Sunday Evening News 410 - Week 04 - 2025
Weekly report on genetic engineering, genome editing, biotechnology and legal regulation.
January 2025-01-20 - 2025-01-26
Meetings – Conferences / Treffen - Veranstaltungen
New Genomic Technologies | Mini Symposium | 10. Feb. 2025 @ BOKU
https://boku.ac.at/agri/biop/new-genomic-technologies-mini-symposium-10-feb-2025-boku
EFSA: Webinar on new developments in biotechnology, including SynBio and NGTs, applied to animals for food, feed
and other agricultural uses; online on 18 February 2025 from 14:00 to 15:00 CET.
Press Releases - Media / Presse- und Medienbericht
Globale Analyse zum Vertrauen in Forschende
https://www.sciencemediacenter.de/angebote/globale-analyse-zum-vertrauen-in-forschende-25011
How Society Feels About Breakthrough Science
https://leaps.bayer.com/breakthroughstudy.pdf
Positionspapier: Nachhaltige Bioökonomie jetzt weiterentwickeln!
Impulse für eine zukunftsfähige Bioökonomie
Sprin-D: POTENZIAL ENTFESSELN: DEUTSCHLAND ALS GLOBALER VORREITER IN BIOMANUFACTURING UND FOODTECH
https://cms.system.sprind.org/uploads/SPRIND_Positionspapier_Biooekonomie_78512baf86.pdf
Informationsdienst Gentechnik: Neue Gentechnik: viel Kritik an polnischem Vorschlag
https://www.keine-gentechnik.de/nachricht/neue-gentechnik-viel-kritik-an-polnischem-vorschlag
Švrčinová A, Krempaská B.: Polish EU Council Presidency: A Turning Point for Europe?
Plants for the Future: Report – Trends in European Public Investment in Plant Breeding R&I
https://www.plantetp.eu/report-trends-in-european-public-investment-in-plant-breeding-ri/
ERS/USDA: Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States - Recent Trends in GE Adoption
TESTBIOTECH Background 15-1–2025:‘Technical-tuned’ NGT plants show: There is no magic threshold for the number of
mutations to conclude on risks
https://www.testbiotech.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Technical-tuning-NGT-plants_v2.pdf
Gene Watch: GM/GE Microorganisms: a new global environmental disaster in the making?
https://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/gm-microorganisms-fin.pdf
Only some selected press releases or media reports are listed here. The daily up-date of the press releases and media reports are ►here: January week 04
Publications – Publikationen
Trapmann, S., Linsinger, T.P.J. & Koeber, R. (2025): Certified reference materials for GMO analysis—more than 25 years of
GMO CRM production at EC JRC. Anal Bioanal Chem | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05713-y
Certified reference materials (CRMs) play a crucial role in ensuring the quality of analytical measurements. Particularly, the EU labelling legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed products explicitly requires CRMs for its implementation. The CRMs are used to calibrate and control the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method and support official control laboratories, such as National Reference Laboratories (NRLs), in maintaining their ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC JRC) is specialized in the production of reference materials and has been producing GMO CRMs since 1998. Together with a validated event-specific qPCR method, these GMO CRMs form the EU reference system for the quantification of EU-authorized GMO events in food and feed products and ensure a common GMO labelling threshold. This article gives a retrospective view on the more than 25 years of GMO CRM production at JRC. It describes requirements for GMO CRMs in view of an EU market authorization under (EC) No. 1829/2003. The evolution and major improvements of the production of GMO CRMs at JRC are summarized as well as the current understanding of the EU’s GMO reference system for GMO quantification and its impact on commutability. It provides insights into GMO CRM sales and their worldwide distribution. This information may be useful for policymakers and researchers in understanding the current EU GMO measurement landscape and to anticipate possible future demands related to GMO events based on new genomic techniques (NGTs).
