They came for our food

In modern society, an abundance of food often forgets how abundance this abundance is temporary. After all, we are not alone on the planet who wants to eat. There are a lot of wishing to our food in nature.

Steel rust is a disease of cereals caused by mushrooms. A parasite that turns the stalk of wheat into a red straw is able to make a pile of brushwood out of a flashing field in a couple of weeks. Today, this disease is considered not very dangerous, although some fifty years ago periodically destroyed grain crops on a colossal scale.

As soon as they did not fight an infection in the past ... The Romans came up with intricate rituals and, trying to get rid of adversity, sacrificed foxes, dogs and other red animals to the gods. It didn't help. According to one version, the sunset of the Roman Empire was provoked by the food crisis due to the activity of the red pest.

In medieval Europe, and later in the new light of significant progress, it was possible to get the elimination of barberry bushes, which is traditionally grown as a hedge in the fields. It turned out that this shrub is an intermediate owner of the fungus and the main source of infection.

The real victory was won during the Green Revolution. Specially bred stable crops gave a break in the battle for several decades. But it would be naive to believe that this could continue forever. Crops of cereals are attractive food not only for humans, and evolution is never standing still. If there is free food, then there will be a good desire to eat it. Since 1999, a new variety with the name UG99, which arose in Uganda, went on the attack, conquering all new territories to herself. The vast majority of modern varieties to it are not stable. And, despite all the efforts to contain, its spread through the planet is a matter of time.

Two groups of researchers immediately published on Science the results of studies containing a solution to the problem. Using the latest achievements of science, scientists independently found Gena in wild relatives that determine the “immunity” to UG99. By transplanting them in the DNA of modern wheat varieties, it was possible to get the desired result - stable varieties.

It seems that the problem is solved, and twice at once. Gather the crop, rejoice in life until the next round of evolution and the appearance of a new pest! And you can not even passively wait, but prepare in advance.

However, the practical practical decision, which is in fact, is very far from implementation. No, very soon we will try the new GM-Khlebushki. Today, it is somehow not customary to plant such cultures in the world. It is not difficult to modify any kind of cereals for long and is not difficult. Difficulties begin where science ends. It is more profitable for politicians to feed the stem rust, not people. Checks for safety, approval, permission are tens of years and tens of millions of dollars. Will anyone spend this money and time? I personally doubt it.

There is, of course, another path, already tested during the Green Revolution. Hybridization and selection. Usually this is much more complicated and longer. But now, when we know which genes need to be “built”, you can get stability in just a few years. However, it cannot be guaranteed that a dozen unnecessary will not be acquired and two dozen of the necessary signs will not be lost. But the main thing is to grow formally “not GM” - wheat can be immediately as soon as the result.

5-10 years later. In the meantime, let the mushrooms eat our bread. We don’t feel sorry, we will plant it. Natural, without transgenes.

This is an amazing paradox of regulating the achievements of biotechnology under the control of a strange modification of the “Principle Principle”. The directly contradictory approach of “risk management”. A voluntary rejection of an easy working solution for the sake of a complex and unreliable. Donation of imaginary and irrational fears to the detriment of food security. Someone came up with that the danger to a person from one sign of resistance to illness is much greater than the danger from an unknown number of unknown features, among which there is the same stability. Since when, the probability of perishing from a lightning strike has become more than to die when the road crosses to the red light, from a heart attack, cancer, brick falling on the head and a lightning strike combined? How long is the useless and simply harmful trampling on the spot and the search for non -existent zero risks will be considered more important than the solution to real problems?

Does it not turn out that, avoiding non -existent risks and feeding existing pests, we forget about ourselves?!

Doi: 10.1126/Science.1239028
Doi: 10.1126/Science.1239022