The work of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee (SC) of the CTPS carries out scientific assessments in the field of varieties and seeds at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Plenary Committee of the CTPS or a Section of the CTPS.
Climate Change Referral
Climate change is a reality that affects society as a whole, and agriculture in particular. Many levers can be mobilised, including plant genetics. The Scientific Committee of the CTPS, charged with carrying out a referral on the evaluation of varieties in the context of climate change, presented the conclusions of its work to the Plenary Committee of the CTPS on 21 November. The CTPS SC recommends strengthening the CTPS’s capacity to anticipate and guide climate change, by putting in place structuring guidelines. Trials should be better characterised through envirotyping, and the data obtained in evaluations should be better exploited.
By 2050, an average temperature rise of +2 to +3°C is expected in France, with an increase in climatic hazards (drought, heat waves, late frosts, storms and hail). This climate disruption will have a number of effects on agriculture, through higher temperatures and atmospheric CO2, intensified heatwaves and drought. This could lead to a shortening of crop cycles, an increased need for irrigation to avoid crop failure, and a change in the rate of reproduction of crop pests. The combination of these stresses is still not well known. The varietal lever is one of a number of levers for action in response to climate change.
Responding to the challenges of climate change will require a shift in priorities for a large number of species, from improving yield potential to stabilising yield by improving resistance to abiotic stresses and making better use of nutrients. The challenge of resistance to biotic stresses is also being stepped up. It also seems essential to consider the contribution of plant genetic resources in adapting to climate change, as they represent a real reservoir of alleles of interest.
Evaluating the ability of varieties to adapt to climate change will require the characterisation of trial environments through envirotyping. The CTPS SC proposes that the occurrence of a hazard should be considered as an event of interest and information that should be exploited, and this requires a detailed description of the environments encountered in the various trials.
The SC of the CTPS recommends strengthening the CTPS’s capacity to anticipate and guide climate change, by setting up structuring guidelines (new bonuses, choice of trial locations and conditions, changes in varietal types). In each section, the expected effects of climate change on each species should be explained, the traits affected and the traits of interest should be defined, more reflection should be given to varietal performance in terms of mean value and variance, and the notion of risk linked to the stability of varietal performance should be introduced. Trials should be better characterised through envirotyping, and the data obtained from evaluations should be better exploited. As far as possible, it is recommended that the trials set up by breeders during the selection process be used to identify interesting varietal behaviour in the face of the expected effects of climate change. In view of the effects of climate change, particularly inter-annual variations, it is important to secure the locations where DUS trials are conducted in order to produce quality data.
Adapting to climate change will require us to change the way we operate and the way we approach things. This could be an opportunity to mobilise new relationships at European level, between the different national variety registration systems and between the different examination offices.
Agroecology
The CTPS Plenary Committee requested the CTPS Scientific Committee to provide clarification, based on scientific and technical literature, on what the agroecological transition implies in terms of species and varieties, selection, evaluation, and seed and plant production.
The conclusions of this referral were presented to the CTPS Plenary Committee in November 2021.
The deliberations of the CTPS Scientific Committee emphasise that the agroecological transition will lead to the cultivation of more species and varieties, with increased diversity.
This diversity must be taken into account in variety testing networks by incorporating agroecological growing conditions into the testing networks and combining field trials with evaluations under controlled conditions.
The CTPS will have to evaluate new criteria during registration, while ensuring the competitiveness of the National Catalogue registration system. In an agroecological context that involves ever greater diversity and requires the evaluation of an increasing number of characteristics, the CTPS has a role to play as a trusted third party and guide through the dissemination and integration of varietal data in an agroecological context, due to its ability to integrate results at the national level, in conjunction with the continuum (pre- and post-registration data) and in conjunction with European data. The integration of varietal data at European level will require common criteria to be assessed in relation to agroecology, while maintaining national specificities in line with the current specific needs of the sectors and emphasising local adaptations.
