Press Releases - Media / Presse- und Medienberichte

Irland im EU-Vorsitz: Was ist der Plan zur Eindämmung des weltweiten Hungers?

Irland steckt vier Politikbereiche ab, in denen Ernährungssicherheit eine weitaus größere Rolle spielen kann.

https://www.welthungerhilfe.de/welternaehrung/rubriken/entwicklungspolitik-agenda-2030/was-plant-irland-im-eu-vorsitz-fuerernaehrungssicherheit

Informationsdienst Gentechnik: Gutachten: Koexistenz mit Gentechnik-Pflanzen weiter national regelbar

https://www.keine-gentechnik.de/nachricht/ggsc-gutachten-koexistenz

Bild der Wissenschaft: Gentech-Pflanzen produzieren Muskelfleisch-Protein

https://wissenschaft.de/artikel/gentech-pflanzen-produzieren-muskelfleisch-protein

Winkler P.: „Alte“ und „neue“ Gentechnik: die EU hat sich zu lange selbst blockiert

https://wirbuerger-bw.de/alte-und-neue-gentechnik-die-eu-hat-sich-zu-lange-selbst-blockiert/

Informationsdienst Gentechnik: Lila Gentechnik-Tomaten illegal in der EU angebaut

https://www.keine-gentechnik.de/nachricht/lila-gentechnik-tomaten-illegal-in-der-eu-angebaut

Vinogradova L.: From 2028, Some Gene-Edited Crops Will Be Treated Like Ordinary Produce in the EU

https://www.dutchbrief.com/p/from-2028-some-gene-edited-crops

Watson E.: Pairwise sees ‘dramatic uptick’ in CRISPR licensing as gene editing moves beyond row crops

https://agfundernews.com/pairwise-sees-dramatic-uptick-in-crispr-licensing-as-gene-editing-moves-beyond-row-crops

Publications – Publikationen

Sturchio E., Zanellato M., Mauro S., Boccia S. (2026): Prevention and protection of health and the environment in

laboratories using advanced and innovative biotechnological methods: results of an Italian project.  Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 52, 102462 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2026.102462

Biotechnology offers innovative and sustainable solutions to address the main environmental and economic challenges of our time. In recent years, there has been an exponential growth in applying cutting-edge biotechnological techniques in various research fields, such as human health, agriculture and industry. Such rapid success brings challenges related to human health and environmental protection. Therefore, it is essential to provide up-to-date information on national regulations, educate on laboratory practices with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and microorganisms, create awareness and promote biosafety. The Inail Project titled “Prevention and protection of health and the environment in laboratories using advanced and innovative biotechnological methods” was aimed at promoting staff training and awareness to ensure compliance with the directives 2009/41/EC on the contained use of genetically modified microorganisms (GMM) and 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of GMOs by new biotechnological techniques users, through innovative methodologies characterized by a close synergy between students, safety managers and researchers. A neuromanagement analysis was also conducted to test the potential effect of specific biosafety training for biotechnology laboratory users. In addition, an inspection body was established, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Health, and inspections were carried out at biotechnology laboratories to continuously improve safety. Results showed that workers' training is a central element of prevention system and the use of neuromanagement analysis can be an important tool to complement traditional and necessary training activities. Therefore, these techniques can increase awareness of how emotions and life experiences influence decision–making processes and improve safety behaviors. Following the awareness-raising activity carried out at the Italian Universities, new ad hoc courses were created on biotechnology safety for PhD students, and degree and master's courses were updated. Therefore, it is worth underlining the proportional increase in authorization requests for contained use of genetically modified microorganisms presented to the Ministry of Health in the last three years, underlining how the widespread training/information activity through motivational methods has been successful. The training activities also focused on the use of New Genomic Techniques (NGT) in agriculture, considering the advent of the NGTs legislation. The goal was to train young experts with specific skills in preparing the required dossiers for risk assessment and approval of new products resulting from the application of NGTs. This training was deemed necessary to increase the authorization requests for contained use mainly due to the increase of agricultural biotechnology facilities application. The innovative aspect of this project was to combine regulatory, technical, and motivational aspects, to promote a safety culture and a greater awareness in the use of biotech techniques.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352554126001543?via%3Dihub

Heredia-Pech M., Martínez-Castillo J., Ortiz García M.M., Dzib G.R., Chávez-Pesqueira M. (2026):Genetic Diversity and Structure

in Papaya: Insights From Tropical Inter-Reproductive Complexes in Its Center of Origin and Domestiation, Biotropica, 2026; 58:e70239 | https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70239

