New breeding methods

What’s in the pipeline for genome editing?

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry underscored the significance of genome editing. The method is also very important for KWS. Various projects focus on it.

Genome editing is a method used to make specific and precise changes in the genome. These changes can be point mutations or deletions, which also occur in nature and have long been used by conventional breeding as well. Genome editing makes it possible to do this faster and in a more targeted way. The potential of these additional breeding methods was also emphasized by this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry. It was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, who co-developed the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system.

KWS is currently working on genome editing projects in Einbeck as well as at its research center in St. Louis. We’ll deal with this topic in more depth in coming issues of insideKWS: the science behind it, the question of how it differs from conventional genetic engineering, the political and social environment for this new technology, and the people who work on it at KWS.

One of the current projects: PILTON

To demonstrate the benefits of new breeding methods using a real world example and make them tangible for the public – that is what the PILTON project (fungal tolerance of wheat by new breeding methods) aims to do. This joint project under the lead of the German Federation of Plant Innovation e.V. (GFPi), which involves almost 60 companies including KWS, was presented to the public in September 2020.

Fungal diseases in wheat

Source: Bundesverband Deutscher Pflanzenzüchter e. V.

Fungal diseases in wheat

Source: Bundesverband Deutscher Pflanzenzüchter e. V.

What does the project mean to KWS?

Anja Matzk, member of the PILTON core team: For us as a breeding company, the benefits of new technologies like CRISPR/Cas for modern and resource-conserving agriculture are obvious. The problem: So far there are hardly any concrete, tangible results that illustrate this in practice. However, to influence the current political framework, which today poses considerable obstacles to the use of these modern methods, we need this practical evidence. And as an outcome we hope to contribute to making the new technologies available to breeders and farmers in Europe. PILTON offers us this evidence, and that is why we at KWS are involved in this important endeavor and are carrying out one of the subprojects.

Anja Matzk and Dietmar Stahl explain the research project PILTON

Specifically, this subproject investigates editing summer and winter wheat for the desired characteristic of fungal disease tolerance, testing its effectiveness under greenhouse conditions. How are the first "CRISPR plants” doing?

Dietmar Stahl, scientific lead: First, a single gene was precisely adapted in the laboratory in spring wheat. In doing that, a regulator gene, which switches off the natural defense of the wheat in case of fungal attack, was inactivated. Therefore, the wheat plant was to be enabled to use its own defenses longer and more intensively. This work was mainly performed by the colleagues in St. Louis.

The first plants, the so-called T0 generation, grew in a growth chamber in St. Louis. The first seeds were harvested and sent to Einbeck. Then things got exciting: The T1 plants were subjected to molecular tests to determine whether the genome editing was stably passed on to the offspring. And that is the case! The outcome is very important for this phase of the project and a result of the dedicated work of the many colleagues involved.

The next generation of plants is going to be tested under greenhouse conditions for their tolerance to various fungal diseases in spring 2021.

How is PILTON being received by the public so far?

Anja Matzk: In the current situation, public relations work is certainly different than planned. The media agenda is clearly dominated by the coronavirus, and events are taking place digitally or are being postponed. Nevertheless, the perception of the project can be evaluated positively so far: The debate is characterized by objectivity and curiosity about the project, and leading media such as DIE ZEIT or “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” have already taken up the topic. We are receiving a lot of feedback that this research project comes at the right time. Of course, it is unusual for such a project to go public at such an early stage – in the case of PILTON, however, it was done deliberately to take political decision-makers and the public on the journey. The level of attention and expectations is high – which is good, but it also shows that intensive work lies ahead of us in the coming months and years. It remains exciting!

Regular updates on the PILTON project are available at https://pilton.bdp-online.de/?lang=en |

New Genome Editing Exhibition

KWS Einbeck headquarters now hosts a permanent Genome Editing Exhibition to engage with key external stakeholders. The exhibition in Biotechnology Center 1 and the Plaza presents plants created by these methods, as well as informative posters and banners explaining the technology and its many possible uses. The exhibition, sponsored by Léon Broers, will bring genome editing to life for invited guests, with tours available by knowledgeable colleagues working in the field.

It is hoped that, once Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, the exhibition will regularly be frequented by journalists, politicians, and key stakeholders keen to learn more about this important and useful technology. We will keep you updated! |

Genome Editing