Sunday Evening News 395 - Week 40 - 2024
Weekly report on genetic engineering, genome editing, biotechnology and legal regulation.
September/Oktober 2024-09-30 - 2024-10-06
Meetings - Tagungen
Tagung zur Neuen Gentechnik
Vom 14.- 16. November 2024 (Do.—Sa.) laden wir ein zur Diskussion über die Neue Grüne Gentechnik. Neue Verfahren der Genomchirurgie (Genome Editing) zur zielgerichteten Veränderung von DNA könnten auch der Grünen Gentechnik neuen Schub verleihen. Mit „Genscheren“ wie dem Designer-Enzym CRISPR/Cas lassen sich Pflanzen schneller und zielgenauer verändern als mit den Methoden der klassischen Züchtung oder der herkömmlichen Gentechnik. Das Ziel wären trocken- und schädlingsresistente Pflanzen mit besserer Nährstoffzusammensetzung für Mensch und Tier, die sich zudem effizienter ernten und länger lagern ließen. Doch sind diese Verheißungen realistisch und die neuen Pflanzen ohne Risiko?
https://www.oekumenezentrum-ekm.de/aktuelles-und-termine/aktuelles/tagung-zur-neuen-gentechnik.html
Ev. Akademie Sachsen-Anhalt
https://ev-akademie-wittenberg.de/core_event/?event-id=2024-39
Uni-Freiburg: Grüne Gentechnik – Chancen für Nachhaltigkeit?
https://www.studiumgenerale.uni-freiburg.de/sg/reihen
Save the date: Breeding for supply chains
Plant breeding has undergone a significant transformation, playing a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and resilience of supply chains. As we look ahead, plant breeders will face numerous challenges encompassing economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Our symposium, "Plant Breeding for Supply Chains," aims to address these challenges by exploring innovative technologies and resources that can support breeders in adapting to and improving current agricultural systems.
University of Hohenheim, February,6th -7th 2025 https://breedingsymposium.uni-hohenheim.de/en
Registration until 31.12.2024
https://breedingsymposium.uni-hohenheim.de/
Press Releases - Media / Presse- und Medienberichte
POINT NEWSLETTER NR. 267 - Aktuelle Biotechnologie
https://www.scienceindustries.ch/_file/36598/point-2024-09-267-d.pdf
Bayerische Vertretung in Brüssel: Europaberichte
https://www.stmelf.bayern.de/foerderung/agrarpolitik/europaberichte/index.html
Middendorp L.: Front der Gentech-Gegnerschaft arg unter Druck
GOV.UK: New legislation to support precision breeding and boost Britain’s food security
Struna H.: National agricultural plans miss EU environmental targets, say European auditors
ENVI: Presentation of EFSA’s scientific opinion on New Genomic Techniques
Euroseeds: EFSA’s confirms equivalence of Category 1 NGT plants with conventional breeding
Hogan Lovells H.: The new European Commission: Explainer and Policy Take-Aways
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=3002f7ce-7e2c-4c16-8ce1-94bcc299579e
Only some selected press releases or media reports are listed here. The daily up-date of the press releases and
media reports are ►here: October week 40
Publications – Publikationen
Common Agricultural Policy Plans: Greener, but not matching the EU’s ambitions for the climate and the environment
https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2024-20/SR-2024-20_EN.pdf
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2024-20
Tonui W.K. Ogoyi D. , Thuo C., Tareh C. et al. (2024): Communicating the uncertainties associated with genetic biocontrol
approaches: insights from communicators, science journalists and scientists in Africa. Journal of Science Communication 23 (06) N02 | https://doi.org/10.22323/2.23060802
Genetic biocontrol approaches, such as gene drive technology is rapidly gaining interest from scientists and public health professionals due to their potential to overcome many challenges of current malaria control tools and strategies. This is particularly the case in Africa where the burden of malaria is most significant. Uncertainty exists about whether these approaches will work, how effective they might be, who is controlling them, and potential unintended consequences for human health and the environment. Therefore, efforts to enhance the understanding of genetic engineering and biotechnology are needed, to ensure that accurate information about this technology is disseminated in the media by science communicators including the journalists and scientists. In this practice insight, we review the outcomes from workshops and courses hosted by the African Genetic Biocontrol Consortium aimed at equipping communicators and journalists with skilful techniques to proficiently articulate the uncertainties associated with genetic biocontrol interventions to the African public. we discuss the gaps and provide insight on how communicators can address some of the basic challenges of developing effective communication and decision-making for genetic biocontrol approaches in Africa.
https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/JCOM_2306_2024_N02/
Fusco E.J., Falk B.G., Heimowitz P.J. Rottler C.M. et al. (2024): The emerging invasive species and climate-change lexicon.
