British scientists have warned that Britain is falling behind China in the race to eradicate crop diseases, after Beijing this month granted a landmark approval for the country’s first-ever edited wheat genome.
The fast-tracking of genome editing, which gives wheat resistance to a common fungal infection called powdery mildew, is being hailed by the scientific community as a “huge step” toward improving food security for the world’s largest wheat producer and -consumer.
Experts say the gene editing process, which differs from genetic modification because no foreign DNA is introduced, also promises significant environmental benefits because it would allow farmers to cut back on agricultural chemicals.
The genome can be applied to different wheat varieties and is the result of ten years of research and safety checks by Suzhou-based biotechnology company Qi Biodesign and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The scientific basis of the genome editing process appeared in 2022 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, where the researchers explained how molecular breeding was a sustainable strategy to cope with an estimated annual global loss of 11 to 30 percent in crop production due to plant diseases .
Kevin Zhao, co-founder of Qi Biodesign, said the company has been evaluating safety with regulators over the past two years.
It shows that the country is “very interested in pursuing more effective means to grow better crops for food security purposes in the future,” Mr Zhao told the South China Morning Post.
“Now that we have this operation approved by the ministry [of agriculture]we can apply this operation to many different wheat varieties grown throughout China and see how this operation performs on different varieties.”
British experts have described gene editing as an ‘exciting’ development for a crop that has been grown for more than 10,000 years, revolutionizing the diet and economics of human society as it has become vital to global food security.
The food staple has evolved through a process of natural selection, domestication and, in recent years, genetic engineering to improve its yield and quality. Today it is one of only six crops responsible for more than 75 percent of total plant energy intake worldwide.
Although the new technique has yet to be rolled out on Chinese sites, the short timeframe of the Chinese approval process has led British scientists to question Britain and Europe’s more cumbersome bureaucracy governing the groundbreaking technique.
“I think the lesson is: get on with it, the rest of the world is moving forward quickly,” says Prof. Nigel Halford, crop scientist at Rothamsted Research and visiting professor at the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
‘We are already behind’
Unlike genetic modification, which introduces foreign genes into a plant, gene editing alters existing genes to change or improve their performance. This process is generally considered less risky because the process replicates what already happens in nature.
Gene editing uses specialized enzymes to cut the DNA at specific points. These changes are designed to be equivalent to those that could have been made using traditional plant breeding methods.
However, UK and European legislation has been slow to regulate the technology, hampering the agricultural industry’s ability to use it, Prof Halford said.
In the EU, a key market for British farmers, genetic engineering has long been lumped in with legislation on the more controversial issue of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
There have been attempts to regulate this separately, but these have moved at a “glacial pace”, he said.
In England, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act came into force in 2023 as a legal basis for gene editing to strengthen food security and reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture.
However, the Food Standards Agency is still developing a new authorization framework to regulate the use of precision-cultured organisms in food and feed products.
The new law also only applies to England, creating logistical barriers for farmers marketing genetically modified products across the UK.
“No one will start doing it until they understand and have confidence in the regulatory process,” said Prof Halford.
“The UK government says we have an opportunity to get an edge in this technology. We are already behind.”
Japan, which was highly resistant to GMOs, had also already embraced genetic engineering with products such as tomatoes and sea bream on the market, he said.
“We have to catch up,” he said. “If you make regulation difficult, that won’t happen. Obviously you have to make a mistake in terms of safety, but your regulations have to be proportionate to the risk.”
To the scientific and agricultural communities, the global benefits of the technology are clear.
“It is recognized all over the world that you need to switch to genetic rather than chemical disease control in crop production. The reason for this is that there is clearly a large environmental footprint associated with fungicide production,” said Prof. Halford.
Gene editing is also already being used around the world to create crops that can grow in harsh conditions and would help them survive the impact of the climate crisis, including extreme heat and cold and natural disasters such as drought and floods.
In February, researchers in Australia announced a new three-year project that would focus on developing heat-tolerant wheat genetics to help crops thrive in high temperatures.
Scientists elsewhere have used gene-editing techniques to create virus-, bacteria- and fungus-resistant wheat that could offer potential solutions to hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.
Crops that are more resistant to pests and diseases can make the land more productive as the world’s population continues to grow, providing food that is more nutritious and stays fresh longer.
In addition to wheat, genetic engineering is also used to increase the size of rice, corn and soybeans, and it could help crops such as banana and coffee plants become more resistant to hazards.
China’s bid to eradicate powdery mildew, a major fungal disease of wheat, could mean higher crop yields and reduced dependence on fungicides.
Dr. Simon Griffiths, head of the John Innes Centre’s Delivering Sustainable Wheat programme, described gene editing as a ‘revolution’.
He added: “I can hardly emphasize enough how big an impact it has had on what is possible for us.”
For China, a net importer of wheat even as it is the world’s largest producer, scientific advances have been a major boost to food security.
It could also be a game changer in Britain, he said.
“In this country, the response to climate change in terms of net zero emissions and agriculture means we will have 26% less land on which to grow crops,” he said.
“We need to get more out of the land we grow without damaging the environment. And things like these gene edits are the things you’re going to need for that.
The hangover from historic public opposition to GMOs slowed scientific momentum, Dr. Griffiths argued.
“Gene edit is not a GM, but I think people are just being careful. It’s really about politics and public opinion.”
However, China’s recent decision could help shift course and push Western governments to take faster action, he suggested.
“I guess they did us a favor. It’s just another step forward,” he says.
“The best thing about this news is that if China has been brave enough to do this, hopefully everyone will see that it’s fine and that’s a good sign.”
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