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"The harm of GMOs is not shown in any study. And there are a lot of them"

Natalia Fedorova, "Real Time"

Oddly enough, there are still a lot of myths and misconceptions associated with genetics. The reason for this is the illiteracy of the population, according to biologist Svetlana Borinskaya, and the consequence is increased infant mortality (in the case of the anti–vaccination movement), unsuccessful laws (in the case of the prohibition of GMOs at the state level), aggressive nationalism and even the collapse of families. About this and much more – in an interview with the expert "Real time".

– Svetlana Alexandrovna, what misconceptions exist in society today regarding biology and genetics?

– The examples that most impressed me were not delusions, but elementary illiteracy. I will give such an example. When I gave lectures to phys tech students, they wrote down and then posted the summary on the Internet. And under the lecture on the inheritance of blood groups, a third-grader's comment appeared: "I have been interested in this topic since my father (who, like my mother, has Rh positive, and I, unfortunately, turned out negative) told me that because of this I am not his daughter, he accused my mother of all mortal sins and left us. So, dear Dad, you are deeply mistaken. You're wrong!!!"

The combination of her and her parents' blood groups described by the girl fully complies with the laws of genetics, which her father apparently skipped at school.

– And what ideas are there about GMOs?

– Widespread misconceptions about the harm of GMOs, unfortunately, have been supported in Russia at the legislative level – unfortunately because the ban on the cultivation of GM crops puts our country at a disadvantage. At the same time, the harm of GMOs is not shown in any study, and quite a lot of such studies have been conducted.

The fear of GMOs also comes from illiteracy. Once people protested against canned food, cars, trains. In my own survey, it turned out that about a third of Muscovites believe that genetically modified plants (potatoes, tomatoes) have genes and therefore they are harmful, but there are no genes in ordinary plants. Similar results were obtained in surveys conducted by VTsIOM and other sociological structures.

In my own survey, it turned out that about a third of Muscovites believe that genetically modified plants (potatoes, tomatoes) have genes and therefore they are harmful, but there are no genes in ordinary plants.

The attitude to GMOs most strongly distinguishes scientists and the general public. A recent survey in the United States showed that 88% of scientists believe GMOs are safe, while only 37% of the public agree with this. A survey I conducted at the recently held genetic congress showed that more than 65% of geneticists and breeders believe that restrictions on the cultivation of GMOs should be abolished or at least modified. To my surprise, 10% of scientists replied that they did not know about such a law or that it did not concern them.

– Is it true that it is possible to determine nationality by DNA?

– This is also a misconception that my colleagues and I often have to face. I must say right away: it is impossible to determine nationality by DNA. It is possible to determine which ethnic group a person is closest to genetically. But this does not mean that he will have the same ethnicity.

Many people do not distinguish between biological and cultural characteristics. Biological ones are those that are determined by heredity, recorded in DNA, such as eye color, hair and skin, blood type, nose shape, features of the work of certain enzymes, and so on. Cultural peculiarities are assimilated in the process of upbringing in the family, peer groups, in society as a whole. Historically, people settled in inhabited territories together with their genes and their culture, their languages. Therefore, part of the cultural characteristics naturally correlates with genetic characteristics. But this does not mean that genes encode language. Genes determine only the ability to learn to speak, and a person acquires a language after birth, in the process of communicating with his loved ones.

That is, it seems to be clear that the language is not "sewn" to the genes, but many, nevertheless, believe that genes determine nationality. National traditions (or ethnicity, ethnographers distinguish these concepts) just like language, they are assimilated in life, they are not "sewn" to the genes. The shape of the nose or the color of the skin does not determine nationality, belonging to one or another ethnic group is determined by the person himself, how he realizes himself. And when geneticists compare the DNA of one person with the DNA of representatives of different ethnic groups, they determine the genetic relationship with these groups, not nationality. All relatives can be Lezgins or Chukchi, or French. But this does not mean that the person himself will certainly consider his nationality the same. He can consider himself an American or a German or a Russian and remember his origin at the same time.

