Supreme Court delivers split verdict on nod for GM mustard

Sub: Sci

Sec: Biotech

Context:

The Supreme Court issued a split verdict on the Centre’s 2022 decision to grant conditional approval for the environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard crops.

Details:

Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol called for the Centre to create a national policy on GM crops, covering research, cultivation, trade, and commerce.
On October 18, 2022, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recommended the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11.

What is DMH-11?

The full form of DMH is Dhara Mustard Hybrid. It is a genetically modified crop, only second after GM cotton, to get approval for being inducted into the environment for seed production and testing. GM cotton is commercially used in India.
The signature feature of DMH is that it carries a gene for herbicide resistance. i.e. herbicide tolerant.
It has been developed by scientists from the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), Delhi University.
They developed the hybrid containing two alien genes isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
The barnase-barstar GM technology was deployed to develop DMH-11. The researchers took a popular Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ (the barnase line) with an East European ‘Early Heera-2’ mutant (barstar).
It contains 3 important genes Bargene, Barnase and Barstar, all derived from soil bacterium.
It would be a high-yielding variety of the mustard crop.
This is significant because it can help India achieve self-sufficiency in oil production and save on forex. Currently, India is the world’s leading importer of edible oils and more than 50% of the domestic demand for edible oils is met through imports.

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):

It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
It is responsible for the appraisal of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
The committee is also responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.
GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.

Source: TH