Field Trials Planned in Italy With Rice Plants Obtained From New Genetic Engineering

A first European field trial with “new genomic techniques” (NGT) rice is supposed to be started in Italy this year, reports Testbiotech. The plants are supposedly resistant to the rice blast fungus Pyricularia oryzae, which can lead to crop failure. Some other European countries such as Belgium, the UK, Sweden and Switzerland are also planning to release NGT plants, or are already doing so.

The gene combination of the NGT rice is different from those as obtained by conventional breeding: three genes in the plants were genetically engineered all sited on the same chromosome, with two of them very closely to each other. Therefore, it seems to be hardly possible to achieve such a gene combination with conventional breeding. The targeted genes have a variety of functions, and include the elimination of a gene function capable of increasing resistance to other plant diseases. At the same time, it is also unclear whether the interactions between the NGT plants and its associated soil organisms will change. As the example shows, NGT plants need to be thoroughly tested for environmental risks before they can be used in agriculture.