Brazilian biosafety law and the new breeding technologies

Globally, the area of land cultivated with genetically modified (GM) crops has increased a thousand-fold over the last two decades. Although this technology has become important for food production, the regulatory frameworks that underpin these outcomes are based on a list of requirements for a risk assessment that differ from country to country. In recent years, policymakers have had the opportunity to learn from the controversies over transgenics to create effective regulatory milestones for emerging technologies, allowing them to reach their potential for a more sustainable agriculture, ensuring food security. In Brazil, Law No. 11.105 of 24 March 2005 established a framework with four main organizations responsible for risk assessment and management. However, most of new breeding technologies did not exist at that time and were not considered in this law. In 2016, Normative Resolution No. 16 of the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio) was established to address this gap based on the evaluation of the products obtained through these techniques (termed Innovative Precision Improvement Techniques in the resolution), in a case-by-case consultation system. Briefly, if the product is designated to be a GM, the developer will have to go through the biosafety requirements and will be approved only after CTNBio risk assessment. If the product is designated not to be GM (for the purposes of the legislation), then it can be registered using the existing procedures. Currently, 152 GM products are commercially approved in Brazil. In 2018, CTNBio assessed the first consultation on commercial release of plants generated using the new breeding technologies and has subsequently approved six products. It is expected that many institutions would be able to participate in Brazilian and world markets, developing and introducing new biotechnological solutions and products through a more sustainable approach and without facing public disapproval, a common issue for GM crops.     

Effect of eight herbicides from five different chemical groups on nitrogen fixation and grain yield in Lupinus albus L. grown in semi-arid zones

Summary. The effects of five different chemical groups of herbicides: dinitroanilines, 1, 3, 5-triazines, 1, 2, 4-triazinones, α-chloroacetamides and carbamates on N₂-fixation & yield in Lupinus were compared. Cyanazine, simazine and trifluralin caused a significant increase in acetylene reduction activity (ARA), whereas the rest had no effect on ARA. Cyanazine and simazine significantly increased the grain yield and the weight of lupin seeds. The percentage of nitrogen in the seeds was significantly increased by cyanazine. An inventory of the weeds resistant to the herbicides in the treated subplots was also carried out. The dinitroaniline group mainly controlled Galium tricorne, Lolium multiflorum, Papaver rhoeas , and Avena sterilis whereas the 1, 3, 5-triazine and dinitroaniline herbicides. Carbamates and α-chloroacetamides were less effective Papaver rhoeas, Scandix pecten-veneris and Avena sterilis. Avena sterilis was controlled by both triazine and dinitro-aniline herbicides. Carbamates and α-chloroacetamides were less effective on the weeds growing with the lupinus plants.     

Differential effects of isoproturon on the photosynthetic apparatus and yield of two varieties of wheat and L. rigidum

The effect of isoproturon on the ultrastructure of the photosynthetic apparatus, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase activity, protein and chlorophyll content, and the grain yield was investigated in two wheat cultivars (Triticum sativum L. cvs Castan and Esquilache) and a weed (Lolium rigidum Gaud.). Field experiments used applications of 1–65 and 2–5 kg a.i. ha^?1 isoproturon post-emergence, and growth chamber experiments used nutrient solution with the addition of isoproturon (1·7 × 10^?4 M). The ultrastructure of the photosynthetic apparatus of the cv. Esquilache was much affected by the herbicide. In the case of cv. Castan, slight disorganization of the grana and intergrana was observed. Isoproturon decreased the activity of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase. A decrease in protein and chlorophyll content was also observed in the cv. Esquilache and in L. rigidum. These alterations were much less evident in the cv. Castan, where, moreover, no loss of protein occurred. The yield of the treated cv. Castan plants was slightly greater than that of the control plants in two consecutive years. However, the yields of the cv. Esquilache were significantly less when the herbicide was applied in the first year at commencement of tillering in a dry season but not when applied at an advanced stage as in the second year in a wet season.