Nationality for many people is part of self–identification. Therefore, when discussing this topic, a lot of emotional responses appear, and sometimes it can be used for unseemly purposes. One of the would-be scientists "deduced" from DNA that the Slavs are Arias and their ancestral homeland was probably on the territory of Syria. Since he expounds his constructions with great confidence, some believe him. It is a pity that even in the scientific environment, humanities scholars sometimes take his writings for genetics and believe that it is we, geneticists, who carry such nonsense.

– And how much of a person's life is conditioned by genes inherited from their parents?

– The very fact that a person lives is due to 100% genes. There would be no genes, hereditary information, there would be no life. But what we become depends not only on genes, but also on the conditions of upbringing.

It has now been shown that stresses suffered in early childhood leave traces on DNA in the form of chemical tags that change the work of genes and, as a result, the reaction to further stresses, the ability to learn, and the state of health. This is shown for both humans and rats and other laboratory animals. There are signs that are completely determined by genes. For example, education cannot change eye color or blood type. But psychological characteristics, a tendency to depression or optimism, the ability to learn and much more can even change.

– And what do you think about the statement of Nobel laureate James Watson about the genetically determined difference in IQ levels between representatives of different races?

– James Watson's statement, to which I have great respect, does not correspond to the available results of scientific research. Watson relies on the publication of the results of studies conducted incorrectly. His statement can only be taken into account as evidence of adherence to the views prevalent in his youth, which have not been confirmed in further scientific research. There is no scientific data on the existence of a genetically determined difference in IQ in representatives of different races.

Watson, by the way, is not alone in this. It is not uncommon for a scientist who has made an important discovery to refuse to recognize other equally important discoveries. For example, Ernst Rutherford, who did a lot to understand how atoms are arranged, did not recognize the possibility of using atomic energy.

– How do you feel about the anti-vaccination movement?

– With sadness. Because it is fueled by illiteracy. Until the beginning of the XX century, in many countries, including Russia, infant mortality was 60%. Its reduction became possible thanks to the achievements of science and medicine. Vaccinations, antibiotics, sanitation, public health – that's what made it possible for our children not to die before reaching adolescence.

My opinion: anti-vaccinators are brainwashed by unscrupulous (or sick) preachers and, as a result, endanger the health and life of not only their children, but also their peers. Sociological studies of the causes of the spread of anti-vaccination ideology are necessary, because of all the myths, it is the most harmful to the health of the younger generation.

And measures are needed to prevent brainwashing of the population, education from school. At the same time, not in the form of dry lectures, but in the individual and group work of psychologists and doctors with those on whom the preservation of children's health primarily depends – with young mothers. In some countries, tougher measures have also been taken, including the exclusion of children who have not been vaccinated without medical grounds from children's institutions.

– How have geneticists progressed in the study of HIV?

– HIV genetic research has two directions. The first is the study of the human immunodeficiency virus, which is very variable. These studies have made it possible to understand the molecular basis of the impact of HIV on the human body, to develop drugs that inhibit the reproduction of the virus and the development of the disease, to trace the pathways of the virus.

The second direction is related to the study of genetically determined human resistance to HIV and AIDS. In order to get into the cell, the virus uses a protein located on the cell surface as a "landing pad". It is called the chemokine receptor CCR5. There are people whose mutation has corrupted the gene encoding this receptor. Accordingly, they do not have this receptor protein, the virus has nothing to cling to on the cell surface. Such people are almost not infected with HIV. There are not very many of them – about 1-2% in the north of Russia, in Estonia and Finland. There are several times fewer of them in the south of Europe, and they practically do not occur in territories outside Europe (unless the descendants of the inhabitants of the listed regions migrated to new places).

Part of the research on the creation of AIDS drugs is aimed at "closing" the receptor, then the infection will not develop. There is a known case of a complete cure from HIV, when an HIV-infected patient needed a bone marrow transplant and the material was taken from a donor with a non-functioning CCR5 gene.

– And what can geneticists say about cancer?

– Cancer genetics research is one of the most funded areas in genetics. Because in developed countries, the two main causes of death are cardiovascular diseases and cancer. At the beginning of the XX century, the main causes of death were infectious diseases (tuberculosis is one of the first places in Russia) and injuries. Then people did not live to cancer, the average life expectancy was about 40 years. Now life expectancy has increased, and the structure of mortality has changed – people manage to live up to cancer and heart and vascular diseases.

