Terminator Technology Terminator Technology or: how to create a problemor: how to create a problem

Sandra BlessinBUKO Agrar Koordination

Berlin, 22.5.2007

OverviewOverview

Introduction What is Terminator Technology?

Definition How does it work Impacts and risks Short history

The ban-terminator activities in Germany 2005/ 2006

The transcontainer project, COP9 and possible activities

definitiondefinition

Problems: no official definition in the CBD text Different components and aims

German campaign definition: Terminator Technology is a genetic

modification of organisms which eliminates or reduces the germination capacity of the following seed generation. Usually the terminator gene sequence can be activated through a on or off mechanism.

definition definition

Our definition includes 4 components: GMO Germination reduces or eliminated Sterile seeds inducible

CBD: genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs)

FAO: Biotechnology-based switch mechanism to restrict the unauthorized use of genetic material

how does it work?how does it work?

The Terminator Technology is basically a genetically engineered suicide mechanism that can be triggered on or off by aspecific outside stimulus (the inducer). The preferred inducer is Tetracycline (antibiotic). As the result the seeds of the next generation will self destruct by self-poisoning.

Usually there are 3 genes inserted. All can fail. The reliabilty of the hole construct is 80 % (estimated by R. Steinbrecher)

How Terminator works in theory (Overview from Dr. R. Steinbrecher)

apply inducer for example Tetracycline, heat etc.

R

Rb

a

toxin

molecular

Scissors

molecular

Scissors

elimination of repressor

production from Ribonuclease

toxin Pro-moter

impacts and risksimpacts and risks

Reliability for biosafety:enough for use restriction but as an

affective measure to avoid GMO contamination not enough

Use restriction: negation of farmers´rights undermining of food sovereignty danger for food security biodiversity loss

short historyshort history1998/1999 international protest against a Terminator patent

from Delta and Pine

2000 De facto moratorium on the COP5 of CBD: recommendation that ..”products incorporating such technology should not be approved by parties for field testing until appropiate scientific data can justify such testing… „

2005 Canadian Government tries to weaken the moratorium by stressing biosafety function of Terminator Technology. They try to get a case by case assessment

January 2006

Granada: ad-hoc working group on Art. 8j CBD accept a recommendation paper for Curitiba with “case by case assessment”

March 2006 Curitiba: A lot of protest (over all the international Ban Terminator campaign)

Result: The moratorium remains without limitation.

german ban-terminator activitiesgerman ban-terminator activities www.freie-saat.de (in german) Initiated in october 2005 by the BUKO Agrar

Koordination Activities:

position paper with 35 signing organizations Press conference Public work: Articles in german newspaper, TV Participation in Granada demonstration Handover from 2359 signatures to the German

Parliament Action in front of Canadian Embassy Lettres to EU members of parliament Meeting with the Federal Office of Consumer

Protection and Food Safety (BVL), institution for GMO authorization because of “Transcontainer-project”

signing organizations (1)signing organizations (1)

„Kein Patent auf Leben!“ Aktion 3. Welt Saar Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL.) Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Umweltbeauftragten in der Ev.

Kirche in Deutschland (AGU) ATTAC Ausschuss für den Dienst auf dem Lande in der EKD Bioland Bonner AK gegen Gentechnologie Brot für die Welt BUKO Agrar Koordination BUKO-Kampagne gegen Biopiraterie Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) Bund Ökologischer Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW) Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Evangelische Jugend im

ländlichen Raum (BAG ejl)

signing organizations (2)signing organizations (2)

Bündnis für die gentechnikfreie Landwirtschaft in Niedersachsen, Bremen und Hamburg

Bürgerinitiative gentechnikfreies Schleswig-Holstein Coordination gegen Bayer-Gefahren Demeter Dreschflegel e.V. Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED) Evangelisches Bildungszentrum Hesselberg Gen-ethisches Netzwerk Gentechnikfreie Regionen in Deutschland Germanwatch NABU Naturland Ökologischer Ärztebund Ökomarkt PAN Germany (Pestizid Aktionsnetzwerk) Share e.V. Umweltinstitut München Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt (VEN) Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft  

