BULLETIN 1
FSANZ Calls for Comment on Food from New GM Soybean

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is calling for comment on an application by Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd. to allow the sale and use of food derived from a genetically modified (GM) soybean line MON94637.
GM soybean line MON94637 has been genetically modified to protect the plant from damage caused by lepidopteran insect pests. If approved, food products derived from this GM soybean, such as oil, milk, flour, meal and protein isolates, may enter the Australian and New Zealand food supply as imported items. The safety assessment conducted by FSANZ found no potential public health or safety concerns with food derived from GM soybean MON94637. It is as safe as food from non-GM soybean varieties, the assessment said. Food made from this soybean would need to be labelled as 'genetically modified' if novel DNA and/or novel proteins were contained in the final food.
The approval would not allow the GM soybean MON94637 to be grown in Australia or New Zealand. Cultivation or importation of viable seeds would require separate regulatory assessment and approval by the Gene Technology Regulator in Australia, and the Environmental Protection Authority in New Zealand.
Submission of comments close on February 18, 2025 (Canberra time). For more details about this proposal, or how to send comments, read the news release from FSANZ.
See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21153

 

BULLETIN 2
Accelerating Agricultural R&D Transfer Enhances Global Food Security

 

  

Previous reports show that stringent regulatory processes and high research and development (R&D) costs cause approval lags and postponement in the adoption of gene editing. A study conducted by researchers from Wageningen University and Czech University of Life Sciences Prague explores the impacts of accelerating agricultural R&D transfer on global food security.
The study showed that advancing agricultural R&D transfer in high-income countries directly impacts their economic performance, welfare, input cost, nutrients, food affordability, and a spillover effect on middle and low-income countries. The researchers also found that China, India, other Asian countries, and Sub-Saharan African countries benefit the most from a homogenous 3-year increase in agricultural R&D transfer across all countries.
The results also showed that the EU will likely be the largest beneficiary of accelerated agricultural R&D transfer in high-income countries. The researchers recommend simplifying the gene editing approval process, which would benefit most countries around the world. They suggest streamlining the regulatory process for adopting gene editing to enhance global food security.
For more information, read the study from GM Crops & Food.
See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21154

SCIENTIFIC NEWS
NF-YC15 transcription factor activates ethylene biosynthesis and improves cassava disease resistance
Liyan Zheng, Shuai Gao, Yujing Bai, Hongqiu Zeng, Haitao Shi
Plant Biotechnol J.; 2024 Sep; 22(9):2424-2434. doi: 10.1111/pbi.14355.

  

Abstract
The nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factors play important roles in plant development and physiological responses. However, the relationship between NF-Y, plant hormone and plant stress resistance in tropical crops remains unclear. In this study, we identified MeNF-YC15 gene in the NF-Y family that significantly responded to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam) treatment. Using MeNF-YC15-silenced and -overexpressed cassava plants, we elucidated that MeNF-YC15 positively regulated disease resistance to cassava bacterial blight (CBB). Notably, we illustrated MeNF-YC15 downstream genes and revealed the direct genetic relationship between MeNF-YC15 and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase (MeACO1)-ethylene module in disease resistance, as evidenced by the rescued disease susceptibility of MeNF-YC15 silenced cassava plants with ethylene treatment or overexpressing MeACO1. In addition, the physical interaction between 2C-type protein phosphatase 1 (MePP2C1) and MeNF-YC15 inhibited the transcriptional activation of MeACO1 by MeNF-YC15. In summary, MePP2C1-MeNF-YC15 interaction modulates ethylene biosynthesis and cassava disease resistance, providing gene network for cassava genetic improvement.

See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38600705/
  

Figure:
The downstream disease resistance‐related genes of MeNF‐YC15. (a) DEGs between CK and MeNF‐YC15‐RNAi plants. (b) KEGG enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in plant‐pathogen interaction and hormone signalling pathways. (c) DEGs enriched in ethylene and disease‐related genes in MeNF‐YC15‐RNAi plants.