Trends Ecol. Evol. | DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.08.005
The rapid diversification of terminology associated with invasion ecology is a known barrier to effective communication and management. These challenges are magnified by the addition of terms and concepts related to climate-induced range-shifting taxa and/or changes to impacts. Further, institutional policies and terminologies for invasive species introduce new ambiguities when considering climate change. To alleviate communication and application challenges, we introduce a conceptual framework that organizes climate-related invasion terms, revealing ambiguities and gaps. Additionally, we illustrate how these ambiguities can affect management with four case studies and consider situations where resolution can improve policy and management outcomes. The framework can help users avoid inconsistent use of terminology, and prioritize when to address management and policy consequences related to associated terminological ambiguity.
https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(24)00198-8
Yan Y., Ahmed H.M.M., Wimmer E.A., Schetelig M-F. (2024): Biotechnology-enhanced genetic controls of the global pest
Drosophila suzukii. Trends in Biotechnology, | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.09.005
Spotted wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, or SWD), an insect pest of soft-skinned fruits native to East Asia, has rapidly spread worldwide in the past 15 years. Genetic controls such as sterile insect technique (SIT) have been considered for the environmentally friendly and cost-effective management of this pest. In this review, we provide the latest developments for the genetic control strategies of SWD, including sperm-marking strains, CRISPR-based sex-ratio distortion, neoclassical genetic sexing strains, transgenic sexing strains, a sex-sorting incompatible male system, precision-guided SIT, and gene drives based on synthetic Maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest (Medea) or homing CRISPR systems. These strategies could either enhance the efficacy of traditional SIT or serve as standalone methods for the sustainable control of SWD.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016777992400249X
Li L., Zhang D., Zhang Z., Zhang B. (2024): CRISPR/Cas: a powerful tool for designing and improving oil crops.
Trends in Biotechnology
Improving oil yield and quality is a major goal for crop breeding, and CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing has opened a new era for designing oil crops with enhanced yield and quality. CRISPR/Cas technology can not only increase oil production but also enhance oil quality, including enhancing pharmaceutical and health components, improving oil nutrients, and removing allergic and toxic components. As new molecular targets for oil biosynthesis are discovered and the CRISPR/Cas system is further improved, CRISPR/Cas will become a better molecular tool for designing new oil crops with higher oil production, enhanced nutrients, and improved health components. 'CRISPRized' oil crops will have broad applications both in industry (e.g., as biofuels) and in daily human life.
https://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/abstract/S0167-7799(24)00253-1?rss=yes
Eissa F., El-Hoda Zidan N., El-Banna A. (2024): Analysis of EU RASFF notifications on genetically modified food and feed
from 2002 to 2023. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 136, 106801 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2024.106801
This study examines 827 notifications about genetically modified (GM) food (724) and feed (103) in the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) from 2002 to 2023. It identifies the most frequently notified GM products, their origin countries, notification year, type, risk level, and subsequent actions taken by authorities. Alert notifications represented 19.20 % of food and 3.88 % of feed cases. Border rejections were more common for food (25.55 %) than feed (18.45 %). China was the primary source of food notifications (35.08 %), while the US led in feed notifications (35.92 %). Cereals and bakery products were the most reported food category (59.94 %), followed by fruits and vegetables (11.19 %). Rice was the product most often involved in GM food notifications, constituting 57.73 % of the total, followed by linseed (14.64 %), papaya (10.77 %), and food supplements (5.11 %). Undecided risk decisions were more prevalent in food (90.61 %) than feed notifications (66.02 %). Conversely, the 'not serious' category was higher for feed (32.04 %) than food (5.25 %). Serious and potential risk notifications were low for both categories. Market withdrawals accounted for 30.25 % of food and 23.30 % of feed notifications. This overview provides insights for policymakers and stakeholders in the agri-food sector, highlighting trends and areas of concern.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889157524008354?via%3Dihub