Drought-tolerant wheat: 'Promising results'

Release trials with drought-tolerant wheat are being conducted again this year in Australia. GMO Safety spoke to German Spangenberg about previous results, the impacts of climate change on global cereal production and the need for innovative agricultural research. Prof. Spangenberg is a research director at the Victorian Department of Primary Industries in South-Eastern Australia.

GMO Compass: Professor Spangenberg, you recently obtained the regulatory approval for controlled field trials with genetically modified, drought-tolerant wheat. What's the purpose of these releases?

German Spangenberg: The purpose of this controlled field trial is to conduct proof-of-concept research to assess the performance of genetically modified (GM) wheat lines that express one of fifteen different candidate genes for drought tolerance derived from the plants thale cress and maize, a moss and yeast. The GM wheat lines will be evaluated under rainfed, drought-prone conditions in Victoria, Australia.

GMO Compass: You conducted field trials with these GM wheat lines for drought tolerance in 2007. What were the results?

German Spangenberg: Yes, we undertook Australia's first field trial with GM wheat for drought tolerance in 2007. In this field trial 24 lines of GM wheat were tested and, of these, seven were identified as providing higher yields under drought stress. Two GM wheat lines exceeded the yield of the control experimental variety by 20 per cent under drought stress, with no apparent yield penalty under irrigated conditions. These initial results are very promising, and have encouraged us to include these lines for further evaluation in the 2008 field trial, which we have just completed planting.

GMO Compass: What future benefits do you see for the grower and for the environment?

German Spangenberg: Around the world, 35-50 per cent of wheat-growing areas are under drought risk. The number and scale of drought-affected wheat-growing areas are likely to increase under scenarios of climate change impact. We have seen in recent years that adverse climatic conditions, including severe drought in key agricultural regions such as Australia, have had an influence on global food supply. We have seen the production output in eight major cereal-exporting countries, which represent approximately half of global production, drop by 4 per cent in 2005 and by 7 per cent in 2006, as noted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Large areas of Australian grain-growing regions are challenged by many abiotic pressures that limit production and profitability, such as drought. The economic impact of drought is significant; for example, drought subtracted approximately 1 per cent from Australia's GDP in 2002/03, equal to $6.6 billion (EUR 3.9 billion); in 2006/07 Victoria lost up to 70 per cent of its wheat crop due to severe drought conditions representing a $300 million (EUR 178 million) loss to the state's economy. It is imperative that we embrace new technologies – including gene technology - to continue to meet the demands of the global wheat market.

GMO Compass: How does the genetically-introduced drought tolerance work?

German Spangenberg: The introduced genes encode proteins that are intended to enable normal plant growth with reduced amounts of water, thus conferring drought tolerance either by regulating gene expression or modulating biochemical pathways in the GM wheat plants.

GMO Compass: Can the property of enforced drought resistance be introduced in other important crops as well?

German Spangenberg: Yes, the candidate genes for drought tolerance currently being assessed in GM wheat also have potential applications in other crops.

GMO Compass: When and where do you expect the first commercial cultivation to take place?

German Spangenberg: Taking a GM crop towards the market place implies many years of research and development, with comprehensive evaluation under field conditions representing an important part of the process. The current field trials of GM wheat lines are at the proof-of-concept research stage to enable the assessment of different candidate genes. The knowledge gained from these trials will then inform the development and evaluation of new GM wheat varieties expressing the best candidate genes for drought tolerance for product development and ultimately commercialisation. This process is expected to take 5 to 10 years. A coordinated approach for GM wheat adoption in key wheat-growing countries around the world such as Australia, the USA, Canada and Argentina, particularly relating to GM wheat with key foundation traits such as drought tolerance and fungal disease resistance, would seem sensible.

GMO Compass: You received your PhD in Heidelberg, Germany, worked as an assistant professor in Zurich, Switzerland, than moved to Australia in 1995 to develop the Plant Biotechnology Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, from scratch. Would you consider your research work possible under the critical attitude Europe shows towards agricultural biotechnology?

German Spangenberg: It is undeniable that early access to and investment in technology provide us with better tools; tools that are instrumental in unleashing creativity, supporting innovation, creating knowledge and building the needed capacity to exploit this knowledge for societal benefits. This is no different for agricultural biotechnology. There is a risk when societies - manipulated by irrational fear - become technophobic and thus create disincentives for innovation and for adoption of new technology, hindering economic, environmental and other societal benefits that would be otherwise accrued. Considering the challenges of meeting a worldwide growing demand for food, feed and energy in a climate of change, it is imperative that, globally, we find the wisdom to allow this powerful technology to flourish and that choice be provided for farmers to adopt it.