Rice fields in the Vercelli area in Northern Italy, where gene-editing techniques could be used to grow varieties resistant to rice blast and other diseases. Credit: Andrea Cherchi/ iStock / Getty Images Plus.
A CRISPR/Cas9-modified rice variety may be planted in a test field in northern Italy as soon as this spring after a government rule change introduced in 2023. A University of Milan team was the first research group in the country to apply for a field test under a law change that streamlines procedures for field trials of plants developed through genome editing or cisgenesis. With several other groups also planning proposals, a new wave of agricultural genetics in Italy could follow.
This week, for the first time in almost 20 years, a new entry appeared in the public database that lists proposals to test genetically modified plants in outdoor field trials in Italy. The request, from Vittoria Brambilla’s University of Milan team, focuses on a rice edited for resistance to a fungal disease. The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) will decide whether to permit the trial after a month-long public consultation.
Since the early 2000s, outdoor trials of genetically modified or genetically edited plants have been made impossible in Italy by a strict interpretation of EU regulations. Scientists are now waiting to see if the way will now be opened for resumption of field research. “My group is happy to have taken the initial step,” says Brambilla. “We hope this marks the beginning of a new season for Italian research, which has long awaited a signal of appeasement from political institutions.”
Italy’s temporary authorisation regime will last until the end of 2024 and is designed to bridge the gap until an anticipated revision of the EU regulatory framework on genetically modified plants. After a favourable vote by the environment committee on 24 January, the European Commission's proposal on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) is now expected to go to a parliamentary vote later this year, before negotiation with member countries. It aims to make possible the study and commercial growth of specific plants, provided they are equivalent to what could be achieved through conventional breeding. According to the draft regulation, Brambilla’s gene-edited rice would meet the criteria for the NGT-1 category, a classification subject to a lower regulatory threshold compared to GMOs, in terms of monitoring and labeling.
Researchers often need to temporarily introduce genes coding for the Cas9 nuclease and its RNA guides, as is the case with Brambilla’s rice. The crucial aspect is ensuring that these sequences are eliminated in the resulting plants, and the blast resistant rice indeed lacks any traces of foreign DNA.
Brambilla and her colleagues selected a cultivar suitable for risotto (Telemaco Ris8imo) and made three deletions in the coding sequences of three genes that influence rice susceptibility to Pyricularia oryzae, the fungus responsible for rice blast. The most important gene is Pi21, whose role in susceptibility is well-documented, though its close association with other genes that carry undesirable traits has deterred traditional breeders. But this is not a concern with gene editing, which is site-specific. The other two genes (called HMA1 and HMA2) seem to play a minor role. In the lab, plants with the three genes inactivated by deletion had reduced leaf lesions when infected, in comparison with plants without deletions. Outdoor testing is now needed to verify the protective effect.
If approved, the trial will be located at a farm near Pavia, in the Lombardy region, within a 28 m2 plot, set within a 400 m2 field, to ensure a substantial buffer zone to eliminate risk of cross-pollination. Planting is anticipated to start in early April. "Rice blast is a globally devastating disease, for which only a limited selection of ecologically impactful agrochemicals is available,” notes Brambilla. “Having resistant cultivars would benefit both growers and the environment”.
Brambilla’s request fires the starting gun for other Italian researchers who have, until now, confined their edited or cisgenic plants to labs. CREA, the leading Italian research institution on agriculture and food, coordinated a national research programme on editing and cisgenesis that ended in 2022. A dozen plants developed under this project fall within the NGT-1 definition and would be ready for field trials. According to Mario Pezzotti, a geneticist who currently serves as CREA extraordinary commissioner, there will be requests from their research centres for tests on grapevine, tomato and wheat. They will address resistance to biotic stresses, such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, and broomrape, which is a parasitic weed. If the current measures are extended until the end 2025, as Pezzotti deems likely, more requests could follow.
Being able to test new breeding technologies in the field will be crucial for Italian research. Silvio Salvi, president of the Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics (SIGA), told Nature Italy that the inclusion of editing-based methods for geneticists would be invaluable, allowing for example to add pest resistance to historic wine grapes and reduce chemical treatments without altering their genetic make-up.
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