Recent Workshop on Risk Assessment for Novel Insect Resistance Technologies in Genetically Engineered Plants

AFSI Newsletter - November 2023

Supported by the Agricultural Biotechnology Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC), the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI) organized a workshop in 2019 that led to the publication of “Sublethal Endpoints in Non-Target Organism Testing for Insect-Active GE Crops” in the scientific journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Building on this success, the ABSTC and AFSI organized an in-person workshop on September 14-15, 2023 in Washington, D.C., focusing on risk assessment for novel insect resistance technologies in genetically engineered plants. This event allowed risk assessors, product developers, and researchers to discuss different aspects of non-target organism (NTO) assessment, with presentations and discussions centered around risk characterization and extrapolating the experience with Bt molecules and conventional pesticides to novel molecules.

Agenda & Speaker Bios

Novel Pest Control Technologies

The first session included a series of presentations on novel technologies for pest control by Dr. Ana Maria Vélez of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Dr. Collin Preftakes from Bayer Crop Science, and Dr. Chad Boeckman from Corteva Agriscience. Their talks covered RNAi-based pesticides, novel Bt pesticides, and non-Bt pesticidal proteins, respectively.

NTO Assessment

Discussions on risk assessment for newer and potentially novel insect-resistant genetically engineered plants were informed by presentations on risk characterization in the context of protection goals by Mr. Mike Mendelsohn (US EPA) and Dr. Subray Hegde (USDA). Dr. Amanda Pierce (US EPA) provided an overview of relevant assessment endpoints, and Dr. Jörg Romeis (Agroscope) covered the tiered testing approach for novel insecticidal molecules.

Real-World Context

A session was dedicated to grounding the next day's discussions in the real world, with Dr. Christopher Brown of Bayer Crop Science delivering a presentation on the uncertainties around NTO assessment from the viewpoint of a product developer. Dr. Lisa Knolhoff, Ms. Andrea Hitchon, and Dr. Adeney de Freitas Bueno provided the perspectives of regulators in the USA, Canada, and Brazil, respectively.

Consensus Development

The second day of the workshop involved breakout discussions anchored by hypothetical case studies presenting novel pest control technologies, including nematode-resistant sugar beet, plastid-mediated RNAi approach for insect control in potato, and insect-resistant tomato. Presentations by each group, followed by an open forum, helped develop consensus points that will be incorporated into a review paper (in progress)

Event Page

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