Handover from 2359 signatures to the German ParliamentHandover from 2359 signatures to the German Parliament

                       

       

press action in front of the Parliamentpress action in front of the Parliament

                                        

Other ban-terminator campaignsOther ban-terminator campaigns

Ban terminator campaign: www.banterminator.org Spain : Ecologistas en Accion United Kingdom Canada Australia

Result of all campaignsResult of all campaigns

The CBD moratorium remained in the COP8 CBD in Curitiba

Two problems: Not legally binding Call for new scientific research on

Terminator Technology in decision V/5 Nr. 23 and 25.

„ „transcontainer“- projecttranscontainer“- project

a EU-wide official project executed by 8 European Member States

Over all: scientific institutions and universities and two private companies: SweTree Technologies AB in Sweden (researching with trees) and the DLF-Trifolium A/S in Denmark

Destination crops: Canola, sugar beet, trees, aubergine and tomato

Aim: To enhance the acceptance of GMO. Glasshouse-testing in Sweden an Denmark Transcontainer-workshop 2008 in Eastern

Europe

ProjectpartnerProjectpartnerPlant Research International B.V., Wageningen, The Netherlands (coordinator)

Drs. Kim Boutilier and Ruud de Maagd

1. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, SwedenProf. Ove Nilsson

2. Research Institute for Vegetable Crops, Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyDr. Giuseppe Rotino

3. Vienna University, Campus Vienna Biocenter, AustriaProf. Alisher Touraev

4. University of Milan, ItalyProf. Martin Kater

5. National University of Ireland, Maynooth, IrelandProf. Philip J. Dix

6. Wageningen University, NetherlandsDr. Justus Wesseler

7. Institute of Plant Genetics-Research (CNR-IGV), Perugia, ItalyDr. Sergio Arcioni

8. Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Berlin, GermanyDr. Detlef Bartsch

9. University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, BulgariaProf. Ivan Minkov

10. Schenkelaars Biotechnology Consultancy, Leiden, The NetherlandsIr. Piet Schenkelaars

11. SweTree Technologies AB, Umeå, SwedenDr. Magnus Hertzberg

12. DLF-TRIFOLIUM A/S, Store Heddinge, DenmarkDr. Christian Sig Jensen

Fertility confinement of transcontainerFertility confinement of transcontainer

Plant Research International B.V., Wageningen, Netherlands; Dr. Kim Boutilier

Vienna University, Campus Vienna Biocenter, Austria; Prof. Alisher Touraev

University of Milan, Italy; Prof. Martin Kater

Research Institute for Vegetable Crops, Montanaso Lombardo, Italy; Dr. Giuseppe

Rotino

Controllable Fertility Objectives •To realise a male sterility-based transgene containment system based on amino acid depletion and complementation in oilseed rape and tomato •To realise a male sterility-based transgene containment system based on TAF loss of function and complementation in oilseed rape  •To develop and validate a transgenic containment technique based on the coupling of parthenocarpy to male sterility in tomato (amino acid depletion) and eggplant (TAF loss-of-function)· •To evaluate the potential of restorable male sterility strategies as a tool for F1 hybrid breeding in oilseed rape and tomato •To implement the two-component ablation system in grasses in preparation for a male sterility-based hybrid system in European forage crops •To develop a seed lethal transgene containment system based on Recoverable Block of Function (RBF) in oilseed rape.

COP 9 and possible activitiesCOP 9 and possible activities

Untill now nothing on the Agenda; but new attack from Canada and Australia probable

Possible activities: Take care on the Moratorium Maybe influence on the Moratorium

excluding the call for scientific research Watch carefully the „transcontainer“-

project; side-event on COP 9 ...