NEWS

EPSO urges the European Commission to take action to prevent the French draft legal proposal from being enacted.

The European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) is concerned about the draft legal proposal on the genetic modification techniques mentioned in Article L531-2 of the French Environment Code, which would modify the list of techniques of mutagenesis exempt from the scope of the regulations on GMOs. In particular, the draft legal proposal would revoke the exception of in vitro random mutagenesis consisting of subjecting plant cells cultivated in vitro to chemical or physical mutagenic agents. This unilateral restriction of GMO Directive 2001/18/EC disregards scientific literature evidencing the history of safe use of in vitro random mutagenesis, ignores the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ, case C-528/16) reiterating the exemption of all random mutagenesis techniques established before 2001, establishes barriers for research and innovation between member states and will be difficult to enforce by French authorities.

Click here to read: Full EPSO statement 08.07.2020, EPSO submission to the EC 08.07.2020

Contacts:

• Peter Rogowsky, INRAE, FR & EPSO AgT WG chair
• Jens Sundstrom, SLU Uppsala, SE & EPSO
• Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE

EPSO agrees with the general statement of EFSA that risk-assessments should be done in a case-by-case manner and that the suggested procedures for risk assessment of SDN-3 that pertain to risk assessments of transgenes do not apply to SDN-1, SDN-2 and oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis, and should be simplified for these. Furthermore, EPSO suggests clarifications in the definitions of SDN-1 and SDN-2 and the nature of the introduced base changes using these two techniques.

 The EFSA public consultation of the applicability of site-directed nucleases type 3 safety assessments on plants developed using site-directed nucleases type 1, type 2, and oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis.

 EFSA has issued in 2012 a scientific opinion on the safety assessments of plants developed using Site-Directed Nucleases type 3, SDN-3 (EFSA, 2012). In these plants, site-directed nucleases have been used to introduce exogenous (recombinant) DNA in a site-specific manner through homologous recombination.

In spring 2020, EFSA issued a draft scientific opinion for public consultation on the applicability of the safety assessments of type 3 site-directed nucleases (SDN-3) on plants developed using SDN-1 SDN-2, or oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (EFSA 2020). In plants developed using either of these techniques, no exogenous (recombinant) DNA is inserted into the plants. In SDN-1, predominantly point mutations or short in/dels are introduced through non-homologous end-joining at the target cleavage site. In SDN-2 and oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis, a short nucleotide sequence is used to guide the inherent DNA-repair mechanism to introduce a few predetermined base changes. Mainly EFSA promotes a case-by-case risk evaluation and outlines possible simplifications concerning specific genome editing methods. If no exogenous (recombinant) DNA is inserted into the plant, the subset of SDN-3 risk assessment protocols that evaluates transgenes are not applicable.

Click here to read: Full EPSO statement 24.6.2020, EPSO submission to EFSA, 28.5.2020

Contacts:

• Jens Sundstrom, SLU Uppsala, SE & EPSO
• Peter Rogowsky, INRAE, FR & EPSO AgT WG chair
• Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE

 

CHIC is an Horizon 2020 project aiming to develop with genome editing sets of new chicory varieties to produce more and healthier inulin food fiber as well as to identify and produce medicinal terpenes in sufficient amounts.

These varieties are developed via genome editing. Safety, socioeconomic and environmental impact as well as stakeholders’ needs and concerns when implementing such new varieties are also investigated in this project.

A novelty of this project is the collaboration of scientist with artists to better engage the public.

Have a look and spread the videos which CHIC produced to explain to the general public its project as it is almost midway, especially focusing on the benefits and techniques of this research as well as on its innovative Art and Science partnership:

• Do you know what is CHIC ?
• Art and science engage YOU in chicory research
• Chicory research – for healthy diets and human health
• When Gene Editing Is Cool: Get The Best Out of Chicory Plants

The videos were developed and produced by EPSO with the CHIC partners.

Acknowledgement: This project is funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020. G.A. 760891.The CHIC budget is €7.3 million.

Contacts: Alexandra Barnoux, EPSO;  Macarena Sanz, ID Consortium, ES; Dirk Bosch, Wageningen University, NL (Coordinator)

EPSO welcomes the EC First Draft Implementation Strategy for Horizon Europe and offers to collaborate with the European Commission, the Member States, and stakeholders to finalise and implement it.

 EPSO congratulates the EC for defining expected impacts (goals), but not the path to get there, inspiring innovative comprehensive solutions.

EPSO fully supports including the UN SDGs in the Key Impact Factors, encouraging co-benefits and also a comprehensive approach to address several SDGs in parallel – e.g. Food and Nutritional Security, environmental sustainability, and human health.

Regarding the level of TRLs in collaborative research, EPSO urges closing the R&I cycle by giving stronger support to basic research in there, thus becoming equivalent to applied research, demonstration and innovation actions.

EPSO appreciates increasing transparency and simplification, particularly a more concrete, simplified approach regarding the budgetary responsibility to truly encourage and enable interdisciplinary projects across intervention areas and clusters to address the UN SDGs and achieve co-benefits. Examples EPSO suggests are concepts like ‘diverse crops for diverse diets and human health and resilient production’, as well as ‘combined approaches on crop improvement, crop management and crop processing’.