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00216-024-05713-y
Kim H.J., Lazurko A., Linney G., Maskell L. et al. (2024):Understanding the role of biodiversity in the climate, food, water,
energy, transport and health nexus in Europe. Science of the Total Environment 925, 171692 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171692
Biodiversity underpins the functioning of ecosystems and the diverse benefits that nature provides to people, yet is being lost at an unprecedented rate. To halt or reverse biodiversity loss, it is critical to understand the complex interdependencies between biodiversity and key drivers and sectors to inform the development of holistic policies and actions. We conducted a literature review on the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change, food, water, energy, transport and health (“the biodiversity nexus”). Evidence extracted from 194 peer-reviewed articles was analysed to assess how biodiversity is being influenced by and is influencing the other nexus elements. Out of the 354 interlinkages between biodiversity and the other nexus elements, 53 % were negative, 29 % were positive and 18 % contained both positive and negative influences. The majority of studies provide evidence of the negative influence of other nexus elements on biodiversity, highlighting the substantial damage being inflicted on nature from human activities. The main types of negative impacts were land or water use/change, land or water degradation, climate change, and direct species fatalities through collisions with infrastructure. Alternatively, evidence of biodiversity having a negative influence on the other nexus elements was limited to the effects of invasive alien species and vector-borne diseases. Furthermore, a range of studies provided evidence of how biodiversity and the other nexus elements can have positive influences on each other through practices that promote co-benefits. These included biodiversity-friendly management in relevant sectors, protection and restoration of ecosystems and species that provide essential ecosystem services, green and blue infrastructure including nature-based solutions, and sustainable and healthy diets that mitigate climate change. The review highlighted the complexity and context-dependency of interlinkages within the biodiversity nexus, but clearly demonstrates the importance of biodiversity in underpinning resilient ecosystems and human well-being in ensuring a sustainable future for people and the planet.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724018345?via%3Dihub
de Pontes FCF, Machado IP, Silveira MVdS, Lobo ALA, Sabadin F, Fritsche-Neto R ,DoVale JC (2025): Combining genotyping
approaches improves resolution for association mapping: a case study in tropical maize under water stress conditions. Front. Plant Sci. 15:1442008. |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1442008
Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) identify genome variations related to specific phenotypes using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers. Genotyping platforms like SNP-Array or sequencing-based techniques (GBS) can genotype samples with many SNPs. These approaches may bias tropical maize analyses due to reliance on the temperate line B73 as the reference genome. An alternative is a simulated genome called “Mock,” adapted to the population using bioinformatics. Recent studies show SNP-Array, GBS, and Mock yield similar results for population structure, heterotic groups definition, tester selection, and genomic hybrid prediction. However, no studies have examined the results generated by these different genotyping approaches for GWAS. This study aims to test the equivalence among the three genotyping scenarios in identifying significant effect genes in GWAS. To achieve this, maize was used as the model species, where SNP-Array genotyped 360 inbred lines from a public panel via the Affymetrix platform and GBS. The GBS data were used to perform SNP calling using the temperate inbred line B73 as the reference genome (GBS-B73) and a simulated genome “Mock” obtained in-silico (GBS-Mock). The study encompassed four above-ground traits with plants grown under two levels of water supply: well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS). In total, 46, 34, and 31 SNP were identified in the SNP-Array, GBS-B73, and GBS-Mock scenarios, respectively, across the two water levels, associated with the evaluated traits following the comparative analysis of each genotyping method individually. Overall, the identified candidate genes varied along the various scenarios but had the same functionality. Regarding SNP-Array and GBS-B73, genes with functional similarity were identified even without coincidence in the physical position of the SNPs. These genes and regions are involved in various processes and responses with applications in plant breeding. In terms of accuracy, the combination of genotyping scenarios compared to those isolated is feasible and recommended, as it increased all traits under both water conditions. In this sense, it is worth highlighting the combination of GBS-B73 and GBS-Mock scenarios, not only due to the increase in the resolution of GWAS results but also the reduction of costs associated with genotyping and the possibility of conducting genomic breeding methods.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1442008/full
Zhao, A., Li, Q., Meng, P., Liu, P., Wu, S., Lang, Z., Song, Y. and Macho, A.P. (2024): Reduced content of gamma-aminobutyric
acid enhances resistance to bacterial wilt disease in tomato. Plant Biotechnol. J. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14539
Bacteria within the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex cause devastating diseases in numerous crops, causing important losses in food production and industrial supply. Despite extensive efforts to enhance plant tolerance to disease caused by Ralstonia, efficient and sustainable approaches are still missing. Before, we found that Ralstonia promotes the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in plant cells; GABA can be used as a nutrient by Ralstonia to sustain the massive bacterial replication during plant colonization. In this work, we used CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing to mutate SlGAD2, which encodes the major glutamate decarboxylase responsible for GABA production in tomato, a major crop affected by Ralstonia. The resulting Slgad2 mutant plants show reduced GABA content, and enhanced tolerance to bacterial wilt disease upon Ralstonia inoculation. Slgad2 mutant plants did not show altered susceptibility to other tested biotic and abiotic stresses, including drought and heat. Interestingly, Slgad2 mutant plants showed altered microbiome composition in roots and soil. We reveal a strategy to enhance plant resistance to Ralstonia by the manipulation of plant metabolism leading to an impairment of bacterial fitness. This approach could be particularly efficient in combination with other strategies based on the manipulation of the plant immune system, paving the way to a sustainable solution to Ralstonia in agricultural systems.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pbi.14539
Reynier, E., & Rubin, E. (2025): Glyphosate exposure and GM seed rollout unequally reduced perinatal health.
