Lakshya UPPSC PT 2022 – Science & Technology Lecture - 9 – Complete One Year Current Affairs

GMO Regulation

Lets Deconstruct

What is Genome editing? How is it different from Genetic engineering?
How are Genetically modified organisms regulated in India?
What are the new changes incorporated in latest notification?

GMO Regulation

Who Regulates GMO in India?
- Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). It is a statutory committee setup under the Environment Protection Act 1986 & working under aegis of Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC).
- It was earlier known as Genetic Engineering Approval Committee.
- Note: EPA 1986 “Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989” states that GEAC is responsible for granting permits to conduct experimental and large-scale open field trials and also grant approval for commercial release of biotech crops.

GMO Regulation

EPA rules of 1989 relating to GMOs also define other competent authorities
- Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)
- Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBSC)
- Review Committee of Genetic Manipulation (RCGM)
- State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC) & District Level Committee (DLC)

The News

Recently, GOI has allowed genome-edited plants without the cumbersome GMO regulation at the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a notification regarding the issue which has exempted Site Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2 genomes from GEAC regulations.
Instead it would rely on reports of the Institutional Bio Safety Committee (IBSC) to exclude exogenous genetic material. Following this notification, the matters would come under the exiting purview of Seed Acts and other relevant Acts.
A nuclease is an enzyme capable of cleaving the phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides of nucleic acids

Genome Editing V Genetic Engineering

Genome editing is a combination of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organisms DNA.
Recent advanced research has allowed scientists to develop the highly effective Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR) CaS9-associated proteins based systems that allow for targeted intervention at the genome sequences.

Genome Editing V Genetic Engineering

What kind of Editing?
- The edit that is carried out is divided into three categories — SDN 1, SDN 2 and SDN 3.
  - Site Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1: It introduces changes in the host genome’s DNA through small insertions/deletions without introduction of foreign genetic material.
  - Site Directed Nuclease (SDN) 2: The edit involves using a small DNA template to generate specific changes.
  - Site Directed Nuclease (SDN) 3: This process involves larger DNA elements or full length genes of foreign origin which makes it similar to Genetically modified organisms (GMO) development.

Genome Editing V Genetic Engineering

In a nutshell, the basic difference between genome editing and genetic engineering is that while the former does not involve the introduction of foreign genetic material, the latter does.
Now, Gene edited crops can get easy approval subject to Institutional Bio Safety Committee (IBSC) check that such Gene edited crops are not under SDN3 category.

Question

What is Cas9 protein that is often mentioned in news? (UPSC CSE 2019)
(a) A molecular scissors used in targeted gene editing
(b) A biosensor used in the accurate detection of pathogens in patients
(c) A gene that makes plants pest-resistant
(d) A herbicidal substance synthesized in genetically modified crops

Xeno Transplantation

What is Xeno Transplantation?
- According to the US FDA, xenotransplantation is “any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation or infusion into a human recipient of either (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs”.

Xeno Transplantation

In the current case, the donor pig had been put through 10 genetic modifications intended to ‘deactivate’ or knock out four pig genes, and add six human genes.
The pig was provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company.
A “GalSafe” pig was used. GalSafe pigs have been well studied, and are approved by the USFDA for use in pharmacology.

Xeno Transplantation

Why Pig Heart?
- Pig heart valves have been used for replacing damaged valves in humans for over 50 years now.
- There are several advantages to using the domesticated or farmed pig as the donor animal for xenotransplantation. They are easier to raise and achieve adult human size in six months.
- The pig’s anatomical and physiological parameters are similar to that of humans, and the breeding of pigs in farms is widespread and cost-effective.

Xeno Transplantation – Advantages

Thiomargarita magnifica

A newly discovered bacterium, Thiomargarita magnifica, challenges the definition of a microbe: its filament-like single cell is up to 2 centimetres long and is visible to naked eye.
magnifica achieves its unprecedented size by having unique cellular features: two membrane sacs.
- One is filled with its genetic material
- Second , which is much larger, helps to keep its cellular contents pressed up against its outer cell wall so that the molecules it needs can diffuse in and out.
The bacterium was discovered from the Caribbean mangroves. Its threadlike single cell is visible to the naked eye, growing up to 2 centimeters and 5000 times bigger than many other microbes.

Thiomargarita magnifica

But the bizarre bacteriumT.Magnifica only gets stranger. Its DNA was packaged inside a membrane sac, something that’s normally characteristic of more complex lifeforms.
Bacteria normally have their DNA floating free through the cell. This blurs the line between the two main classifications of lifeforms, prokaryotes and eukaryotes.