Outdoor cultivation Federal government approves trial with genetically modified wheat
The Federal Office for the Environment has given the green light to a field project in the canton of Zurich involving genetically modified wheat. The focus of the trial is on resistance to fungal diseases. There is also criticism.
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- In the canton of Zurich, genetically modified wheat may be grown outdoors as part of a research project.
- The aim is to obtain disease-resistant plants.
- The wheat does not receive new genetic material from other organisms, but there is criticism nonetheless.
- The trial is not about basic research, but about developing varieties for commercialization.
Genetically modified wheat may be grown outdoors in the canton of Zurich for a research project. The Federal Office for the Environment has approved an application from Agroscope, the federal government's competence center for agricultural research. Criticism has come from the GMO-free alliance.
The aim is to obtain disease-resistant plants, according to a press release issued by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) on Tuesday. Research is being conducted with the old Swiss winter wheat variety Arina. It was modified using the TEgenesis genetic engineering breeding method developed at the University of Basel, as Agroscope itself wrote.
The wheat does not receive new genetic material from other organisms with TEgenesis. Instead, existing sequences in the genetic material are placed in such a way that the plants develop new characteristics or lose undesirable characteristics. The focus of the trial is on resistance to fungal diseases such as septoria, yellow rust, brown rust and mildew.
Cultivated on protected land
The release trial is intended to show how the plants behave in the field. It begins this fall and will last up to five years. The wheat will be grown on the protected site at Agroscope's Reckenholz ZH site.
Agroscope must ensure that no genetically modified material can spread outside the trial area. The requirement is comparable to those for earlier trials, wrote the FOEN. Switzerland has a moratorium on genetic engineering until the end of 2025. Genetically modified plants may be cultivated for research purposes, but only with a permit.
The Swiss GMO-free Alliance (SGA) has criticized the move. For the first time, a plant that has been modified with TEgenesis is being released. The trial is not about basic research, but about variety development for commercialization. The SAG also lacks information on possible degradation products in the cell and their effect, which could be relevant for the risk analysis.
SDA