PNAS 122 (3) e2413013121 | https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2413013121
The advent of herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GM) crops spurred rapid and widespread use of the herbicide glyphosate throughout US agriculture. In the two decades following GM-seeds’ introduction, the volume of glyphosate applied in the United States increased by more than 750%. Despite this breadth and scale, science and policy remain unresolved regarding the effects of glyphosate on human health. We identify the causal effect of glyphosate exposure on perinatal health by combining 1) county-level variation in glyphosate use driven by 2) the timing of the GM technology and 3) differential geographic suitability for GM crops. Our results suggest the introduction of GM seeds and glyphosate significantly reduced average birthweight and gestational length. While we find effects throughout the birthweight distribution, low expected-weight births experienced the largest reductions: Glyphosate’s birthweight effect for births in the lowest decile is 12 times larger than that in the highest decile. Together, these estimates suggest that glyphosate exposure caused previously undocumented and unequal health costs for rural US communities over the last 20 years.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2413013121
Kim, D.G., Gu, B., Cha, Y. et al. Engineered CRISPR-Cas9 for Streptomyces sp. genome editing to improve specialized
metabolite production. Nat Commun 16, 874 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56278-y
The CRISPR-Cas9 system has frequently been used for genome editing in Streptomyces; however, cytotoxicity, caused by off-target cleavage, limits its application. In this study, we implement innovative modification to Cas9, strategically addressing challenges encountered during gene manipulation using Cas9 within strains possessing high GC content genome. The Cas9-BD, a modified Cas9 with the addition of polyaspartate to its N- and C-termini, is developed with decreased off-target binding and cytotoxicity compared with wild-type Cas9. Cas9-BD and similarly modified dCas9-BD have been successfully employed for simultaneous biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) refactoring, multiple BGC deletions, or multiplexed gene expression modulations in Streptomyces. We also demonstrate improved secondary metabolite production using multiplexed genome editing with multiple single guide RNA libraries in several Streptomyces strains. Cas9-BD is also used to capture large BGCs using a developed in vivo cloning method. The modified CRISPR-Cas9 system is successfully applied to many Streptomyces sp., providing versatile and efficient genome editing tools for strain engineering of actinomycetes with high GC content genome.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56278-y
Juli Wang et al (2024): Engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the Production of Punicic Acid-Rich Yeast Biomss,
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c08252
Punicic acid (PuA), an unusual conjugated linolenic acid found in pomegranate, offers diverse health benefits and has potential applications in the food industry. Due to the limited availability of PuA from natural plant sources, there is growing interest in producing it through microbial fermentation. In this study, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is classified as “generally recognized as safe”, was engineered to produce PuA using a results-driven approach. Genes potentially involved in PuA synthesis were integrated directly into the yeast genome, targeting Ty retrotransposon sites. Screening of the yeast transformants, followed by optimization of culture conditions, resulted in the production of 26.7% PuA within the yeast’s total fatty acids. Further analysis revealed that the strain’s triacylglycerol fraction contained over 22% PuA. By incorporating this health-promoting lipid into the nutritional profile of S. cerevisiae, the engineered strain could serve as a sustainable source of yeast biomass with enhanced nutritional value.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c08252
DGA: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 and Online Materials
https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/resources/2020-2025-dietary-guidelines-online-materials
EFSA
EFSA-Public consultation: New developments in biotechnology applied to animals: an assessment of the adequacy and
sufficiency of current EFSA guidance for animal risk assessment
https://connect.efsa.europa.eu/RM/s/consultations/publicconsultation2/a0lTk000003Wxsr/pc1293
EFSA: Ad-hoc meeting with Industry representatives
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/events/ad-hoc-meeting-industry-representatives-3
BIOHAZ Panel (2025). Update of the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) recommended microbiological agents
intentionally added to food or feed as notified to EFSA 21: Suitability of taxonomic units notified to EFSA until September 2024. EFSA Journal, 23(1), e9169. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9169
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9169