Development of Wheat With Hypoimmunogenic Gluten Obstructed by the Gene Editing Policy in Europe

Abstract

Coeliac Disease (CD) is an auto-immune reaction to gluten in 1–2% of the human population. A gluten-free (GF) diet, excluding wheat, barley, and rye, is the only remedy. This diet is difficult to adhere to, partly because wheat gluten is added to many processed products for their viscoelastic properties. In addition, GF products are less healthy and expensive. Wheat products containing only hypoimmunogenic gluten proteins would be a desirable option. Various gluten peptides that trigger CD have been characterized. A single wheat variety contains around hundred gluten genes, producing proteins with varying numbers of epitopes. Gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 can precisely remove or modify the DNA sequences coding for immunogenic peptides. Wheat with hypoimmunogenic gluten thus exemplifies the potential of gene editing for improving crops for human consumption where conventional breeding cannot succeed. We describe here, in relation to breeding hypoimmunogenic wheat varieties, the inconsistencies of applying GM regulation in Europe for gene-edited plants while mutation breeding-derived plants are exempted. We explain that healthy products derived from this new technology may become available in the United States, Canada, Argentina and other countries but not in Europe, because of strict regulation of unintended GM risk at the expense of reduction the existing immunogenicity risks of patients. We argue that regulation of gene-edited plants should be based on scientific evidence. Therefore, we strongly recommend implementing the innovation principle. Responsible Research and Innovation, involving stakeholders including CD patient societies in the development of gene-editing products, will enable progress toward healthy products and encourage public acceptance.

Wheat Seed Proteins: Factors Influencing Their Content, Composition, and Technological Properties, and Strategies to Reduce Adverse Reactions

“…More extensive studies were carried out by Barro and coworkers (Table 2). This work has been reviewed in detail (García-Molina, Giménez, Sánchez-León, & Barro, 2019;Gilissen et al, 2014;Jouanin, Boyd, Visser, & Smulders, 2018;Ribeiro et al, 2018;Rosella et al, 2014;Shewry & Tatham, 2016) and is therefore discussed only briefly here. In summary, they generated two series of lines, with downregulation of only γ -gliadins (Gil-Humanes et al, 2008;Piston, Gil-Humanes, Rodríguez-Quijano, & Barro, 2011) or all gliadins (α/β-, γ -, and ω-) and LMW subunits (Gil-Humanes, Piston, Shewry, Tosi, & Barro, 2011;Gil-Humanes, Piston, Tollefsen, Sollid, & Barro, 2010).…”

Socioeconomic Impact of Genome Editing on Agricultural Value Chains: The Case of Fungal-Resistant and Coeliac-Safe Wheat

“…Currently, the only effective treatment for coeliac disease is a life-long gluten-free diet [72,73]. However, adherence to a gluten-free diet is rather difficult since gluten is added to many food products for their viscoelastic properties [74,75]. Furthermore, gluten-free products are often less healthy and more expensive than conventional gluten-containing products [70,74,76].…”

“…However, adherence to a gluten-free diet is rather difficult since gluten is added to many food products for their viscoelastic properties [74,75]. Furthermore, gluten-free products are often less healthy and more expensive than conventional gluten-containing products [70,74,76]. Wheat varieties that do not cause coeliac disease may provide an alternative to a gluten-free diet for those who are affected.…”

Status and Contribution of CRISPR/Cas9 Based Gene-Editing System in the Development of a Low-Immunogenic Wheat Variety

“…Wheat variety with low T-cell stimulatory epitopes may reduce the chances of developing CD. Exposure to improved wheat variety with low-immunogenic wheat may not cause an intense immunological trigger to CD patients hence it could be useful for CD management [8,15].…”

“…Most of such studies involved analytical techniques and/or RNA interference (RNAi) to produce a wheat kernel with a reduced percentage of immunological peptides (α-gliadin). However, a safer variety of wheat has not been developed so far [8,[15][16][17][18].…”