Context:

Recently, research has highlighted the harmful effects of genetic pesticides on humans.

About the study

• The research, “Predicted multispecies unintended effects from outdoor genome editing”, was published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

Methodology adopted for the study:

• The team of scientists from Brazil, New Zealand, and Norway investigated 18 species that are commonly found in farming environments, like humans, cattle, chickens, mice, pollinator insects, earthworms, fungi, and crops like maize, cotton, and soybean. 
• These are also known as the Non-Target Organisms (NTOs).
• The study discovered, using computer predictive modeling, that 12 of the 18 species faced potential “unintended hybridization.”
• The team identified three major pests that could potentially be targeted for outdoor-use gene-editing (CRIPR/Cas9) pesticides: 
• Western corn rootworm, 
• Red flour beetle, and 
• Fungus Sclerotinia sclerotium.  

Gene Editing: 

• Genome editing technologies enable scientists to make changes to DNA, leading to changes in physical traits, and disease risk. 
• Scientists use different technologies to do this. These technologies act like scissors, cutting the DNA at a specific spot. 
• The first genome editing technologies were developed in the late 1900s. 

CRISPR Cas9:

• It is a new genome editing tool called CRISPR, invented in 2009, has made it easier than ever to edit DNA. 
• The tool is composed of two basic parts: the Cas9 protein, which acts like the wrench, and the specific RNA guides, CRISPRs, which act as the set of different socket heads.

Key Findings:

• Scientists have found that Genetic pesticides may be able to edit the genes of people, animals, and insects in the environment where pesticides will be sprayed. 
• The most likely impact is on humans, who may experience significant biological consequences like cancer and hormone metabolism pathways.
• The researchers suggested that new risk assessment frameworks are required for proposed applications of genetic engineering outside of contained laboratories. 
• The use of genetic pesticides can lead to silencing or disruption of the normal functioning of these species. 

Gene-silencing pesticides 

• Pesticide companies, are developing “gene-silencing pesticides” that exploit a cellular process called RNA interference (RNAi).
• RNAi is a naturally occurring cellular process in plants, fungi, and animals, including insects.
• Gene-silencing pesticides are designed to be applied as an external product that will modify exposed organisms in the open environment.