Gene technology: Food and farming

Dr Sara Edwards and Prof Andrew Allan in front of the Beehive

Gene Editing: What does it mean for NZ’s plant-based industries?

Andrew Allan FRSNZ, Plant & Food Research and University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau

'In 2025 the regulatory settings for gene technologies in New Zealand may well change to something resembling Australia’s settings. This is very exciting for most scientists, and some of the public, but challenging for all of us in different ways, and upsetting for some of the public.

'Plants should be considered as a third of the solution to the climate crisis, as they fix CO₂ and make all our food (directly or indirectly).  Moving to a more plant-based economy requires both new crops and enhanced climate-resistance of existing crops.

'In the last 10 years, perhaps the most exciting development in biology has been gene editing. This mainly involves a protein called CRISPR-Cas. Humans have been “moving” DNA around using breeding since for over 10,000 years, but with CRISPR we can make precise new variants in genes, which allows knowledge discovered in one plant to be transferred to all plants. An example could include editing genes involved in dwarfing tall trees, to make orchard production more climate resilient. Already crops with edits are being grown in countries which NZ exports to, making our current regulations on editing an international exception.

'Some examples include wheat with increased yield, and tomatoes with higher levels of the amino-acid GABA.

'How does the NZ public react to these technologies? Surveys of Māori opinions have shown concerns, but also interest in the specific cases where Māori might benefit. Wider NZ-public surveys show over 50% of the public are positive towards new products produced using gene editing. However, real risks include the effects on the perception of New Zealand in export markets, and whether plants produced will have any increased risk to the environment and human health.

'The question remains of how New Zealand will respond to such plants, which if they are edited have no additional DNA and harbour only new variants of genes which are identical to “natural” variants already in the environment. In most countries (but not NZ or the EU) these resulting plants are not regulated.  We may well be deciding this year if new genetic technologies will play a part in our response to a changing climate and changing markets.’

Full house as Dr Edwards and Prof Allen answer MP questions, with MC Dr Parmjeet Parmar

Gene tech in livestock in New Zealand

Dr Sara Edwards, AgResearch 

Dr Edwards, Director of Research Operations, spoke about important research at AgResearch, which is the sole organisation in New Zealand doing research with genetic technologies involving “large animals”. For over 20 years this work has resulted in cutting edge scientific achievements that have captured global interest. However, this research will end in 2025 for several reasons including less commercial interest from New Zealand livestock industries.

Exciting projects have included gene editing in cows to increase the casein content in milk for cheese production, removal of a common allergen from milk, and even production of an anti-cancer drug in goat milk. Other initiatives have sought to create “climate smart cattle” that can better cope with hotter summers resulting from global warming. Holstein Friesian cows modified to have grey rather than black patches on their coat absorb less heat and cows edited with the “slick” gene can cope better with the heat. Pigs from the Auckland Islands, with the use of gene editing, are potential candidates for growing organs that in the future could be used for human transplants.

Dr Edwards spoke about the trade-offs required for work of this kind with livestock, AgResearch’s efforts to reduce harm to animals, and how public opinions around gene-edited/genetically-modified foods have evolved (people are often more concerned about modified animal products in their food than about modified plants). She also explained how current regulation around gene tech requires strict containment facilities and the upcoming closure of AgResearch’s outdoor facility in the Waikato, which is the only one of its type in the country.

Aotearoa New Zealand has a legacy of top quality innovation in this space, but the future for use of these genetic technologies in livestock will depend on the appetite of government, industry and consumers, and the regulations under which scientists will need to operate.