Evaluating varieties when they are registered based on characteristics related to the common goods they provide (resistance to pests, tolerance to extreme conditions, etc.) will enable genetic progress to be directed towards jointly established objectives in line with the agroecological transition.
The conclusions of this referral are set out in full in the referral report entitled “Which varieties for agroecology?”, which is available under Hal and can be consulted freely.
An executive summary of the key messages and conclusions of this work is also available in French and English.
New genome editing techniques and variety evaluation - 2022
The European Commission has announced a policy action in 2021 on plants derived from certain new genome editing techniques (NBT). The aim is to adapt authorization and risk assessment procedures as well as traceability and labeling requirements, while maintaining a high level of health and environmental protection.
In this context, in November 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture referred the matter to the Scientific Committee of the CTPS so that it could shed light, on the basis of the scientific and technical literature, on the impact of the evolution of genome editing techniques on the evaluation of varieties and their marketing.
The report in response to this referral was published in November 2022.
It concludes that the use of genome editing techniques does not call into question the major principles of variety evaluation for registration. However, a distinction should be made between edited characteristics that are similar or close to those that can be obtained by conventional breeding, and novel characteristics that are highly modifiable. For the latter, care must be taken to characterize the services that could be provided and the disservices that could appear.
The report emphasizes the difficulty of coexisting varieties derived from NBTs and those not derived from NBTs, due to the limitations of detection. The societal acceptability of these varieties must be taken into account; in particular, it is important that the edited traits benefit the different actors of the sector. The development of the use of NBTs and associated patents reinforces the issues of Intellectual Property related to varieties. The availability of patent information and the use of edited varieties in breeding programs are important issues.
Impact of NBTs on variety supply and on the missions of the CTPS - 2016
In the framework of Priority Action 2: Foster innovation in agro-ecology in the plant and seed sectors of the Ministry of Agriculture’s “Seed and Sustainable Agriculture Plan” (SPAD), the CTPS Scientific Committee has carried out a study on the repercussions of New Breeding Techniques (NBT) on plant varieties and the CTPS’s missions. The following two questions were examined: “What are the potential consequences of new breeding techniques for plant varieties” and “What impact could new breeding techniques have on the CTPS’s activities?” The aim of this study was not to investigate regulation or intellectual property-related issues arising from these techniques.
The CTPS Scientific Committee emphasises that all new plant improvement techniques, and in particular genome editing techniques involving site-directed nucleases (SDNs), are revolutionising the current vision of agriculture and seeds. Although most of the published work is mainly proof of concept due to the recent development of these techniques, a large number of agronomic applications have been published or patented, suggesting that their use in breeding programmes could lead to changes in the range of varieties available. This range could thus become more diverse, adapted and responsive to environmental changes and commercial requirements.
If plants produced using these genome editing techniques are not covered by GMO regulations, the CTPS must be prepared to examine all varieties created in this way that are submitted for registration.
The CTPS Scientific Committee recommends evaluating edited varieties by analysing the characteristics produced in relation to the current range of varieties listed in the Catalogue rather than the method used to obtain the varieties. This evaluation is particularly useful when the edited characteristic has little or no variability in the current range of varieties. An assessment focused on the trait and the variety produced rather than on the method of production would then allow for greater transparency, as requested by industry stakeholders and consumers, on the environmental and health impacts (positive or negative) of new plant varieties.
Contacts
| Ms Isabelle LITRICO-CHIARELLI | President | INRAE – Directrice scientifique Agriculture 147 Rue de l’Université – 75338 Paris Cedex 07 Téléphone : 01 42 75 94 77 isabelle.litrico-chiarelli@inrae.fr |
| Ms Aurélia GOULEAU | Scientific Coordination | GEVES – Siège – 25 rue Georges Morel – CS 90024 – 49071 Beaucouzé Cedex Téléphone : 02 41 22 86 46 aurelia.gouleau@geves.fr |
