What’s at stake: Scion researchers are hopeful new GMO legislation will allow them to test whether they have successfully made a sterile Douglas fir pine that could renew plantings due to no risk of wildlings.
The background: Scion did gene editing on the pine tree in a five-year government-funded programme but wasn’t able to trial the modified Douglas fir outdoors because of New Zealand’s restrictive GMO legislation. It had planned to trial them in the US but is now awaiting the new legislation.
The main players: Scion, NZ Forest Owners Association, Glenn Thorlby, Elizabeth Heeg, Aotearoa Circle, GE-Free New Zealand, Claire Bleakley, the Environmental Protection Authority.
Quick explainer:
Genetic modification organisms (GMO): any organism that has been genetically modified through any genetic engineering technique, including transgenic organisms.
Genetic modification (GM): The act of utilising genetic technology to modify the genome of an organism, also referred to as genetic engineering. This doesn’t include traditional breeding techniques.
Gene editing (GE): Gene editing is a precise form of genetic modification/genetic engineering that enables targeted changes to the DNA sequence.
New genomic techniques (NGT):New genome techniques cover a diverse collection of techniques all of which have different levels of specificity or precision. All NGTs are techniques used to modify the genome of an organism.
Source: Aotearoa Circle report on modern genetic technology.
Wildling pines are a threat to New Zealand’s native species, ecosystems, and pastoral farmland.
The impact of the wildling conifer invasion is obvious across New Zealand. As at 2022, it was estimated more than two million hectares were infested with wilding conifer.
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Key points
What’s at stake: Scion researchers are hopeful new GMO legislation will allow them to test whether they have successfully made a sterile Douglas fir pine that could renew plantings due to no risk of wildlings.
The background: Scion did gene editing on the pine tree in a five-year government-funded programme but wasn’t able to trial the modified Douglas fir outdoors because of New Zealand’s restrictive GMO legislation. It had planned to trial them in the US but is now awaiting the new legislation.
The main players: Scion, NZ Forest Owners Association, Glenn Thorlby, Elizabeth Heeg, Aotearoa Circle, GE-Free New Zealand, Claire Bleakley, the Environmental Protection Authority.
Quick explainer:
Genetic modification organisms (GMO): any organism that has been genetically modified through any genetic engineering technique, including transgenic organisms.
Genetic modification (GM): The act of utilising genetic technology to modify the genome of an organism, also referred to as genetic engineering. This doesn’t include traditional breeding techniques.
Gene editing (GE): Gene editing is a precise form of genetic modification/genetic engineering that enables targeted changes to the DNA sequence.
New genomic techniques (NGT):New genome techniques cover a diverse collection of techniques all of which have different levels of specificity or precision. All NGTs are techniques used to modify the genome of an organism.
Source: Aotearoa Circle report on modern genetic technology.
