Biotechnologies are the future
Roman Kulikov, Polit.roo
Experiments based on genome editing technology are being conducted all over the world, as a result of which improved varieties of agricultural plants (mustard, bananas, etc.) and animal breeds (hornless cows, pigs with double muscle mass, etc.) are obtained. In different countries, the attitude towards such plants and animals and the rules for using genome editing technology differ. Roman Kulikov, Director for the acceleration of projects in the field of agro- and industrial biotechnologies of the Skolkovo Foundation, commented on Polit.ru the state of technology in Russia, and also spoke about the evolution of the selection of organisms and a mixture of biology, mathematics and IT.
From Classics to CRISPR
Genome editing is the last tool for breeding organisms with specified properties, Roman Kulikov believes. Even 100 years ago, animals and plants were bred by breeders: they crossed individuals or plants among themselves, observed what kind of offspring they got, chose the best, then crossed again. Today, the time-consuming classical breeding has been replaced by actively developing genome editing technologies.
A significant breakthrough in the breeding of animals and plants could provide the discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 and the subsequent methods of DNA sequencing – determination of its nucleotide sequence. When the researchers started to "read" the genome, marker selection appeared. "We identify DNA fragments in the genotype that are responsible for the trait we are interested in. And if we see these fragments in this organism, then we take it for crossing, if the organism does not have them, we do not take them. This accelerated the selection," the expert explains.
Then there was genome–wide selection, during which organisms (microbes, plants) are selected whose genome is completely sequenced - "read". Knowledge of the genome of an organism gives knowledge of the traits it possesses, which makes selection even more purposeful.
The next stage in the development of breeding is genetic engineering, a tool of biotechnology that allows, among other things, to isolate genes from the cells of organisms, modify them and introduce them into the cell of a mammal or plant. Such manipulations allow you to get the necessary sign from the body.
"The very last stage of evolution is genomic editing without someone else's genetic material," Roman Kulikov emphasizes. "We can no longer add genetic information to the genotype of an apple tree, for example, a hedgehog or a virus, but we can edit the genotype of an apple tree in such a way that the signs we need are realized in an apple tree, and unnecessary ones are not."
Among the currently available genome editing methods are TALEN (Transcription Activator–Like Effector Nucleases) and CRISPR (Clustered Regulatory Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)/Cas9 systems.
"There are scientists and groups of scientists in Russia who are engaged in pieces of these technologies, fragments of development. But there is neither an institute nor a company that would try to make such a technology entirely," the expert notes. "Skolkovo works with these institutes and scientists and is ready to become a platform for conducting and coordinating work. This is a big interinstitutional and state task that requires the participation of several development institutes, several scientific institutes and research groups."
In 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning the cultivation of plants and breeding of animals using methods of genetic engineering modification, with the exception of only research and expertise. Thus, commercial use of genetically modified organisms is prohibited in Russia, but it is possible to study plants, animals, microbes with an altered genome.
"Several institutes in Russia (including the All–Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences) are able and successfully engaged in genomic editing for scientific purposes, but these are only laboratory experiments, not commercial and industrial projects," says Roman Kulikov. "They are able to work with the genes of different organisms, for example, they can add the genome of another organism to the genotype of a plant."
One of the well-known examples of using genome editing technology is that a gene is introduced into the genome of a plant that synthesizes, for example, a human protein. This is how antitumor drugs are developed: a DNA fragment is introduced into the Australian tobacco plant, which encodes a certain immune protein. "DNA is introduced into the plant cell in a special so–called vector structure (DNA is planted on the created protein fragment), and the plant begins to include this gene in its genotype, begins to synthesize an immune protein," the expert clarifies.
Synthesizing such proteins is difficult and expensive, but now they can be obtained in large quantities from plants. According to the Skolkovo expert, just as a few decades ago humanity learned to get vitamins and amino acids by teaching the microbial mass to synthesize vitamins, now researchers are also teaching plants to synthesize large protein molecules necessary for the treatment of various serious diseases: degenerative, nervous system, oncological and many others.
"Russia is very far behind in this direction," Roman Kulikov states. – In China, the number of biotech companies is in the hundreds, thousands, in Russia there are less than 10 such companies. There are a couple dozen projects that are engaged in this, and they are exclusively experimental in nature." As the reasons for the lag, Roman cites a 20-year gap after the 90th year, the departure of scientists, the lack of continuity of generations, scientific schools, but also notes attempts to catch up and return researchers to the country.
Smart agriculture
The SmartAgro school, conducted by the Skolkovo Foundation, became the point of concentration of advanced technologies and knowledge in the field of breeding and genetics. If the first event for young scientists in 2016 was of a general educational nature: professional graduate students were told about popular biotechnologies, then this year the emphasis was placed on applied methods of plant breeding and genetics.
"Russia has also lagged behind in this area, and therefore most commercial seeds for key crops are imported. We decided to gather a school and teachers from those who work in this direction in Russia and Russians who work at foreign universities and know modern methods," Roman Kulikov tells about the choice of the topic.
The participants of the school were 30 young scientists, geneticists and breeders of several large agricultural companies. For three days they listened to lectures and performed a big task: they learned to model molecular signs and work with bioinformatics.
"Today, any new organism is created primarily in a computer: we decipher the genotype, then analyze and select pairs for crossing. This is a mixture of biology, mathematics and IT," the expert emphasizes. So we want to initiate an educational process in the field of genetics and breeding technologies, to show Russian young scientists that these technologies exist and that they can be practiced in Russia."
The Director for the acceleration of projects in the field of agro- and industrial biotechnologies of the Skolkovo Foundation gave some advice to novice agricultural innovators, emphasizing the relevance and prospects of genetics and breeding technologies.
"Biotechnologies are the future: food production, medicine production, disease treatment, the environment, waste recycling – these are all biotechnologies. Only with the help of biotechnologies we will get new substances, – Roman Kulikov is convinced. – The world is becoming more applied. We need to find current trends and work within them, we need to carefully study all the events that take place in Russia, we need to connect with the industry. In order to start working in Russia, you need to find a business or a company that has the political will and financial resources to do this, because it is extremely difficult to do biotechnology in isolation."
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