The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope this week announced the approval of a field trial with genetically modified potatoes. The trial will start next week in Zurich and continue for up to five years.
The potato plants have been modified to contain genes responsible for resistance against the late blight, also called Phytophthora (the name of the pathogen), a disease that has great economic importance. Potato cultures usually must be treated eight to ten times until harvest, the cost of which is estimated at about 20% of the total production costs. In addition, the pesticides applied during these treatments are an environmental burden.
Introducing genes by genetic modification is simpler and faster than a classical breeding approach. The genes responsible for resistance that have been introduced into these potato plants have been isolated from wild potatoes originating from Mexico and South America, and could theoretically have been directly crossed into cultivated potato varieties, which in fact has been done in the past. This, however, would have introduced also other undesired traits of the wild potato into the cultivated varieties, which then would have had to be crossed out again. Thus, the classical breeding approach implies a long selection process which can take about ten years and results in new varieties with new characteristics. The introduction of a single gene, however, does not change the overall phenotype of a variety. It only adds one specific trait, such as disease resistance.
In contrast to the often-discussed transgenic plants containing genes from a different species (which therefore cannot be introduced by classical breeding), plants being modified with genes from close relatives, which in theory could be introduced by breeding, are called cisgenic. Agroscope will be evaluating eight cisgenic potato lines containing between one and three resistance genes. They have been developed in the Netherlands within the DuRPh Program (Durable Resistance against Phytophthora) and have already been tested and preselected in first field trials. According to Dutch researchers, the fact that several genes are being introduced does not enhance the risks, but improves the durability of the resistance. The pathogen would have to overcome all of these genes in order to break resistance, which is less likely than overcoming the effect of only one gene.
In Switzerland, these lines will be tested for their resistance against local Phytophthora strains and the impact of this resistance in the environment. Until 2017, a moratorium prohibits growing genetically modified plants for agricultural production in Switzerland. However, field trials for research can be approved if several conditions are fulfilled. For this purpose, Agroscope operates a high-security site in Zurich-Reckenholz, where genetically modified crops have already been tested in the past. This site is protected against vandalism by fences and video-controlling, and the uncontrolled release of genetically modified material into the environment is prevented.
One might ask why such tests are conducted in Switzerland at all, and whether it would not be better to completely outlaw the cultivation of genetically modified plants in the country. The researchers working on these tests argue that nowadays, twelve percent of the world-wide agricultural land is being used for cultivation of genetically modified plants, and that this area is likely to further increase in the future. Therefore, it is crucial for Swiss researchers to keep up the knowledge concerning genetically modified plants, even if they will not be used for agricultural production here, in order to be able to evaluate the impact that a release of such plants might have on the environment.
Sources
http://www.bafu.admin.ch/dokumentation/medieninformation/00962/index.html?lang=de&msg-id=56923
https://www.news.admin.ch/message/index.html?lang=de&msg-id=56927
http://www.agroscope.admin.ch/php/modules/mediamanager/sendobject.php?lang=de&multimedia=NHzLpZig7t,lnJ6IzdeIp96km56Vl2ponppOqdayXbGH7Iuq2Z6epJCIdYBohr2lla2M04au3aWXpI2XnqmOpt2el56V0o6m3aCWrYeYnYifqQ--.flv
http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/Expertise-Services/Research-Institutes/plant-research-international/DuRPh.htm
Photo credit: Catkin via Pixabay (license)
Interesting article, this issue is indeed important and scientists in Switzerland need to continue their research even if genetic plants won't be used for local production.
So in a sense, these trials merely seek to accelerate and target the process of selection which could have occurred naturally, in the classical breeding process. At the same time, what is the reason for the ban on large scale agricultural production of GM plants in Switzerland until 2017? Are there particular questions which the government is hoping to have answered by then or is it more that they hope to have public opinion on their side for large scale GM crop exploitation? I would also be interested to know how Agriscope plan to prevent "the uncontrolled release of genetically modified material into the environment".
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your questions. The moratorium was first accepted during the vote in November 2005 and thus reflects the opinion of the Swiss population. Since then, it has been extended twice by the government: for the first time until 2013, and then for another four years until 2017.
There are several reasons justifying the prolongation of the moratorium. First, it does not imply economic disadvantages for Swiss biotech companies, as they are not active in this sector. Second, expiration of the moratorium will necessitate new laws regulating co-existence of non-engineered plants with GMOs, which will include regulation of minimal distances between cultures to avoid cross-pollination, and separation of flow of goods. Other crucial points for the extension of the moratorium are the non-acceptance of GMOs by the consumer, and a lack of demand for GMOs by Swiss farmers.
The uncontrolled release of genetically modified material is prevented by several measures. For example, fences protect the field where the plants are grown, they must keep a minimal distance from other potato plantations, and potato tubers are transported in double-walled containers. Furthermore, all those who have access to the field have to undergo special training, and all machines and materials used must be thoroughly cleaned.
Further information can be found here: http://www.gentechnologie.ch/moratorium/moratoriumsverlaengerung http://www.agroscope.admin.ch/biosicherheit/06948/06951/08172/index.html?lang=en
I hope that helps you understand this complex issue a bit better.
Nicole
Thank you for these clarifications. It think it is particularly interesting that the moratorium continues as a means to save the authorities in Switzerland from having to specifically legislate against GMOs. Can you foresee a time when Switzerland and perhaps more broadly Europe follows the lead of the United States in terms of the general acceptance of these modified organisms?
At the moment, Switzerland is the only country with laws against GMOs. In the European Union, cultivating GMOs is allowed, but every Member State has its own legislation. Currently, about 0.1% of the arable land in Europe are being used for cultivation of GMOs, with the largest percentage in Spain and Portugal.
However, my personal opinion is that the non-acceptance of GMOs by the consumer will continue. So, I don't think that Europe will follow the lead of the US within the next years to decades.
N'y a-t-il pas un risque via les pollens que des pommes de terre génétiquement modifiés contaminent des pommes de terre non génétiquement modifiés lors de ces tests expérimentaux ?
Bonjour Laurent,
Merci pour votre question. Théoriquement, ce risque existe, en effet, mais les distances minimales aux autres plantations de pommes de terre sont établies afin de réduire ce risque au strict minimum. En général, le risque de contamination des cultures non génétiquement modifiés est beaucoup plus important chez les plantes dont les graines sont récoltées, car ce sont les graines qui contiennent la modification génétique en cas de pollinisation avec un OGM. Chez les pommes de terre, dont les tubercules sont récoltés et utilisés pour les propager, il n’y a donc aucun risque de contamination de la récolte avec les gènes modifiés.
Cordialement
Nicole