As challenges and science are global, EPSO welcomes further improving international cooperation.

Fostering synergies with other EU spending programmes, particularly allowing accumulation of funds from different programmes in one project is most appreciated by scientists and can help to widen participation.

Finally, EPSO encourages the EC to ease access and outreach, as outreach and stakeholder engagement are key to public appreciation and support of the R&I efforts we undertake. EPSO is happy to discuss our experience with stakeholder engagement, arts & science, and the Fascination of Plants Day with the EC to truly enable scientists to better engage with the public throughout the R&I process.

 We provide further insight on how these concepts can benefit the implementation of the strategy and on how plant scientists can contribute to this in the Annex of the full statement.

Click here to read: Full EPSO statement 3.6.2020

Contacts:

• Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE
• Alan Schulman, LUKE, FI & EPSO President

EPSO welcomes the EC Farm to Fork Strategy and offers to collaborate with the European Commission, the Member States and stakeholders to implement it.

EPSO appreciates that the strategy links Food and Nutritional Security, environmental sustainability and human health. EPSO urges to apply this approach across the strategy as a whole.

Concepts like diverse crops for diverse diets and human and resilient production, as well as combined approaches on crop improvement, crop management and crop processing, will enable interdisciplinary approaches with co-benefits in Europe and beyond.

EC rightly defines the goals and should lead the process to achieve these – based on open and transparent approaches raging from research to innovation, public procurement to legislation.

 We provide further insight on how these concepts can benefit the implementation of the strategy and how plant scientists can contribute to this in the Annex of the full statement.

Click here to read: Full EPSO statement 2.6.2020

Contacts:

• Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE
• Alan Schulman, LUKE, FI & EPSO President
• Angelo Santino, CNR, IT & EPSO NS WG chair

The European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) welcomes the ongoing European Commission (EC) study on new genomic techniques (NGTs). These are defined as techniques capable of changing the genetic material of an organism, which have emerged or have been developed since 2001. In this statement, EPSO refers specifically to genome editing leading via mutagenesis (point mutations or other modifications existing in nature) in plants and products obtained thereby.

EPSO members remarked that the implementation of GMO legislation with regard to NGTs did not cause any major technical obstacles, but represents a major administrative and financial burden, leads to increasing space constraints in GMO facilities, drastically reduces the number of field experiments, causes problems with the status of incoming germplasm, and has a negative impact on funding and on bringing products to the market.

Despite these constraints, fundamental and applied research on NGTs and NGT products is still blooming in Europe and concerns over 50 plant species. Although the ECJ ruling of 2018 led to widespread demotivation and reduced funding, efforts continue to increase the range of species and of genotypes in which NGTs can be applied, to further enrich the binding and/or cutting features of Cas9-like enzymes, and to generate the knowledge needed to improve traits by NGTs. A research gap exists in the comparison of NGTs to older techniques with a history of safe use.

NGTs and NGT products present numerous benefits and opportunities since they are a tool of choice to address major challenges to agriculture in Europe and worldwide, such as the overuse of pesticides and inputs, climate change, crop monocultures, and the desire for improved food and feed. NGTs can contribute to meeting and managing these challenges by enhancing genetic progress towards more diverse, better adapted, and yet high-yielding plant varieties.

EPSO did not note any specific concerns on NGTs or NGT products but identified obvious challenges. The detection of NGTs in foreign germplasm and products is not feasible, SMEs are not able to play a notable role due to the high cost of licence fees and of regulatory approval, and patents on NGTs and NGT traits raise questions on access to NGT technology and its coexistence with plant variety rights. Safety concerns should not differ from those relevant to plants obtained using methods with a history of safe use, because NGT mutations could also arise in nature or during conventional breeding programs. Off-target events can easily be reduced to a level similar to that of spontaneous mutations occurring during natural plant reproduction in conventional breeding.

The real question on ethical aspects is not whether NGTs or NGT products as such are acceptable, but whether the use we make of them supports commonly accepted values and avoids harm to humans and the environment. It would be ethically problematic to reject NGTs having beneficial traits, provided they are not considered to pose a higher risk to humans or the environment than similar varieties developed by conventional methods.

 With regard to consumers’ right for information and freedom of choice, EPSO is opposed to obligatory labelling because it implies that NGT products as such are harmful or problematic, could not be enforced, and would lead to both labelling and non-labelling of identical products. Voluntary labelling has the advantage of giving voice to different types of values, maintaining information levels equal to all actors, and taking into account various lifestyle choices.

NGTs and NGT-products have a role to play in the European Farm-to-Fork strategy by ensuring sustainable food production and the shift to healthy, sustainable diets, for example through disease resistant crops, reducing pesticide use, and allergen-free food that promotes human health. They can also contribute to implement the European Biodiversity strategy by improving the performance and nutritional content of underutilised fruit, vegetable and cereal crops and thereby substantially increase diversity of cultivated crops.

Click here to read: Full EPSO statement 27.5.2020, EPSO submission to the EC 13.5.2020, EPSO Reference list submitted to the EC 13.5.2020

Contacts:

• Peter Rogowsky, INRAE, FR & EPSO AgT WG chair
• Frank Hartung & Ralf Wilhelm, Julius Kühn-Institute (JKI), DE & EPSO AgT WG chairs
• Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE