on all other spheres of life. You are a biotechnologist, you can predict how changing a certain protein will affect the development of barley. But I suspect that you do not know everything about this protein, e.g. how its presence in the environment will affect the population of other organisms - e.g. domestic cats, birches or locusts... I also do not know if you know what to do when some crazy conspiracy theories start to emerge around NGTs...

M.M.: Of course, I don't know everything, so when we talk about NGT plants in cultivation, we limit ourselves only to those from category 1, i.e. we only use their natural potential. When it comes to crazy conspiracy theories, this was one of the arguments for establishing the University of Silesia's Research Centre for New Genomic Techniques, which I manage. This centre stands on three pillars and, in addition to biotechnological research, there is also research conducted by psychologists and lawyers.

A team of psychologists tries to identify and address people's concerns about the introduction of NGTs and uses this knowledge to effectively educate the public about NGTs. We currently believe that it is crucial to provide the public with reliable knowledge about what NGTs are and how they can be used. Therefore, we launched the first information campaign in this regard via our social media. You can find us on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Lawyers are needed, for example, because the draft EU regulation does not yet define in detail how the trade in NGT plants will be controlled and whether such plants will be subject to patent protection, and if so, to what extent? This is a problem that will have to be solved.

PAP: CRISPR-type NGT methods are much easier to use than GMO. Is it theoretically possible to produce new varieties of NGT plants in secret, out of control?

M.M.: The mechanism of genome editing itself is not very complicated and we largely borrowed it from bacteria that use it to defend themselves against viruses. However, this does not mean that you can produce NGT plants yourself in the basement...

Plants of different species differ significantly from each other. Detailed research is needed to find out what genes influence a specific trait in a given plant.

Moreover, not all species or varieties are easily susceptible to gene editing. For example, in the case of barley, research is carried out on the Golden Promise variety, which is not of much interest to breeders, but is an ideal model for scientists due to its ease of use. However, other barley varieties do not lend themselves to gene editing as easily. So even though we have a tool, we can't make it work in every organism.

The next problem is the trait that we want to modify. It may be that a certain trait - e.g. how many ears a plant produces - is controlled by many genes. Or that one gene controls 10 different traits. Therefore, a lot of research is needed to find out what modification is worth introducing, and what its effects will be.

PAP: What if NGT plants, which are supposed to grow better in difficult conditions, become new invasive plants - like Canadian goldenrod or ash-leaf maple?

M.M.: We know barley and its reproduction mechanisms well enough to know that it will not become invasive in our climatic conditions. Barley - like other crops we are working on - does not have the potential to escape from the crops and start an invasion.

PAP: So nature will not always find a way! That is a relief!

Interview by Ludwika Tomala, PAP - Science in Poland

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