RNAi technologies in agricultural biotechnology: The Toxicology Forum 40th Annual Summer Meeting

Abstract

During the 40th Annual Meeting of The Toxicology Forum, the current and potential future science, regulations, and politics of agricultural biotechnology were presented and discussed. The meeting session described herein focused on the technology of RNA interference (RNAi) in agriculture. The general process by which RNAi works, currently registered RNAi-based plant traits, example RNAi-based traits in development, potential use of double stranded RNA (dsRNA) as topically applied pesticide active ingredients, research related to the safety of RNAi, biological barriers to ingested dsRNA, recent regulatory RNAi science reviews, and regulatory considerations related to the use of RNAi in agriculture were discussed. Participants generally agreed that the current regulatory framework is robust and appropriate for evaluating the safety of RNAi employed in agricultural biotechnology and were also supportive of the use of RNAi to develop improved crop traits. However, as with any emerging technology, the potential range of future products, potential future regulatory frameworks, and public acceptance of the technology will continue to evolve. As such, continuing dialogue was encouraged to promote education of consumers and science-based regulations.

Genetically Modified Organism-Free RNA Interference: Exogenous Application of RNA Molecules in Plants

“…In summary, exogenous application of RNA molecules with the potential to trigger RNAi is a very powerful tool in modern crop protection and improvement platforms, considering the political and public pressure for sustainable solutions to current agricultural problems. According to the the 40th Annual Meeting of The Toxicology Forum, the currently available evindence suggests that the presence of RNAi molecules in human diet pose no threat to humans (Sherman et al, 2015). Moreover, compared to conventional disease management strategies, exogenous RNAi promises significantly lower off-target effects, because its activity can be narrowed down to a window of a few nucleotides' complementarity with its target.…”

RNAi Efficiency, Systemic Properties, and Novel Delivery Methods for Pest Insect Control: What We Know So Far

“…RNAi technology has been an effective tool in functional genomics studies and its application toward pest management is already close to a reality (Kupferschmidt, 2013; Palli, 2014; Saurabh et al, 2014; Nandety et al, 2015; Sherman et al, 2015; Zotti and Smagghe, 2015; Andrade and Hunter, 2016). The effectiveness of the RNAi mechanism is mainly depending on the delivery, stability, and uptake of dsRNA by target species.…”

Formidable challenges to the notion of biologically important roles for dietary small RNAs in ingesting mammals

“…Second, agriculture could potentially be transformed in the coming years by RNAi-based technologies which take advantage of cross-kingdom sRNA transfer, including genetically engineered (GE) plants and topical sprays [ 80 , 81 ]. However, if systems indeed exist in mammals for natural uptake of diet-derived sRNAs, it would alter assumptions upon which these new technologies have been built and tested [ 82 , 83 ]; the most important being the minimal risk to mammals due to negligible uptake and transfer [ 84 , 85 ]. Third, the existence of robust cross-kingdom regulation of gene expression via ingested sRNAs could carry substantial ecologic significance.…”