Eine ereignisreiche und hektische Woche ist zu Ende gegangen und weitere stehen bevor.

An eventful and hectic week has come to an end and there is more to come.

USA

Trump hat die Wahl überraschend deutlich gewonnen und wird der 47. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika. Seine Ankündigungen sind deutlich und teilweise beängstigend. Mit ihm werden sich in vielen Bereichen sicherlich große Veränderungen für Europa und damit auch für Deutschland ergeben. Man kann nur hoffen, dass Europa rechtzeitig erwacht und auch handelt.

Trump has won the election by a surprisingly clear margin and will become the 47th President of the United States of America. His announcements are clear and sometimes frightening. He will certainly bring about major changes in many areas for Europe and therefore also for Germany. We can only hope that Europe wakes up in time and takes action

Bortoletto F`: Trump returns to the White House, and the European Union worries

https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/11/06/trump-returns-to-the-white-house-and-the-european-union-worries/

Zuversicht - Neuwahlen

https://www.ludwig-erhard.de/zuversicht/

Klaus T.: Weitere Ernährungs- und Lebensmittelverbände für schnelle Neuwahlen

https://lebensmittelpraxis.de/industrie-aktuell/41910-nach-dem-ampel-ende-weitere-ernaehrungs-und-lebensmittelverbaende-fuer-schnelle-neuwahlen.html

DNR: „Drängende soziale und ökologische Herausforderungen anpacken!“

https://www.dnr.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/draengende-soziale-und-oekologische-herausforderungen-anpacken

Das Wissenschafts- und Landwirtschaftsministerium nun in grüner Hand. Was wird nun aus den Forschungsprogrammen?

Germany

Even if Trump wants to solve many things in the very short term, he was not directly involved in the break-up of the coalition of progress between the SPD, the Greens/Alliance 90 and the FDP. This was achieved by German politics alone. The traffic light coalition is history, but the problems remain unsolved. The coalition agreement is gone, the regulator in the government is missing. After 20 years, Germany once again has a red-green government. This time, however, without a government majority and without the strength to implement pending legislation. We can only hope that a vote of confidence will be called soon and that new elections will be held. It will certainly be different! But will it also be better?

The Ministry of Science and Agriculture is now in green hands. What will become of the research programs?

Europäische Union – European Union

Eine Woche der Befragungen der designierten Kommissare / innen in den Ausschüssen ist vorüber. Die meisten haben sie positiv überstanden und werden demnächst EU-Parlament bestätigt.

A week of interviews with the Commissioners-designate in the committees is over. Most of them have survived positively and will soon be confirmed in the EU Parliament.

De La Feld S.: Green light for 19 of 20 EU commissioners with majority and the ECR votes. A message in view of the

vice presidents (and Fitto)

Kos, Hoekstra, Serafin, and Dombrovskis also pass the hearings with votes from the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens, and the ECR. Conservatives try to secure the Italian candidate and Martusciello (FI) warns, "If Fitto falls, so will Ribera"

https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/11/08/green-light-for-19-of-20-eu-commissioners-with-majority-and-the-ecr-votes-a-message-in-view-of-the-vice-presidents-and-fitto/

Roswall J. has not yet been able to convince a sufficient majority in the ENVI committee.

ENVI: Confirmation hearings

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/envi/home/highlights

Press Releases - Media / Presse- und Medienberichte

AGES: Risikobarometer 2024 - Risikowahrnehmung und Risikoeinschätzung unterschiedlicher Zielgruppen im Vergleich

https://www.ages.at/forschung/wissen-aktuell/detail/risikobarometer-2024

BAFU bewilligt Freisetzungsversuch mit gentechnisch verändertem Weizen

https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-103030.html

Kurmayer N.-J.,Manzanaro S.S.: Neue Befugnisse für Gesundheitsausschuss im EU-Parlament

https://www.euractiv.de/section/gesundheit/news/neue-befugnisse-fuer-gesundheitsausschuss-im-eu-parlament/

