Genome edited (GE) crops will be sown in a field this month for the first time in the UK as part of an experimental trial at Rothamsted Research that aims to investigate genetic engineering's efficiency in developing plants to yield more nutritious diets more sustainably. Like traditional plant breeding, genome editing can create new varieties of plants with desired traits by altering their genetic code in a way that could have happened naturally or that does not incorporate genes from another species.
Unlike traditional methods, the new technology is more accurate and can cut development times from decades to months, says Johnathan Napier, a leading pioneer in plant biotechnology at Rothamsted and an advocate for the power of genetically modified (GM) plants to deliver for the public good.
Plans to start sowing two GE lines of Camelina plants follow official approval of Rothamsted's application to grow GM varieties of Camelina plants engineered to accumulate omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), a form of lipid that are also known as omega-3 fish oils, in their seeds.
While GM plants require approval before they can be grown in the field, GE varieties do not necessarily. The crucial difference is between mutations that incorporate DNA from a different species, transgenes, and those that do not. The GM Camelina incorporates new (algal) genes; the GE varieties involve only changes (losses) in the plant's DNA material.
"These two technologies promise much," says Napier, who leads Rothamsted's Omega-3 Flagship Programme. "The GM plants should yield superior levels of [LC-PUFAs] EPA and DHA; the GE plants will improve our understanding of lipid metabolism."
Approval of the GM field trial came from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) following advice from its Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), which is charged with ensuring the safety of novel organisms outside the laboratory.
ACRE also considered the GE varieties, which were produced by a technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, using CRISPR associated protein 9). While use of the Cas9 protein (from a different species, to change genetic coding) involves GM, no remnants of the transgene are present in the final plant. Nevertheless, the plant retains the changes to its DNA brought about by the genome editing technique.
The committee concluded: "It would not be possible to determine whether these lines had been produced by genome-editing or by traditional mutagenesis because they would be genetically indistinguishable." Traditional mutagenesis is covered by a "mutagenesis exemption" from EU regulations that restrict the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
A more general clarification came from Defra Minister George Eustice in a parliamentary written answer in March: "Where gene editing results in an organism with DNA from a different species it will be regulated under the controls for genetically modified organisms. However, the government's view is that specific regulation of this technology is not required where the induced genetic change could have occurred naturally or been achieved through traditional breeding methods."
The approved field trial at Rothamsted comprises 20 strains of Camelina sativa: 17 GM lines, two GE lines and one wild-type, or control line. The GM lines have been modified primarily to accumulate EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), the so-called "fish oils" that are essential for healthy diets but whose supply is threatened.
Other GM lines have been modified to produce the ketocarotenoid, astaxanthin, or wax esters, both useful compounds of otherwise limited availability: ketocarotenoids are high-value, antioxidant pigments; wax esters are stable, biorenewable alternatives to petrochemically-derived lubricants.
"We have synthesised the genes involved in the novel GM production of these useful compounds," says Napier. "They are based on the sequence of genes found in a range of different organisms, including photosynthetic marine organisms, such as algae, and other lower eukaryote species, such as mosses and oomycetes; transgenic Camelina provides an alternative production source for these useful lipids."
The Rothamsted team has also developed GM lines to study two traits related to plant architecture: stem thickness and photosynthetic capability. The goal is to improve Camelina as a crop. For the two GE strains of Camelina, Rothamsted is collaborating with a French team led by Professor Jean-Denis Faure, Professor of Plant Embryogenesis at INRA's Versailles-Grignon Research Centre.
The distinction between GM, which introduces genetic coding from unrelated species, as algal genes are introduced into Camelina plants to produce fish oils, and GE, which changes genetic coding without leaving unrelated material behind, is a live debate in Europe.
Since January, the European Court of Justice has been considering a legal opinion on a case, led by a French agricultural union and backed by environmentalists, that seeks to broaden the scope of GM regulations to include new breeding techniques.
"Since 2015, France has not authorised the release of genetically altered plants in the environment for research, having adopted the "opt out" provision of the most recent EU directive," notes Napier. "So, in part, we're helping out our colleagues in France by including these two GE lines of Camelina in our trials. And it'll be useful to see how the CRISPR-edited Camelina performs in the field."
One significant difference with the GE technology is that the genetic changes are expressed in every cell, in all parts of the plant; the GM changes are confined to the seeds, due to the restricted expression of the inserted genetic material, or transgenes.
Napier adds: "The field trials will allow us to assess how we might use CRISPR in tandem with the GM gene constructs that we have designed, tested and developed at Rothamsted. Both technologies could have a huge impact on the sustainable intensification of agriculture for the benefit of all."
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Rothamsted Research contacts:
Johnathan Napier,
Tel: +44 (0) 1582 938 136
E-mail: johnathan.napier@rothamsted.ac.uk
Susan Watts, Head of Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 1582 938 109
Mob: +44 (0) 7964 832 719
E-mail: susan.watts@rothamsted.ac.uk
About Rothamsted Research
Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud history of ground-breaking discoveries, from crop treatment to crop protection, from statistical interpretation to soils management. Our founders, in 1843, were the pioneers of modern agriculture, and we are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative influence on fresh thinking and farming practices.
Through independent science and innovation, we make significant contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and internationally. In terms of the institute's economic contribution, the cumulative impact of our work in the UK was calculated to exceed £3000 million a year in 2015 (Rothamsted Research and the Value of Excellence: A synthesis of the available evidence, by Séan Rickard). Our strength lies in our systems approach, which combines science and strategic research, interdisciplinary teams and partnerships.
Rothamsted is also home to three unique resources. These National Capabilities are open to researchers from all over the world: The Long-Term Experiments, Rothamsted Insect Survey and the North Wyke Farm Platform.
We are strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and international funding streams, and from industry. We are also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT). For more information, visit https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/; Twitter @Rothamsted
About BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.
BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.
Funded by government, BBSRC invested £469 million in world-class bioscience in 2016-17. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
More information about BBSRC, our science and our impact.
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About LAT
The Lawes Agricultural Trust, established in 1889 by Sir John Bennet Lawes, supports Rothamsted Research's national and international agricultural science through the provision of land, facilities and funding. LAT, a charitable trust, owns the estates at Harpenden and Broom's Barn, including many of the buildings used by Rothamsted Research. LAT provides an annual research grant to the Director, accommodation for nearly 200 people, and support for fellowships for young scientists from developing countries. LAT also makes capital grants to help modernise facilities at Rothamsted, or invests in new buildings.