Groups Respond To Changes In The United Kingdom To The Regulation of Gene Edited Crop Trials For Research Purposes.

‘Unlocking Power of Gene Editing To Protect The Natural Environment’ - The Earlham Institute Comments

(September 29, 2021) - The Government has published plans for how it will support UK scientists to unlock the potential benefits of gene editing, but the Earlham Institute warns greater detail is needed along with funding commitments for plant science.

Published as part of the Government response to the DEFRA consultation on the use of gene editing in UK agricultural practices, the plans aim to replace the existing EU regulations and empower UK-based scientists to help farmers grow more disease-resistant, more nutritious and productive crops.

In response to the announcement, the Earlham Institute has said the reforms don’t go far or fast enough to maximize the potential of technologies that directly address the urgent issues of climate change, food security, and sustainability.

Gene editing is a tool that makes plant breeding more precise and efficient, allowing the production of crops with greater nutritional value, increased resistance to disease and pests, and higher productivity.

New genomics technologies could also help UK farmers grow crops which need fewer chemicals to protect them, helping both the agri industry and delivering critical impact for climate and biodiversity goals.

Gene editing is different from genetic modification, as it does not result in the introduction of DNA from other species, and creates new varieties similar to those that could be produced more slowly by natural breeding processes. In the UK, They are currently regulated in the same way as genetically modified organisms, following the European Court of Justice ruling in 2018.

With leaving the EU, the government said: “the UK is opening up opportunities to adopt a more scientific and proportionate approach to the regulation of genetic technologies. As a first step, they will change the rules relating to gene editing to cut red tape and make research and development easier.”

The new plans will see genetically edited plants treated in the same way as plants developed using traditional breeding methods. This will reduce the burden on researchers, though they will still be required to notify Defra of any plans for field trials.

There will also be steps taken to review the regulatory definitions of ‘genetically modified organisms’, which will no longer apply to organisms produced by gene editing and other genetic technologies - provided it can be shown they could have been developed using traditional breeding methods.

Despite the government’s strong statements of support, scientists working in this area have called for more funding and asked for greater detail to enable gene editing fully - particularly on commercialization. There are concerns that this missing information will act as a disincentive for researchers to start field trials and minimize the size of the UK market, which may in turn stall further regulatory changes needed to maximize the potential of genetic technologies.

Dr. Nicola Patron

In light of DEFRA’s announcement today, our Synthetic Biology Group Leader Dr Nicola Patron, comments:

"Given the urgency of climate change, biodiversity loss and food security and the enormous potential genetic technologies have for developing crops for sustainable agriculture, today’s announcement on gene editing does not go far or fast enough.

“The Government must bring forward modern, progressive and proportionate regulations to allow gene edited products to be brought to market and provide consumer confidence. The UK is already home to some of the best plant scientists in the world. Removing some of the barriers for developing gene-edited crops will help UK scientists progress their research - but continuing to prevent the commercial application of their research risks starving plant science of the critical investment needed.

“There's still a clear need for new regulatory practices to prioritize the growth of healthy, nutritious, and environmentally beneficial crops rather than focusing on the techniques used to develop them.

“To compensate, UK plant science must be an immediate investment priority. This will enable new agri-products that drive green growth, benefiting our planet and society.”


A first step towards unlocking the power of gene editing

(September 29, 2021) - The Environment Secretary George Eustice has announced changes to the regulation of gene edited crop trials for research purposes.

The John Innes Centre welcomes the proposed changes which will allow field trials of genome edited crops, where the genetic changes could have occurred naturally or as a result of traditional breeding methods, to progress without requiring the same level of regulation that applies to genetically modified organisms.

The Government state this change could be implemented as early as the end of the year.

Professor Dale Sanders, Director of the John Innes Centre said, “I’m pleased that the Government is acting to change the regulation of gene edited plants and I welcome today’s announcement. But while DEFRA’s announcement is a step forward for crop trials, it is disappointing that the decision applies only to research and development.

“The benefits of these technologies will only be realised if crops developed this way are able to reach supermarkets and customers. It is frustrating when scientific breakthroughs cannot lead to genuine improvements to the foods that we eat.”

The Government’s response provides a first step towards the adoption of genome editing, which has great potential to address the challenge of providing sufficient food in the most sustainable way possible.

Genome editing can be used to develop new crop varieties, allowing a precise, targeted mutation in the DNA of an organism. This technology could be used to significantly speed up the crop breeding process and help us to make advances in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges – climate change, food security and sustainable food production.

Professor Wendy Harwood, Head of the Crop Transformation Group at the John Innes Centre said, ‘Genome editing is the most exciting technology that I have seen in my many years working in crop science. The technology makes it possible to introduce small changes in DNA that lead to the characteristics we need to combat climate change, develop food with better nutritional quality or that are more resistant to diseases.

To fully realise the positive impact of gene editing, it is essential that we can assess genome edited plants in the field. So, I welcome today’s announcement, which offers changes that make this process less of a burden for researchers, while still having the necessary oversight.’

The traditional methods that plant breeders use to introduce traits into crop plants can take between 8 and 15 years. Gene editing offers the opportunity to speed up the breeding process to just a few years, bringing about essential scientific development much sooner at a much lower cost.

As an example, gene editing can be used to make changes to the genetic code of oil seed rape to make their valuable seed pods less prone to pod shatter. Pod shatter causes large losses to the yield, meaning that many seeds are lost to the ground before harvest.

The announcement also indicates a review of England’s approach to GMO regulation more broadly.

Professor Sanders continues, “We need fundamental change to the way we regulate crops produced by genetic technologies if we’re going to make the most of the opportunities that recent advances in genetics have given us.

“We call on the Government to progress the plans to bring these products to market as a matter of urgency. We now have an opportunity to streamline the process and looking ahead we should be regulating crops based on the characteristics they possess rather than how they are produced.”

What is Genome Editing?

Gene, or genome editing is one of the many ways we can use mutations to develop better plants for our food.

Find out more about how we use genetic technologies in plant and microbial science.


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