Rice blast is caused by the fungus Pyricularia oryzae, which evolves rapidly and gains resistance to fungicides…. Blast infections reduce up to 50 percent of the rice produced worldwide, according to [Vittoria Brambilla, a plant scientist at the University of Milan]. So she and her team set out to help using gene editing.
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Her team submitted a hefty application this year in January to begin the field trials, and they had approval in time to plant the rice, in May….
The plants grew for more than a month. And then on June 21st, two people came in and destroyed the field overnight.…
In better news, the destruction convinced the politicians to extend permission for field trials in gene editing through 2025….
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“When the plants were destroyed,” she says, “we went to prime time news on TV, which reached people normally not interested in science. In a way it was good to disseminate the importance of the technology and reach the public we could have never reached. As a scientist I would have preferred my field untouched, but as a professor and my role in society with dissemination, this was a success because we could really reach many more people.”
The rice fields will be cultivated this month to try to get results of the experiment.
At the very least, they are allowed to try again next year with a new gene-edited rice crop, possibly in a secret location.
