Genetic technologies are methods that customise the genetic code of an organism. In crop science, genetic technologies allow researchers to introduce beneficial traits, for example to confer resistance to pests, reduce food waste, and improve drought tolerance. Genetic engineering can often go beyond or move faster than “conventional” crop breeding techniques.
Common terminology
Many genetic customisation techniques exist and terminology is often inconsistent, so it is always worth clarifying what exactly is being discussed. Frequently used terms include:
- Random mutagenesis: artificially increasing the rate at which mutations (changes) arise in DNA using UV light or chemical mutagens, and then screening for mutated plants which display useful functional changes. This is the oldest of the genetic tools available, and the resulting plants are not subject to the EU’s regulations for genetically modified organisms.
- Genetic engineering encompasses:
- Genetic modification (GM) which can include:
- Transgenesis (sometimes also itself referred to as genetic modification): inserting a functional unit (gene) from a different species or organism to confer a new trait. For example, glow-in-the-dark genes have been inserted into petunias using transgenesis.
- Cisgenesis: inserting a functional unit (gene) from the same species. For example, a disease resistance gene found in a wild potato cultivar might be introduced into a commercial potato variety by cisgenesis. Equally, genetic sequences that act as ‘on’ or ‘off’ switches can be moved about and/or duplicated within the genome to modulate gene activities.
- Gene editing (also often known as targeted mutagenesis): making specific, intentional mutations in genetic material without inserting new genetic material. For example, the activity of some genes can be modulated in agronomically significant ways by changing even just one letter of DNA code (one ‘base pair’).
- Genetic modification (GM) which can include:
- Techniques such as RNAi also allow modulation of pre-existing functionalities in a plant, and might be introduced by genetic modification or through exogenous application.
As with most techniques in the biosciences, these processes take inspiration from techniques that occur naturally in biology; but biotechnology has applied these biological principles to new contexts. For example, one ‘older’ method of gene insertion uses a bacterium (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) that naturally pastes genetic material into a plant’s DNA. Scientists can replace the genetic material to be inserted with a gene conferring a desired function to generate a modified crop with new functionality.
A ‘newer’ method also derives from bacteria: CRISPR/Cas9 is a protein-RNA machine which inserts or changes genetic material at a precise, specific location in the genome which can be deliberately selected by a scientist. Now that genome sequencing is a routine technique, resulting genomes can be readily sequenced to validate where exactly a gene has been inserted or modified.
These technologies are methods that modulate functionality of an organism, but they do not fundamentally change the organism itself. A lecture by Prof Jonathon Jones of the Sainsbury Laboratory described genetic modification of a crop as equivalent to installing a new app on a phone: it’s still the same phone, but now it can do something new.
What can genetic technologies do?
The following examples demonstrate the powerful and wide-reaching impact of these technologies.
Pest resistance: Genetic technologies have already produced numerous crops with resistance to key pests. For example, ‘Bt’ toxin is a pesticidal toxin which is naturally produced by a bacterium, and it was traditionally applied by spraying onto crops. This is a messy process which can ‘contaminate’ neighbouring plants. However, crops have been modified to express Bt toxin in their leaves. This constrains resistance to the crop itself, removing the need for broad spraying and reducing the impact on non-target beneficial insects like bees.
Input reduction: Genetic technologies have also produced crops with the ability to metabolise alternative forms of minerals (like absorbing phosphite instead of phosphate), reducing the need to mass-spray fertilisers. A landmark 2014 meta-analysis concluded that adoption of GM technologies had – even a decade ago – reduced chemical pesticide use by 37%, increased yields by 22% and increased farmer profits by 68%, with improvements more marked in developing countries. As well as the direct benefits that the engineered trait confers, more subtle environmental benefits can also be seen, for example freeing up land for nature restoration.
Food waste reduction: Genetic technologies can also be leveraged to reduce food waste. For example, Tropic Biosciences has used gene editing to reduce browning in bananas. The non-browning banana may reduce waste and CO2 emissions from spoilage and is the first product to clear the Philippines’ new gene edited regulatory determination process.
