GrainsWest Fall 2019

Tech 2019 Grains West 42 Two RNAi research projects chase the next big Insearchofoptions GENE SCIENCE RESEARCH PROPOSALS INVOLVING ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) began to cross Lauren Comin’s desk three years ago. Since then, the gene-inhibiting technology has developed a revolutionary aura as a potential next big thing in crop protection. Despite its potential use in non-toxic weed and insect sprays, seed treatments, as a regulator of plant development and even in plant breeding, the advancement of farming applications has been slow. This is changing as government action, activist pressure and consumer agitation on crop-protection chemistry create regu- latory uncertainty around the globe, spur- ring a desire among farmers for options. “Farmers see it has potential,” said Comin, Alberta Wheat Commission director of research. “That’s why we’re funding it now. It’s another alternative and having as many options as we can is our goal. “We don’t know five years from now what will happen. If a chemistry gets tak- en away, then you have to go to a chemis- try that might be even more problematic. Or, it’s more expensive or you can’t use anything at all and we have an absolute disaster on our hands.” HOW IT WORKS RNA resembles DNA, the genetic material known collectively as the genome, that is the basic instruction manual that defines the physical form and bodily processes of living things. When we eat any food, a large part of it is RNA. Messenger RNA is used by plant and animal cells to com- municate genetic information encoded within DNA. Cells naturally interfere with RNA as a means of protection and self-regulation. They use natural RNAi pathways to fight off viruses and to control and manage their genome. Employing enzymes called Dicer, they search the cell for the double strands of the RNA, chopping it up (hence the name) and searching for similar bits to degrade. RNAi can also be used by scientists as a means of blocking the function of this messenger RNA, effectively turning off the process controlled by a targeted gene. RNAi has wide potential for application in medicine and biotechnology as well as in agriculture, where its use has been demonstrated to produce practical results. It has been used to create decaffeinated coffee beans and non-allergenic peanuts among other breeding innovations and can potentially kill insects by affecting genes such as those that control their digestive processes. It can also be used to attack weeds and crop disease pathogens. Central to the appeal of the technology, RNAi crop applications are non-toxic. Like keys that can only unlock a single door, they can affect only the target organism they’ve been created to control. Applica- tions likely have no effect on other species such as humans and fish and, being thing in crop protection Messenger RNA is used by plant and animal cells to communicate genetic information containedwithin DNA.