Global biotech major Bayer is stepping up its focus on using genome-edited technology to develop climate resilience agri-crop seed varieties at faster pace while continuing with development of transgenic varieties. “We have not spoken too much about it in the past, but we are actually doing it. We are investing a lot not only through partnerships but also internally in genome editing. It is fundamentally transformational and breakthrough technology in the whole industry (seed),” Axel Trautwin, lead regulatory science, Bayer’s crop science division, told FE.
Faster Development
He said that in terms of time required for varieties of seed development, genome editing is much faster compared to genetically modified (GM) technology and a lot of that lengthy development and regulatory process in case of GM crop is also much shorter.
“For developing herbicide and insect resistance varieties, we have to introduce some transgenic or GM concept, but for many other aspects such as increasing yield, climate resilience varieties where we modify the existing germplasm base within the same plant without introducing any foreign DNA like in case of GM crops,” Trautwin said.
Amanda McClerren, head, plant biotechnology, Bayer Crop Science said that genome-edited technology is a separate process which ‘has the potential to impact many crops such as corn, cotton and rice in India. “It’s very promising, and it’s very promising in geographies that don’t allow transgenic traits,” McClerren said. Bayer’s first genome-edited corn and soybean varieties are likely to be released for commercial cultivation in the next four to five years.
Targeting 2030s Commercial Launch
“We’re on a similar timeline for both corn and soy. And we think pending the global regulatory framework, which is still developing, it’ll be the early 2030s, so probably 2031 or maybe 2032,” McClerren said. In addition the company has an extensive breeding programme for cotton, canola, hybrid wheat and vegetables, and rice,”.
Genome editing enables modification of plants’ owned genes, without insertion of external genes, as with GM crops. Genome-edited varieties possess no foreign DNA and are indistinguishable from crops developed through conventional plant-breeding methods, or using naturally occurring mutations.
In India, the environment ministry, in a notification in March 2022, had exempted certain types of genome-edited crops from the stringent biosafety regulations applicable to GM crops. The ministry had exempted site directed nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2 genomes from rules 7-11 of the Environment Protection Act, thus avoiding a long process for approval of GM crops through the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
According to KC Bansal, former director, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, in India, besides the two genome-edited rice varieties – DRR Rice 100 (Kamala) and Pusa DST Rice 1 -, which boosts yield by about 15-20%, are tolerant to salinity and save water, research work is under way on 40 agri-horticultural crops in Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), and other national research institutions and universities
The two genome-edited rice varieties developed in India are likely to be planted in farmers’ fields by the end of this year, Bansal said. In the case of GM technology, applicants have to apply to the GEAC, which follows time-consuming testing methods along with states. Till now, cotton is the only GM crop that has been approved for commercial cultivation in the country.
With regard to biosafety regulation, more than 30 countries world-wide including India have already announced certain categories of genome-edited crops as non-Genetically modified organisms. Several countries including the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Philippines and the European Union are working on Genome Editing regulations and several countries have released policies on it.
(The writer is in Huxley on invitation from Bayer)