Agriculture piggybacks on RNA biomedical research
To manipulate or interfere with ribonucleic acid (RNA) pathways will bring major advancements in human health and in agriculture. For one example, the precise coding of RNA can provide pest management tools that work only on the target pest – harming no other organisms.
I participated in an agriculture panel at the inaugural RNA Canada conference in Ottawa from September 30 to October 4, 2024. The conference brought together Canadian organizations, institutions, industry and government to discuss new developments in RNA research, and help chart the course for RNA-based innovations.
Groups called RiboClub, RiboWest and the Toronto RNA Club organized the conference. While a majority of the conference was focused on biomedicine, a component discussed the impacts of RNA in agriculture. Presenters and attendees discussed how RNA developments can help us better understand plant pathogens and insect pests, and identify novel ways to protect our crops.
Organizers invited me to be a panelist alongside RNA-focused researchers, industry professionals and government regulators to discuss the role of RNA research in agriculture. I represented the farm-based need for new and innovative ways to address current challenges, and demonstrated the value of connecting research in RNA to the agricultural world. With molecular biology and RNA innovations, we are gathering puzzle pieces. When we find new ways to fit these pieces together, something magical can happen. The COVID vaccines were RNA-based innovations. A co-funder of Moderna, Derek Rossi, is a Canadian and presented a keynote address at the conference.
One thing mentioned over and over at the conference was funding. When it comes to the biomedical sector, there are plenty of brilliant minds and ideas, but our current funding model can’t support it all. To reduce the research cost of this technology in agriculture, I see an opportunity to build upon, not repeat, the work done on the medical side. We can take these ideas and see how they might work in barns and fields.
RNA already has a presence in Canadian crops research. University of Manitoba researchers Mark Belmonte and Steve Whyard have uncovered new ways to protect canola from flea beetles and sclerotinia stem rot through RNA interference (RNAi). Steve Robinson and Hossein Borhan, research scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, are using the same methods for fusarium head blight, blackleg and verticillium stripe. It is only a matter of time before these precisely-targeted genes and products come to our fields. The United States already has commercial products available. One called Calantha controls the Colorado potato beetle.
It is only a matter of time before these precisely-targeted genes and products come to our fields.
Beyond RNAi, many researchers use new methods involving RNA to help understand plant responses, screen new genes, and most importantly, accelerate discoveries that could have never been possible 20 years ago. When scientists first sequenced the complete human genome 21 years ago, the cost was at least $500 million. Now we can sequence a genome for about $600. The acceleration of such developments has direct impact across all of molecular biology, and we’re likely to see more of this as time progresses.