Inter-reproductive complexes, also known as hybrid zones, are sites where no apparent barriers exist to gene flow between two species or populations. In systems where domesticated plant species coexist with their wild relatives, such complexes can facilitate the generation of hybrid offspring, which may serve as genetic bridges for the incorporation of domesticated genes into wild populations. This gene flow may introduce non-adaptive alleles, potentially compromise the adaptive capacity of wild populations, and threaten their long-term survival. In tropical regions of Mexico, backyard gardens provide an ideal setting to study these dynamics, as they promote genetic interactions between domesticated and wild individuals. In this study, we used a population genomics approach to assess the genetic structure, genetic diversity, and gene flow among wild, hybrid, and domesticated Carica papaya within four inter-reproductive complexes located in Mayan communities of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. We analyzed 5647 SNP markers from 180 individuals. Our results revealed three distinct genetic groups (wild, hybrid, and domesticated), with the highest diversity found in the wild populations (H_E  = 0.207), the lowest in the domesticated populations (H_E  = 0.136), and an intermediate genetic diversity in the hybrid group (H_E  = 0.202). Gene flow analysis showed that the hybrid group exhibited the highest migration rate into the wild group (m = 0.045). These findings highlight the potential for gene flow to alter the genetic structure and diversity of papaya populations in inter-reproductive complexes in the Yucatan Peninsula, part of the origin center of the species.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.70239

Yang Y., Stewart, Jr. C.N. (2026): Environmental Risk Assessment and Confinement of Genetically Engineered Trees with

an Emphasis on Vegetative Reproduction. Plants  15(16), 2496; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15162496

Genetic engineering (GE) and gene editing may endow traits to trees such as increased biomass and the production of novel biomaterials. Long-lived organisms such as trees might be subject to biotechnology-related risks that could be different than those of annual row crops. Those risks could be relevant to production in engineered plantations and beyond plantations to natural forests. Therefore, appropriate risk regulation is important to assure biosafety of commercialized engineered trees. In addition to gene flow via sexual reproduction, vegetative reproduction might play an additional role in environmental “exposure” risk relative to transgene dispersal in GE tree plantations. While vegetative reproduction is beneficial for preserving desired genetic traits during tree propagation, it may lead to proximal clonal spread in the field. Although the environmental risks associated with vegetative reproduction of GE trees are recognized in commercial forestry, there are few field-based environmental risk assessment (ERA) studies on dispersal risks of self-propagated GE trees. GE or gene editing of target genes involved in the vegetative propagation processes may be useful to mitigate environmental risks of clonal spread through vegetative reproduction. This review provides updates for recent field test results of GE and gene edited trees. Gene candidates related to vegetative reproduction including adventitious shooting (AS) and adventitious rooting (AR) are discussed herein as a means to mitigate unintended clonal spread from GE tree plantations.

https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/15/16/2496

VG, I. L., Singh, G., Jyoti, S. D., Debsharma, S. K., Harper, C. L., Saha, M. C., & Talukder, S. K. (2026): A step forward toward

improved cold tolerance in rice: integrating physiological insights with cutting-edge genomic approaches. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 46(6), 900–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2026.2680427

Cold stress (CS) is a major abiotic factor that significantly affects rice growth, development, and productivity. To withstand CS, rice plants have evolved intricate mechanisms that enable them to detect external signals and respond to changing environmental conditions. Understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance (CT) is therefore crucial for developing rice cultivars that can thrive under cold conditions. To date, a limited number of genes/QTLs associated with CT, such as: Ctb1, COLD1, COLD6, qLTG3-1, SGD1, and CTB4a, have been cloned and well studied. These genes play essential roles in the plant’s response to CS by regulating various stress-related pathways, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, osmotic regulation, and signal transduction. The physical co-localization of OsSRFP1 (associated with CT at the seedling stage) and OsMTACP2 (associated with CT at the reproductive stage) on chromosome 3 (between 13.1–13.3 Mb) suggests the potential for simultaneous introgression of these traits into recipient cultivars using donor parents carrying the desirable alleles. Genomic selection, powered by high-throughput genotyping technologies, enhances the accuracy and efficiency of identifying cold-tolerant genotypes. Additionally, integrating multi-omics approaches with gene-editing technologies offers a comprehensive strategy to uncover the complex molecular networks and regulatory pathways involved in CT, thereby identifying potential targets for genetic improvement. Overall, this review emphasizes the potential of integrating molecular, physiological, and genomic tools to develop rice cultivars resilient to CS, thereby contributing to global food security in the context of climate change.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07388551.2026.2680427

Ahmed, H.A., Youssef, A., Radwan, E.H. et al. (2026): Genome editing in tetraploid potato: CRISPR technologies, multi-omics

target discovery, and applications for trait-oriented breeding. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 166, 54 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-026-03546-4

