16 February 2014
Last updated at 19:03 ET
Scientists have developed a variety of Desiree potatoes that are resistant to late blight
A three-year trial has shown that these potatoes can thrive despite being exposed to late onset blight.
That disease has plagued farmers for generations and triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s.
EU approval is needed before commercial cultivation of this GM crop can take place.
The research is published in the journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
Curbing the sprays
Genetically modified potatoes 'resist late blight'
Big claims...I know so many people though who are deeply suspicious of GM Food, period
Scientists have developed a variety of Desiree potatoes that are resistant to late blight
British scientists have developed genetically modified potatoes that are resistant to the vegetable's biggest threat.
That disease has plagued farmers for generations and triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s.
EU approval is needed before commercial cultivation of this GM crop can take place.
The research is published in the journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
Continue reading the main story
Prof Jonathan Jones The Sainsbury Laboratory"I think it is better to control disease with genetics than with chemistry”
Potatoes are particularly
vulnerable to late blight, a fungus-like organism that loves the damp
and humid conditions that often occur during the growing season in
Europe.
The speed with which this infection takes hold and the
devastating impacts on the crop, makes it the number one threat to six
million tonnes of potatoes produced in the UK each year.
Farmers have to be continuously on their guard and need to spray up to 15 times a season to protect against the disease.
As part of an EU-wide investigation into the potential for biotechnology to protect crops, scientists at the John Innes Centre and the Sainsbury Laboratory began a trial with blight-resistant potatoes in 2010.
The GM potato trials have been running for three years
The researchers added a gene to Desiree potatoes from a wild
South American relative, which helps the plant turn on its natural
defences to fight off blight.
The scientists involved say that the use of techniques to add in extra genes was crucial in developing a plant that was resistant to the blight.
"Breeding from wild relatives is laborious and slow and by the time a gene is successfully introduced into a cultivated variety, the late blight pathogen may already have evolved the ability to overcome it," said Professor Jonathan Jones from the Sainsbury Laboratory, the lead author of the research paper.
"And I think it is better to control disease with genetics than with chemistry."
In 2012, the third year of the trial, all the non-GM potatoes in the trial became infected with late blight by August while the modified vegetables remained fully resistant to the end of the experiment.
Blight is a difficult and expensive pathogen to control
There was also a difference in yield with the GM variety producing double the amount of tubers.
The scientists say that since the potatoes are grown from tubers rather than seeds, they are sterile and the issue of GM pollen escaping into the wild does not arise.
One area the scientists cannot comment on is the taste, as they were barred from eating the GM variety. However they do not believe there is any mechanism by which the new genes can impact the flavour.
As late blight is a highly adaptive organism, the scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory are eager to find more resistance genes and add them into the plant in a "stack".
This would make the chances of late blight overwhelming these potatoes very low. However it might make the GM variety more expensive to plant.
"The balance will be in favour of the farmer," said Prof Jones.
"Yes they may pay more for the seed but they will spend an awful lot less on fungicide."
"I think it is unfortunate that American famers are going to
benefit from the fruits of European taxpayers funded work way before
Europeans," said Prof Jones.
"This kind of product will likely be on the US market within a couple of years and if we are lucky within 8-10 years in Europe."
Critics of GM crops said that no matter how big the scale of the environmental benefits, they believe that consumers wouldn't be interested.
"Is anyone really going to grow, sell or buy genetically modified potatoes?" said Liz O'Neil, director of GM Freeze.
"The law says that they will have to be labelled GM, experience shows that the UK doesn't want GM in its shopping basket and British farmers are far too smart to grow something they can't sell."
Regulatory hurdles
Farmers have to be continuously on their guard and need to spray up to 15 times a season to protect against the disease.
As part of an EU-wide investigation into the potential for biotechnology to protect crops, scientists at the John Innes Centre and the Sainsbury Laboratory began a trial with blight-resistant potatoes in 2010.
The GM potato trials have been running for three years
The scientists involved say that the use of techniques to add in extra genes was crucial in developing a plant that was resistant to the blight.
"Breeding from wild relatives is laborious and slow and by the time a gene is successfully introduced into a cultivated variety, the late blight pathogen may already have evolved the ability to overcome it," said Professor Jonathan Jones from the Sainsbury Laboratory, the lead author of the research paper.
"And I think it is better to control disease with genetics than with chemistry."
In 2012, the third year of the trial, all the non-GM potatoes in the trial became infected with late blight by August while the modified vegetables remained fully resistant to the end of the experiment.
Blight is a difficult and expensive pathogen to control
The scientists say that since the potatoes are grown from tubers rather than seeds, they are sterile and the issue of GM pollen escaping into the wild does not arise.
One area the scientists cannot comment on is the taste, as they were barred from eating the GM variety. However they do not believe there is any mechanism by which the new genes can impact the flavour.
As late blight is a highly adaptive organism, the scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory are eager to find more resistance genes and add them into the plant in a "stack".
This would make the chances of late blight overwhelming these potatoes very low. However it might make the GM variety more expensive to plant.
"The balance will be in favour of the farmer," said Prof Jones.
"Yes they may pay more for the seed but they will spend an awful lot less on fungicide."
Continue reading the main story
GM spuds squashed
- GM giant Monsanto attained approval for a NewLeaf GM potato in 1995. This variety was designed to protect against the Colorado potato beetle. Initially welcomed by growers, the high costs and development of more effective pesticides against the beetle saw the NewLeaf decline and it was discontinued in 2001.
- In 2010 BASF were given approval by the EU to grow a GM potato called Amflora. This was designed to produce large amounts of starch for industrial use. In 2012 BASF decided to stop growing these potatoes in Europe due to widespread resistance to the technology.
The scientists believe the big
challenge will be in getting regulatory approval for the new variety in
Europe. The researchers have licensed the technology to an American
firm, Simplot, who want to grow them in the US.
"This kind of product will likely be on the US market within a couple of years and if we are lucky within 8-10 years in Europe."
Critics of GM crops said that no matter how big the scale of the environmental benefits, they believe that consumers wouldn't be interested.
"Is anyone really going to grow, sell or buy genetically modified potatoes?" said Liz O'Neil, director of GM Freeze.
"The law says that they will have to be labelled GM, experience shows that the UK doesn't want GM in its shopping basket and British farmers are far too smart to grow something they can't sell."
Regulatory hurdles
Other researchers in the field have welcomed the development
but were equally negative about the chances of these new potatoes being
grown in the UK.
"Late blight of potatoes is a difficult disease to control, and using genes from distant relatives is a valuable tool," said Professor Chris Pollock, from Aberystwyth University.
"Unfortunately, the problems in the current European regulatory process, which is expensive and extremely slow, means that this advance by UK scientists is far more likely to help farmers in other countries."
Only 600 of the GM potato plants have been grown, but the scientists have had to spend £40,000 to protect them over the three years of the trial.
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.
"Late blight of potatoes is a difficult disease to control, and using genes from distant relatives is a valuable tool," said Professor Chris Pollock, from Aberystwyth University.
"Unfortunately, the problems in the current European regulatory process, which is expensive and extremely slow, means that this advance by UK scientists is far more likely to help farmers in other countries."
Only 600 of the GM potato plants have been grown, but the scientists have had to spend £40,000 to protect them over the three years of the trial.
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.
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