By Matthias Meili

Translated by Christopher Ortler, ACCESS!

The cultivation of genetically modified plants is controversial. Now a
biologist has developed a method that puts many of the fears to rest.
Shut securely in an incubator, the promising seedlings are growing on
small Petri plates in the second floor underground cellar of a research
laboratory in Zurich. They are genetically modified, apple scab-resistant
apple trees that may one day be organic-certified.

?In nine months I could be starting with field trials,? says Cesare
Gessler, Professor of Integrative Biology at the ETH Zurich and director of
the highly anticipated project. ?A start in Fall 2009 is more likely.?

Crisis in fruit growing

Plant biotechnology, or the use of genetics to improve on some aspect
of an agricultural crop, such as lowering fertilizer or pesticide
requirements, or enhancing appearance or flavour of a crop, is highly
controversial. The attack on a field trial of genetically modified wheat
near Zurich on Friday is the latest reminder of this.

The Swiss Federal Council just recently extended a moratorium on the
commercial cultivation of genetically modified crops that the population
voted for in November 2005. And in the ?organic? agricultural sector,
obviously, such genetically modified plants are a strict taboo.

But because Gesslersīs apples contain only apple genes, his trials
represent a kind of alternative path for gene technologists. He calls them
cys gene plants (Latin cys = this side) to differentiate them from the
plants that contain genes from other plant species or different types of
organisms altogether, such as viruses and bacteria, which he refers to as
trans gene plants (Latin trans = other side).

The Swiss National Fund is also a supporter of Gesslerīs research,
providing almost half-a-million Francs, largely because ?this new type of
genetic modification eliminates many of the problems.? Furthermore, in the
Fall of 2007 the Swiss Federal Council made it clear to a parliamentary
inquiry that it intended to support cys genetics in order to get a handle on
the rapidly growing Fire Blight crisis.

It is clear that fruit cultivation needs new ideas and new directions.
Apple Scab is the most destructive fungus in local orchards and without
counter-measures it would result in high losses. The application of potent
fungicides is a given.

In addition, in the last few years there has been a steadily
increasing occurrence of Fire Blight. This is particularly bad because the
common method of combating this damaging bacterial disease is to spray with
the antibiotic streptomycin, which is an environmental and health hazard.
There is therefore a need for resistant apple varieties. These can be
developed either by classical plant breeding or with the help of gene
technology.

?We decided early on that we arenīt interested in trans gene plants,?
explained Professor Gessner. In transgene organisms, the inserted genes
originate from foreign organisms such as bacteria, viruses or other plant
species not capable of interbreeding. In his project Gessner has inserted an
apple scab resistance gene from an old wild apple sort into the genome of a
common Gala apple.

?Our apples are genetically modified but they contain only apple
genes. We even found a solution for the technically challenging selection of
the plants.? Until now special selection genes from plant viruses have been
necessary for this step of the process but Gessler was able to replace these
with apple genes too.

The black sheep

The 59 year-old Cesare Gessler could be referred to as the black sheep
of genetic research. He repeatedly voiced concern that the time for
commercial application of gene technology had not yet come and supported the
moratorium. But the born Tessiner, who has worked for almost thirty years in
Zurich, applies the technology when it is necessary. ?It is wrong to blindly
and totally condemn the technology. We must judge the products,? says
Gessler.

The ETH plant researcher, Christof Sautter, who has developed a
genetically modified wheat variety, supports Gesslerīs project ?if it helps
broaden acceptance of gene technology.?

However, Sautter notes that the location of the inserted gene within
the apple genome is uncontrolable even with cys technology. ?For me the
question is therefore not whether one works with cys or trans plants, but
whether gene technology should be used at all to combat Fire Blight.?

Fewer problems

In any case, farmers and the public are uniformly against genetically
modified plants in Switzerland, theoretically because of the inherent risks.
Foreign genes, so it goes, could result in the production of new, allergy
causing substances in such plants. Another fear is of a biological nature,
namely that through interbreeding a new super weed may results that crowds
out all other plants.

Many of these problems are eliminated, however, when genes from the
same kind of organism are utilized. There is no more health risk for
consumers because the genes are from an apple tree whose fruit has been
consumed by countless people over many years. There is no risk of
transferring the resistance gene to other apple trees or wild sorts because
the resistance gene has been widespread in apple trees for many centuries.

Soon, Gessler would like to address the Fire Blight problem. ?We are
not as far along with Fire Blight as we are with apple scab, though,? admits
Gessler frankly. ?There are old apple sorts that are resistant to Fire
Blight. But in contrast to apple scab, the resistance cannot be definitively
assigned to one specific gene.?

Swiss agriculture and Swiss Bio agriculture in particular, stand to
profit considerably from Professor Gesslerīs research. Especially in fruit
production, the word ?organic? means anything but pesticide-free in
Switzerland.

While farmers who follow the ecologically oriented guidelines of
Integrated Production (IP) spray fungicide in their orchards 8 to 10 times
per year, depending on type of apple and weather, the organic producers are
not much better. They spread copper solution in their orchards up to 18
times per season. Copper is an effective inorganic fungicide that is still
permitted ? even though the substance is listed by Bio Suisse as a health
and environmental hazard.

But without the copper, one would never be able to get rid of the
fungi in the orchard. ?About 8 sprayings per season can be eliminated with
our apple scab resistant apple sort? says Professor Gessler. ?That is a
great accomplishment.?

Swiss Bio representatives are however still strictly against the
possibility of putting cys plants into the organic category. The association
Bio Swiss, which can bestow the attractive label, continues to support
research in traditional agricultural methods.

?The application of gene technology is contradictory to our
philosophy,? answers Bio Suisse Public Relations Representative Jacqueline
Forster, when questioned if cys plant cultivation is being considered by
BioSuisse.

The guidelines for permits to cultivate genetically modified plants
will also remain unchanged according to the Swiss Department for the
Environment (Bafu). According to Bafu media speaker Adrain Aeschlimann, ?it
makes no difference to the government if the genetic modifications are of a
cys or trans nature. The key criterion is whether there was a transfer of
DNA by gene technological means.?

Organic scene is interested

In other countries such as Australia the thinking is quite different.
Cys gene plants require neither approval nor labelling. Recently, the German
geneticist Bernd Muller-Röber of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular
Plant Physiology, in Potsdam, appealed to the EU to reconsider its position
with regard to cys plants.

All the while, Gesslerīs research is being looked at with interest by
the Geman organic scene. Already two years have gone by since the advisory
organization Ecological Fruit Production concluded ?the general rejection of
gene technology for the out-of-date products of the large biotech companies
was correct and sufficient.?

For the next generation of genetically modified plants whose
modifications and gene make-up remain within the species, and which possess
ecologically beneficial qualities such as apple scab resistance, there is a
need for objective discussion and evaluation of the products.
Source: NZZ
www.checkbiotech.org