Climate resilience: Other companies are focusing on increasing yields in the face of changing climates. UK spin-out Wild Bioscience is testing wheat genetically modified to have elevated photosynthetic efficiency, while Argentinian company Bioceres Crop Solutions has developed wheat with improved drought tolerance.
Environmental remediation: The Centre for Novel Agricultural Products in York in the UK has shown that GM native grass species can mop up explosive residues from contaminated soil.
Global health: Perhaps most famously, ‘Golden Rice’ – into which beta carotene (the precursor of vitamin A) has been inserted – was developed for humanitarian use in tackling blindness and death caused by vitamin A deficiency, but has been stalled by anti-GM lobbying and regulatory and legal hold-ups around the world.
Are genetic technologies safe?
Genetic technologies have been historically contentious, but a briefing from the UK Royal Society summarises that “risks are predictable and specific to the change being made.” The briefing explains that years of data generated through field trials and global use of genetically altered crops can provide reassurance on the safety profile of genetic approaches and underscore the technologies’ potential to benefit human nutrition, health and the natural world.
Humans have altered the genetic content of food throughout history by selectively breeding the best-performing plants. Some staple foods even originally evolved through natural transgenesis events. For example, genetic analysis has revealed that the sweet potato is the result of a natural gene transfer event.
Moreover, modern genetic techniques can in some ways be seen as less ‘risky’ than chance breeding events in that they target and monitor the change (via a site-specific targeted introduction and/or via screening to sieve products having the desired change). This means that the resulting genetic change is smaller, more precise, and deliberately tracked and assessed. The changes can also be contained to the engineered plant itself: by the very definition of a species (organisms which can breed to give fertile offspring), traits cannot cross routinely into different species; engineered plants can also be made sterile in order that a trait cannot spread to other members of the same species.
Scientific support for the technologies is certainly strong; a petition led by WePlanet in support of proposals from the EU to update regulation of some genetically engineered plants was signed by 35 Nobel Laureates and more than a thousand scientists, and thousands of scientists across the EU publicly placarded ahead of the vote. Public support may also be more favourable than many think: a paper by researchers at the Alliance for Science suggests that sentiment across both traditional and social media is now trending in favour of gene editing.
We are also beginning to see genetically modified plants aimed at consumer appeal, like the Big Purple Tomato from Norfolk Healthy Produce and a pink pineapple from Fresh Del Monte, both of which are on sale in the US. It is possible that these will improve the GM brand image.
It looks like we may be at a tipping point of the adoption curve for genetically altered food. It remains to be seen how Europe responds and how scientific capabilities will be leveraged in Europe in the future.
What next?
A huge amount of genetic innovation is already cropping up across the ag-bio space and the pace looks set to accelerate. The UK and EU have traditionally been viewed as having more burdensome GMO regulations than those in other areas of the world. However, both jurisdictions have been updating their laws to loosen regulation for gene-edited plants which are comparable to plants which could have been created by traditional breeding methods.
The UK introduced the Genetic Technologies (Precision Breeding) Act in 2023, while the EU has agreed a draft text for a new ‘New Genetic Techniques’ regulation, which is expected to come into force by the end of 2028. For more details on this new legislation and the key IP considerations to look out for, read our news item: How the EU is re-shaping the regulation of gene-edited plants.
How J A Kemp can help
As genetic technologies continue to shape crop science, it is important to consider not only the science, but also the legislative and intellectual property issues that come with innovation in this area. J A Kemp advises clients working across plant and crop science, biotechnology and life sciences, gene editing and engineering, genomics, food and nutrition, and green energy and climate tech. This breadth of expertise allows us to support businesses and innovators developing and protecting technologies in this fast-moving field, including in areas where scientific progress, regulation and commercial strategy increasingly overlap.
J A Kemp LLP acts for clients in the USA, Europe and globally, advising on UK and European patent practice and representing them before the European Patent Office, UKIPO and Unified Patent Court. We have in-depth expertise in a wide range of technologies, including Biotech and Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, Software and IT, Chemistry, Electronics and Engineering and many others. See our website to find out more.
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