EPP, Socialists and Renew strike deal on new public health committee powers

https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/epp-socialists-and-renew-strike-deal-on-new-public-health-committee-powers/?_ga=2.188194415.699832148.1731080800-889282855.1731080800

Chinese Academy of Sciences: Genome sequencing of all four Macadamia species unlocks new potential for crop

improvement

https://phys.org/news/2024-11-genome-sequencing-macadamia-species-potential.html

Phillips E.: Using Microbial Genetics to Engineer the Future

https://asm.org/Articles/2024/November/Using-Microbial-Genetics-to-Engineer-the-Future

Only some selected press releases or media reports are listed here. The daily up-date of the press releases and

media reports are ►here: November week 45

Publications – Publikationen

Ricroch A., Desachy L.-D., Penfornis M., Akin M., Kondic -Spika A, Kuntz M. and Miladinovic´ D. (2024): Worldwide study on field

trials of biotechnological crops: new promises but old policy hurdles. Front. Plant Sci. 15: 1452767 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1452767

Field trials (FTs) are a necessary step towards future commercialization of biotech crops and products thereof, whether for research and development or cultivation approval. A total of 187 FTs in 30 countries have been compiled for 2022 and 2023 using a survey and intergovernmental databases. FTs have been classified according to methods, crops and traits. Compiled FTs are mostly conducted by the public sector on eight plant species with improved stress resistance, industrial application, yield, and quality. Regarding genome editing (GenEd), 23 FTs (12% of total) are carried out in 6 countries, on 10 crops. Regulations were examined in 141 countries to discuss why in some countries FTs are not performed, although basic biotech research is carried out. The EU particularly is compared to the rest of the world. Regarding the new proposal in the EU for GenEd product classification, it was found that all recent FTs of such products fall in the category that the EU would consider as ‘equivalent to conventional plants’ (NGT-1). We also studied current cultivation approvals to highlight differences with crops tested in the field and those may be approved in the future.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1452767/full

Meldolesi, A. (2024): Italy tests first gene-edited vines for winemaking.

Nat Biotechnol | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-024-02478-8

Ahmad A., Jamil A., Munawar N. (2023): GMOs or non-GMOs? The CRISPR Conundrum. Front. Plant Sci. 14: 1232938. |

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1232938

CRISPR-Cas9, the “genetic scissors”, is being presaged as a revolutionary technology, having tremendous potential to create designer crops by introducing precise and targeted modifications in the genome to achieve global food security in the face of climate change and increasing population. Traditional genetic engineering relies on random and unpredictable insertion of isolated genes or foreign DNA elements into the plant genome. However, CRISPR-Cas based gene editing does not necessarily involve inserting a foreign DNA element into the plant genome from different species but introducing new traits by precisely altering the existing genes. CRISPR edited crops are touching markets, however, the world community is divided over whether these crops should be considered genetically modified (GM) or non-GM. Classification of CRISPR edited crops, especially transgene free crops as traditional GM crops, will significantly affect their future and public acceptance in some regions. Therefore, the future of the CRISPR edited crops is depending upon their regulation as GM or non-GMs, and their public perception. Here we briefly discuss how CRISPR edited crops are different from traditional genetically modified crops. In addition, we discuss different CRISPR reagents and their delivery tools to produce transgene-free CRISPR edited crops. Moreover, we also summarize the regulatory classification of CRISPR modifications and how different countries are regulating CRISPR edited crops. We summarize that the controversy of CRISPR-edited plants as GM or non-GM will continue until a universal, transparent, and scalable regulatory framework for CRISPR-edited plants will be introduced worldwide, with increased public awareness by involving all stakeholders.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1232938/full

Amoah, P., Oumarou Mahamane, A. R., Byiringiro, M. H., Mahula, N. J. et al. (2024): Genome editing in Sub-Saharan Africa:

a game-changing strategy for climate change mitigation and sustainable agriculture. GM Crops & Food, 15(1), 279–302 | https://doi.org/10.1080/21645698.2024.2411767

Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural sector faces a multifaceted challenge due to climate change consisting of high temperatures, changing precipitation trends, alongside intensified pest and disease outbreaks. Conventional plant breeding methods have historically contributed to yield gains in Africa, and the intensifying demand for food security outpaces these improvements due to a confluence of factors, including rising urbanization, improved living standards, and population growth. To address escalating food demands amidst urbanization, rising living standards, and population growth, a paradigm shift toward more sustainable and innovative crop improvement strategies is imperative. Genome editing technologies offer a promising avenue for achieving sustained yield increases while bolstering resilience against escalating biotic and abiotic stresses associated with climate change. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) is unique due to its ubiquity, efficacy, alongside precision, making it a pivotal tool for Sub-Saharan African crop improvement. This review highlights the challenges and explores the prospect of gene editing to secure the region’s future foods.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645698.2024.2411767?src=exp-la

Vigouroux, M., Novák, P., Oliveira, L.C. et al. (2024): A chromosome-scale reference genome of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus).

Sci Data 11, 1035 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03868-y

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an underutilised but promising legume crop with tolerance to a wide range of abiotic and biotic stress factors, and potential for climate-resilient agriculture. Despite a long history and wide geographical distribution of cultivation, only limited breeding resources are available. This paper reports a 5.96 Gbp genome assembly of grasspea genotype LS007, of which 5.03 Gbp is scaffolded into 7 pseudo-chromosomes. The assembly has a BUSCO completeness score of 99.1% and is annotated with 31719 gene models and repeat elements. This represents the most contiguous and accurate assembly of the grasspea genome to date.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-024-03868-y

Mmbando G.S. (2024): The use of artificial intelligence in the production of genetically modified (GM) crops: a recent

promising strategy for enhancing the acceptability of GM products? Discov Appl Sci 6, 581 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-024-06212-6

The acceptance of genetically modified (GM) crops is still a controversial topic that presents major obstacles to their general use. Few studies, nevertheless, have emphasized the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in forecasting the dangers of GM crops. This review delves into the emerging field of applying AI to forecast the hazards linked to GM crops and examines how it could increase public acceptance of GM products. AI algorithms, and predictive modeling approaches examine enormous datasets that include genetic, environmental, and agronomic factors. Utilizing AI, researchers may accelerate risk assessment procedures on the safety and effectiveness of GM crops. In addressing public concerns and skepticism, AI-generated risk assessments foster transparency and confidence among consumers, regulators, and stakeholders, thereby might fostering greater acceptance of GM products. Although the lack of available data on genetic modifications or developing crop varieties, the amount of training and validation needed for AI algorithms before they can be trusted, the complexity of AI models, and ethical issues about AI, like data privacy and algorithm bias, may present difficulties for precise AI-driven risk assessment. This review outlines recent developments and future directions in utilizing AI as a promising strategy to enhance the acceptability of GM products.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42452-024-06212-6

Kumar, R., Das, S.P., Choudhury, B.U. et al. (2024): Advances in genomic tools for plant breeding: harnessing DNA molecular

markers, genomic selection, and genome editing. Biol Res 57, 80 | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40659-024-00562-6

Conventional pre-genomics breeding methodologies have significantly improved crop yields since the mid-twentieth century. Genomics provides breeders with advanced tools for whole-genome study, enabling a direct genotype–phenotype analysis. This shift has led to precise and efficient crop development through genomics-based approaches, including molecular markers, genomic selection, and genome editing. Molecular markers, such as SNPs, are crucial for identifying genomic regions linked to important traits, enhancing breeding accuracy and efficiency. Genomic resources viz. genetic markers, reference genomes, sequence and protein databases, transcriptomes, and gene expression profiles, are vital in plant breeding and aid in the identification of key traits, understanding genetic diversity, assist in genomic mapping, support marker-assisted selection and speeding up breeding programs. Advanced techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 allow precise gene modification, accelerating breeding processes. Key techniques like Genome-Wide Association study (GWAS), Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS), and Genomic Selection (GS) enable precise trait selection and prediction of breeding outcomes, improving crop yield, disease resistance, and stress tolerance. These tools are handy for complex traits influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors. This paper explores new genomic technologies like molecular markers, genomic selection, and genome editing for plant breeding showcasing their impact on developing new plant varieties.