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an economically important staple crop worldwide, but its productivity and quality are limited by its complex tetraploid genome and increasingly severe biotic and abiotic stresses. Emerging genome-editing technologies, including engineered nucleases (ZFNs, TALENs), CRISPR/Cas-based systems, and post-genome-editing precision tools (base editors, prime editors), offer promising approaches to accelerate precision breeding in potatoes. We review the current state and applications, focusing on delivery strategies that enable safe, DNA-free, transgene-free edits of polyploid germplasm; base and prime editing for seamless edits at the single-nucleotide and templated sequence levels; and the integration of miRNA profiling and multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) to prioritize targets and validate phenotypes. This review summarizes examples of reduced tuber browning, modified starch characteristics, and editing of susceptibility loci for late blight and viral resistance, as well as technical challenges specific to potato, such as allele identification in tetraploids, editing efficiency, and bystander edits. This is complemented by a discussion of simplified regulatory, biosafety, and ethical considerations, with actionable recommendations for straightforward, DNA-free workflows, standardized off-target and allele-level analyses, and transparent reporting. Finally, this review identifies key research priorities to facilitate the rapid translation of genome-editing technologies into resilient, safe, and valuable potato varieties.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11240-026-03546-4

Gosa S.C., GebeyoB.A., Patil R., Mencia R., Moshelion M. (2026): Stomatal density and aperture dynamics regulate drought

response and yield in tomato. Plant Science, 113170 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2026.113170

In crops, key physiological traits such as transpiration, stomatal conductance, and photosynthesis are closely linked to productivity. However, these dynamic traits are often studied under steady-state conditions or modeled with limited data, failing to capture the plant's versatile responses to dynamic field conditions. We hypothesized that natural variation in stomatal morphological traits, specifically, abaxial-to-adaxial distribution and density regulate the temporal physiological response patterns in tomato introgression lines (ILs; crosses between WT, S. Pennellii, and M82 lines). We further hypothesized that differences in these response patterns could explain key variations in drought response and yield. To test this, we performed continuous and simultaneous functional phenotyping on IL populations with a well-documented multi-year field yield history. Our results revealed high plasticity in the dynamic water balance regulation of ideotypic ILs (plants with good yield performance under various field conditions). The ideotype lines exhibited higher transpiration and growth rates under well-irrigated conditions than the other lines. Moreover, the ideotype lines exhibited rapid stomatal canopy conductance responses to changing conditions and quick recovery after drought. Anatomically, these lines had high abaxial-to-adaxial stomatal density ratios and stomatal apertures that peaked early in the day, even under water-deficit conditions. Our study demonstrates how a functional phenotyping approach of the whole-plant water-loss measurements can help us understand and identify dynamic, complex, yield-related physiological traits.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945226001986?via%3Dihub

Groff A.; Lu Y., Feeney M., Whitelegge J.P. et al. (2026): Sustainable production of myoglobin meat protein in plant

chloroplasts. Front. Plant Sci., Sec. Plant Biotechnology Volume 17 - 2026 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2026.1876707

Alternative routes for producing animal proteins are crucial for reducing the reliance on traditional livestock farming, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water consumption. Myoglobin (Mb) is an important oxygen-binding hemoprotein found in vertebrate muscle which enhances the nutritional and sensorial properties of meat. Due to its unique functionality, Mb has been heterologously expressed in a variety of organisms, although only transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana has been reported for higher plants. In this study, we used chloroplast transformation technology to express porcine Mb in higher plants (tobacco, a non-edible model plant, and lettuce, an edible host) and bovine Mb in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Mb accumulation was estimated by immunoblotting and found to be much higher in tobacco (2.7% total soluble protein (TSP)) and lettuce (1.5% TSP) than Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (<0.25% TSP). The expression in tobacco chloroplasts is also superior to tobacco nuclear expression (using either the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter or the Arabidopsis thaliana ubiquitin promoter). Total heme levels were elevated in myoglobin-producing mutants compared with control plants, although porcine Mb purified from tobacco leaves exhibited approximately 35% heme-binding (compared with 80% heme-binding in E. coli-expressed Mb), despite being correctly folded, suggesting that heme availability might be a bottleneck. Overall, our work describes the first report of stable Mb production in higher plants and its effect on photosynthesis and heme levels. This provides a foundation for future plant-made animal proteins for food applications.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1876707/full

Chen YN, Huang SY, Wang ZY, Sun YH, Wang BY, et al. (2026): Generating drought- and salt-tolerant tomato germplasm

through bioengineering of the ethylene response factor SlERF.J2. Engineering in Life Sciences 26: e003 doi: 10.48130/els-0026-0003

