Historical moment

Cabbage, "seasoned" with CRISPR technology, was served to the table for the first time

Evgenia Efimova, Vesti

The cabbage genome was edited using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

Quite rarely, a simple and banal dinner marks a huge step forward for science. Meanwhile, there was one such case in Sweden recently: two men tried pasta dishes and fried vegetables. Many will ask, what is the historical moment here? The matter is rather in the historical component: the cabbage tasted had a genome edited using CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

Scientists from Umeå University for the first time grew an "edited" vegetable outside the laboratory, then harvested, cooked and ate for dinner (Umeå researcher served a world first (?) CRISPR meal).

CRISPR genome editing technology is a revolutionary and at the same time relatively simple method that allows scientists to make changes to the DNA of a living organism. Using this technology, researchers can remove some genetic mutations and thereby prevent hereditary diseases. By the way, experts have already tried this method in attempts to rid a person of various disorders, for example, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, retinal dystrophy and even HIV. The use of the same technology in plants can increase their resistance to pests or weather conditions, as well as increase the yield and nutritional value of products.

So, scientists from Sweden edited the cabbage genome by removing the PSBs protein, which is otherwise called the "safety valve in photosynthesis." Stefan Jansson, a biology professor at Umeå University, planted modified seeds and grew crops in his own vegetable garden. Then he organized a dinner, to which he invited a local radio journalist Gustaf Klarin. Along with fried "edited" cabbage, Janson prepared tagliatelle (pasta) with chard (a subspecies of beetroot), cheese, onions and bread. Only by listing the dishes it becomes clear that the meal was quite a success.

"To our mutual joy and to some extent to my surprise, the food turned out to be very tasty. We both had dinner with great pleasure. Gustav also thought that cabbage was the best among vegetables. I agreed with him," writes Janson in his blog.

What is especially important in this seemingly simple dinner? The fact that cabbage became the first vegetable in Europe with an edited genome that was allowed to be cultivated outside the laboratory. The existing rules regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food are quite complex, and plants that fall under the definition of GMOs cannot actually be grown in Europe.

And in order to overcome this ban, the Umeå University research team applied to the Swedish Council for Agriculture for a permit that would allow cabbage varieties not to fall under the definition of GMOs. It worked: because a certain natural mutation also leads to the absence of the PSBs protein in the common vegetable. That is, it turns out that, in fact, "modified" food is obtained and not modified at all. Scientists simply repeated an evolutionary natural experiment in the laboratory (nature quite often asks the question "What happens if..?", deactivating certain genes in DNA).

But back to the legal question raised by Professor Jansson. Experts of the Swedish Council on Agriculture interpreted the law as follows: if only a segment of DNA was removed from the product and no "foreign DNA" was introduced into it, then such products should not be considered as GMOs. It's simple: you can't add fragments of someone else's DNA to the genome, but you can delete "unnecessary" ones.

However, whether it is possible to delete those that nature has not "deleted", the authorities in collaboration with scientists have yet to decide. Researchers can still experiment within the framework of the above wording (at least until the appearance of a new amended text of the law).

That is, now such plants can be grown "in the wild" without prior permission (environmentalists fear that in this case, "edited" organisms will begin to conquer territories on their own and spread around the world uncontrollably). The Swedes have found a way to circumvent this ban, which means that "edited" products can begin to develop with renewed vigor.

Genetically modified cabbage grew in a garden outside the city of Umeå in northern Sweden and does not look very different from ordinary cabbage. But it definitely represents a new stage in the development of agriculture, where scientific achievements will be introduced into new plant species – the food of the future.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  07.09.2016