https://biolres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40659-024-00562-6

Hwang, GH., Lee, SH., Oh, M. et al. (2024): Large DNA deletions occur during DNA repair at 20-fold lower frequency for

base editors and prime editors than for Cas9 nucleases. Nat. Biomed. Eng. | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-024-01277-5

When used to edit genomes, Cas9 nucleases produce targeted double-strand breaks in DNA. Subsequent DNA-repair pathways can induce large genomic deletions (larger than 100 bp), which constrains the applicability of genome editing. Here we show that Cas9-mediated double-strand breaks induce large deletions at varying frequencies in cancer cell lines, human embryonic stem cells and human primary T cells, and that most deletions are produced by two repair pathways: end resection and DNA-polymerase theta-mediated end joining. These findings required the optimization of long-range amplicon sequencing, the development of a k-mer alignment algorithm for the simultaneous analysis of large DNA deletions and small DNA alterations, and the use of CRISPR-interference screening. Despite leveraging mutated Cas9 nickases that produce single-strand breaks, base editors and prime editors also generated large deletions, yet at approximately 20-fold lower frequency than Cas9. We provide strategies for the mitigation of such deletions.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-024-01277-5

Jiang J., Gwee J., Fang J., Leichter S.M. et al. (2024):  Substrate specificity and protein stability drive the divergence of

plant-specific DNA methyltransferases. Science Advances 10 (45) | DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr2222

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism essential for transposon silencing and genome integrity. Across evolution, the substrates of DNA methylation have diversified between kingdoms. In plants, chromomethylase3 (CMT3) and CMT2 mediate CHG and CHH methylation, respectively. However, how these two methyltransferases diverge on substrate specificities during evolution remains unknown. Here, we reveal that CMT2 originates from a duplication of an evolutionarily ancient CMT3 in flowering plants. Lacking a key arginine residue recognizing CHG in CMT2 impairs its CHG methylation activity in most flowering plants. An engineered V1200R mutation empowers CMT2 to restore CHG and CHH methylations in Arabidopsis cmt2cmt3 mutant, testifying a loss-of-function effect for CMT2 during evolution. CMT2 has evolved a long and unstructured amino terminus critical for protein stability, especially under heat stress, and is plastic to tolerate various natural mutations. Together, this study reveals the mechanism of chromomethylase divergence for context-specific DNA methylation in plants and sheds important lights on DNA methylation evolution and function.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr2222

Cao H.X., Michels D. (2024): Applications of CRISPR Technologies in Forestry and Molecular Wood Biotechnology.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 25 (21), 11792 | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252111792

Forests worldwide are under increasing pressure from climate change and emerging diseases, threatening their vital ecological and economic roles. Traditional breeding approaches, while valuable, are inherently slow and limited by the long generation times and existing genetic variation of trees. CRISPR technologies offer a transformative solution, enabling precise and efficient genome editing to accelerate the development of climate-resilient and productive forests. This review provides a comprehensive overview of CRISPR applications in forestry, exploring its potential for enhancing disease resistance, improving abiotic stress tolerance, modifying wood properties, and accelerating growth. We discuss the mechanisms and applications of various CRISPR systems, including base editing, prime editing, and multiplexing strategies. Additionally, we highlight recent advances in overcoming key challenges such as reagent delivery and plant regeneration, which are crucial for successful implementation of CRISPR in trees. We also delve into the potential and ethical considerations of using CRISPR gene drive for population-level genetic alterations, as well as the importance of genetic containment strategies for mitigating risks. This review emphasizes the need for continued research, technological advancements, extensive long-term field trials, public engagement, and responsible innovation to fully harness the power of CRISPR for shaping a sustainable future for forests.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/21/11792

Kursheed F., Naza E., Mateena S., Kulsoom U. (2024): CRISPR applications in microbial World: Assessing the opportunities

and challenges. Gene , 149075 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2024.149075Get rights and content