Drought and salinity are key abiotic constraints limiting the growth, development, and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Ethylene response factors are crucial regulators that govern plants' adaptation to diverse abiotic and biotic stress stimuli. Nevertheless, the exact role of SlERF.J2 in abiotic stress resistance remains unclear. In this study, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 gene-editing technology was used to generate slerf.j2 knockout tomato lines to clarify the biological function of SlERF.J2 in regulating tomato's responses to drought and salt stress. The results revealed that deletion of SlERF.J2 markedly enhanced tomato seedlings' resistance to polyethylene glycol 6000-induced drought, mannitol, and salt stresses. Compared with the wild-type (WT), the knockout lines exhibited significantly increased peroxidase activity and leaf relative water content, as well as markedly decreased contents of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde. After stress treatment, the expression levels of genes associated with the stress response, flavonoid biosynthesis, chlorophyll biosynthesis, light response, cell division, and hormone biosynthesis in SlERF.J2-edited tomato lines were significantly higher than those in WT plants. A yeast one-hybrid assay confirmed the direct interaction between SlERF.J2 and the SlCPS promoter. Collectively, this study clarifies the important function of SlERF.J2 in regulating drought and salt stress tolerance in tomato, providing genetic resources for tomato breeding.

https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/els-0026-0003

Irene Gallego I., Friedrich A., Robbens J., Romeis J. (2026):Environmental risk assessment for genetically modified

microalgae Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 322 , 120559 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.120559

Advances in genomic techniques have great potential to accelerate the development of the microalgal sector and to address key challenges related to upscaling. Genetically modified microalgae (GMM) can exhibit enhanced biomass productivity, increased accumulation of valuable biocompounds, or express other beneficial traits compared to their non-modified counterparts. However, the application of GMM and their associated cultivation methods may lead to unintentional release, potentially affecting adjacent ecosystems. Here we apply a problem formulation approach to support the environmental risk assessment of novel GMM relative to their wild-type counterparts. We focus on potential effects on ecosystem services provided by natural microalgae communities. We present plausible pathways to harm through which GMM could exert adverse effects and formulate relevant research questions to evaluate the likelihood of each step within these pathways. Existing knowledge on the hazards associated with invasiveness, gene transfer and toxicity of GMM is compiled and discussed. Together, these elements provide a practical framework for identifying relevant hazards and guiding data generation to support environmental risk assessments of GMM.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651326008894?via%3Dihub

King S.H., Driscoll C.L., Li D.B., Guo D. et.al. (2026): Generative design of bacteriophages with genome language models.

Science 393 No. 6811 | DOI: 10.1126/science.aec2657

INTRODUCTION: Evolution continuously forges new biological innovations written in genomes. Navigating this vast design space could access functions that would transform biotechnology, but even the simplest genomes are highly complex and can be rendered nonviable by a single mutation. Accordingly, most progress in biological design has been made at the scale of individual genes and gene circuits, whereas design at the scale of whole genomes has remained largely beyond reach.

RATIONALE: Genome language models are artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that have shown promise in designing biological systems. Much like how other language models are trained on large corpora of text, genome language models are trained on large corpora of DNA comprising millions of genomes from all domains of life. This enables these models to learn the evolutionary constraints that shape DNA sequences in nature. However, the ability of genome language models to generate entire functional genomes has not been tested. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are specifically well suited for this task, as they are relatively small, experimentally tractable, and have broad applications in molecular biology, microbial engineering, and therapeutics.

RESULTS: In this work, we leveraged genome language models, Evo 1 and Evo 2, to generate complete phage genomes with realistic genetic architectures and specificity for a bacterial host, Escherichia coli C. Using the natural phage ΦX174 as a design template, we established a framework for generating and evaluating thousands of AI-generated genomes, nearly 300 of which we chemically synthesized and tested in laboratory conditions, yielding 16 viable phages. The viable generated phages showed strong host specificity and diverse fitness profiles, including competitive infection kinetics. The generated phages were different from any known natural phages, exhibiting de novo mutations, divergent genes and regulatory elements, and variable genome lengths. One of the phages utilized a DNA packaging protein from an evolutionarily distant phage in its capsid structure. We also tested whether the generated phages could overcome bacterial resistance, a central challenge in developing phage-based antimicrobial therapies, and found that a mixture of designed phages rapidly overcame ΦX174-resistant E. coli strains, whereas a comparable mixture of naturally sourced ΦX174-like phages could not.

CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that generative models capture evolutionary constraints in DNA sequences with enough fidelity to produce complete bacteriophage genomes divergent from those observed in nature and with prespecified traits. Our approach expands what synthetic genomics can achieve alongside methods such as directed evolution and rational engineering, lays out a path for generating adaptive and resilient phage therapies against rapidly evolving pathogens, and establishes a foundation for the generative design of larger, more complex genomes. Genome design can augment the broader toolkit of genome sequencing, synthesis, and editing, enabling the composition of biological systems at the genome scale.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec2657

EFSA

GMO Panel (2026): Assessment of genetically modified RF3 Canola Quality (CQ) Brassica juncea (application EFSA-GMO-NL-2019-

158). EFSA Journal 24 (8), e10178 | https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2026.10178

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2026.10178