In most cases, a normal cell divides until it comes into contact with other cells. Then she stops sharing. This is called "contact braking". The termination of cell division is controlled by genes. Genes also control cell suicide (apoptosis) in situations where the "control system" has detected breakdowns of vital systems or DNA destruction in the cell. Such a "spoiled" cell must die in order for the organism to continue to exist safely.

It is now known which genes "go crazy" and allow the cell to divide uncontrollably, even if there is no room for new cells or if the cell has "deteriorated". There are known mutations in such genes that greatly increase the risk of cancer. Some cancers occur in response to infection with viruses. A vaccine has been developed for cervical cancer, which in most cases occurs after infection with human papilloma virus. Formally, it is a vaccine against the virus, but in fact it is a vaccine against cancer.

Genetic approaches are also used in the treatment of cancer. You can see how the genes change their work after the introduction of an anti-cancer drug, and determine whether a therapeutic effect has been obtained. You can not wait for the deterioration of the patient's well-being, which will indicate that the drug needs to be changed, but immediately determine whether there is a desired effect or not.

– What breakthroughs have been made in genetics in recent years?

– New methods and devices for DNA analysis have appeared, this has happened over the past decade. The cost of reading complete genomes has plummeted. This led to the accumulation of large amounts of genetic information, the computer analysis of which gave a lot of new knowledge. For example, an analysis of the genome of six hundred thousand people showed that the presence of mutations that were previously considered to be unconditionally causing hereditary diseases does not necessarily lead to disease. 13 people were found with such mutations that cause diseases in childhood, without any signs of these diseases. Why these people do not show mutations is still unclear.

Methods of bioinformatics – computer analysis of genetic texts - are developing rapidly. New genes have been discovered, including genes associated with human diseases. The development of methods makes it possible to observe the processes in a separate cell. Very interesting results have been obtained in studies combining genetic and neurobiological methods. The genomes of many animals, plants and other organisms have been read. All this made it possible to better understand the laws of evolution, changed the ideas about the origin of some plant and animal species, clarified the interaction of organisms in ecosystems.

In studies concerning human evolution, a new species has been discovered – the Denisovan man, who lived on the territory of Asia even before Homo sapiens settled it. Genomic analysis showed that both the "Denisovan" and the Neanderthal left a trace in our genes.

– What contribution does the Russian school of genetics make to this?

– Russian geneticists have bright discoveries. This year, the results of research by Novosibirsk scientists were published – they found that songbirds have an additional chromosome in their germ cells, which, according to scientists, originated about 35 thousand years ago. Krasnoyarsk geneticists have studied the genomes of coniferous trees (larch, fir, pine). In cooperation with Belarusian scientists, a transgenic goat was created. In 2011, geneticists helped criminologists identify the perpetrator of the terrorist attack at Domodedovo airport, determining the probable region of origin from his DNA.

The most famous achievements of medical genetics are when mutations associated with diseases are discovered. Prenatal diagnosis is possible for several hundred hereditary diseases.

But Russian genetics, like all Russian science, is experiencing a crisis related to management decisions. It is much more difficult to conduct experimental research in Russia – many reagents and equipment are not manufactured in our country, they need to be purchased abroad. At the same time, their cost sometimes increases significantly, and they need to wait for months to receive them. And there are difficulties with Russian reagents – their purchase must be planned in advance, included in the plan of financial and economic activities, hold a tender, which not the best can win. After all, reagents for scientific research are needed not the cheapest, but corresponding to certain quality requirements. Scientists have raised these issues more than once – there were promises to solve them, but there are still no necessary solutions.

Reference Svetlana Borinskaya is a Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Genome Analysis Laboratory at the N. I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
She was born in Kolomna in 1957. In 1980 she graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Since 1991, he has been working at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1999 she defended her PhD thesis. In 2014, she received the degree of Doctor of Biological Sciences, having defended her dissertation on the topic "Human population-genetic adaptation to natural and anthropogenic environmental factors". Research interests – genetic and socio-cultural evolution of man, genetics of behavior and gensredovye interactions. Author of more than 50 scientific publications and more than 100 popular scientific articles.

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