Genome editing has emerged during the past few decades in the scientific research area to manipulate genetic composition, obtain desired traits, and deal with biological challenges by exploring genetic traits and their sequences at a level of precision. The discovery of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) as a genome editing tool has offered a much better understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms. This technology emerges as one of the most promising candidates for genome editing, offering several advantages over other techniques such as high accuracy and specificity. In the microbial world, CRISPR/Cas technology enables researchers to manipulate the genetic makeup of micro-organisms, allowing them to achieve almost impossible tasks. This technology initially discovered as a bacterial defense mechanism, is now being used for gene cutting and editing to explore more of its dimensions. CRISPR/Cas 9 systems are highly efficient and flexible, leading to its widespread uses in microbial research areas. Although this technology is widely used in the scientific community, many challenges, including off-target activity, low efficiency of Homology Directed Repair (HDR), and ethical considerations, still need to be overcome before it can be widely used. As CRISPR/Cas technology has revolutionized the field of microbiology, this review article aimed to present a comprehensive overview highlighting a brief history, basic mechanisms, and its application in the microbial world along with accessing the opportunities and challenges.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378111924009569

Liu, M., Feng, Y., Li, H. et al. (2024): Exploration of the advantages of targeted isolation of deep-sea microorganisms and

genetically engineered strains. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 40, 372 | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-024-04177-7

Oil, mineral processing and environmental restoration can be dangerous processes. Attempts are often made to apply microorganisms to reduce the risks, but the adaptability of terrestrial organisms is often weak. Although genetically engineered strains can improve their environmental adaptability through targeted modification, there are problems such as metabolite accumulation, poor plasmid stability and potential pathogenicity. Screening of extremophiles from the natural environment has become an inevitable choice. The special environment in the deep sea (high pressure, low temperature, low nutrition, high salinity) is a natural place for extremophiles to grow and survive, thus screening of extremophiles from the deep sea is conducive to the green and sustainable development of industry. In this paper, the application status and problems of genetically engineered strains are reviewed based on the microorganisms needed for extreme industry. This paper focuses on the application status and advantages of deep-sea microorganisms. It is found that their advantages are strong adaptability, stable gene, friendly environment, simple and convenient technology (compared with genetic engineering), which has a broad industry processes application prospect. This review broadens the scope of microbial applications.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11274-024-04177-7

Sommer V., Seiler J., Sturm A., Köhnen S. et al. (2024): Dedicated developmental programming for group-supporting

behaviors in eusocial honeybees.(2024): Science Advances Vol 10, Issue 44 |. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp3953.

The evolutionary changes from solitary to eusocial living in vertebrates and invertebrates are associated with the diversification of social interactions and the development of queen and worker castes. Despite strong innate patterns, our understanding of the mechanisms manifesting these sophisticated behaviors is still rudimentary. Here, we show that doublesex (dsx) manifests group-supporting behaviors in the honeybee (Apis mellifera) worker caste. Computer-based individual behavioral tracking of worker bees with biallelic stop mutations in colonies revealed that the dsx gene is required for the rate and duration of group-supporting behavior that scales the relationship between bees and their work. General sensorimotor functions remained unaffected. Unexpectedly, unlike in other insects, the dsx gene is required for the neuronal wiring of the mushroom body in which the gene is spatially restricted expressed. Together, our study establishes dedicated programming for group-supporting behaviors and provides insight into the connection between development in the neuronal circuitry and behaviors regulating the formation of a eusocial society.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp3953

EFSA

FEZ Panel (2024): Safety evaluation of the food enzyme α-amylase from the non-genetically modified Bacillus amyloliquefaciens

strain UN-01. EFSA Journal, 22 (11), e9081. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9081

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9081

Plant Health Newsletter on Horizon Scanning–October 2024. EFSA Supporting Publications, 21: 9085E.

https://doi.org/10.2903/sp.efsa.2024.EN-9085

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/sp.efsa.2024.EN-9085