Food safety assessment of crops engineered with RNA interference and other methods to modulate expression of endogenous and plant pest genes

Genetically modified crops have been grown commercially for more than two decades. Some of these crops have been modified with genetic constructs that induce gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi). The targets for this silencing action are genes, either specific endogenous ones of the host plant or those of particular pests or pathogens infesting these plants. Recently emerging new genetic tools enable precise DNA edits with the same silencing effect and have also increased our knowledge and insights into the mechanisms of RNAi. For the assessment of the safety of foodstuffs from crops modified with RNAi, internationally harmonized principles for risk assessment of foods derived from genetically modified crops can be followed. Special considerations may apply to the newly expressed silencing RNA molecules, such as their possible uptake by consumers and interference with expression of host genes, which, however, would need to overcome many barriers. Bioinformatics tools aid the prediction of possible interference by a given RNA molecule with the expression of genes with homologous sequences in the host crop and in other organisms, or possible off‐target edits in gene‐edited crops. © 2020 The Author. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

我国作物病虫害生物防治研究与应用最新进展

本文总结了近5年来我国在作物病虫害生物防治研究和应用方面的最新进展, 包括作物害虫、病害(真菌、细菌和病毒病)和线虫的生物防治、植物免疫和昆虫性信息素的研究和应用, 以及新方法和新技术在作物病虫控制中的应用。同时, 与国外的研究进展进行了比较, 指出了存在的主要问题、发展趋势与对策建议。