Terminator Technology or: how to create a problem

1. Terminator Technology or: how to create a problem Sandra Blessin BUKO Agrar Koordination Berlin, 22.5.2007

2. Overview • Introduction • What is Terminator Technology? • Definition • How does it work • Impacts and risks • Short history • The ban-terminator activities in Germany 2005/ 2006 • The transcontainer project, COP9 and possible activities

3. definition • Problems: • no official definition in the CBD text • Different components and aims • German campaign definition: Terminator Technology is a genetic modification of organisms which eliminates or reduces the germination capacity of the following seed generation. Usually the terminator gene sequence can be activated through a on or off mechanism.

4. definition • Our definition includes 4 components: • GMO • Germination reduces or eliminated • Sterile seeds • inducible • CBD: genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) • FAO: Biotechnology-based switch mechanism to restrict the unauthorized use of genetic material

5. how does it work? • The Terminator Technology is basically a genetically engineered suicide mechanism that can be triggered on or off by aspecific outside stimulus (the inducer). The preferred inducer is Tetracycline (antibiotic). As the result the seeds of the next generation will self destruct by self-poisoning. • Usually there are 3 genes inserted. All can fail. The reliabilty of the hole construct is 80 % (estimated by R. Steinbrecher)

6. toxin molecular Scissors How Terminator works in theory(Overview from Dr. R. Steinbrecher) apply inducer for example Tetracycline, heat etc. molecular Scissors elimination of repressor b R R     production from Ribonuclease       toxin a Pro-moter

7. impacts and risks • Reliability for biosafety: enough for use restriction but as an affective measure to avoid GMO contamination not enough • Use restriction: • negation of farmers´rights • undermining of food sovereignty • danger for food security • biodiversity loss

8. short history

9. german ban-terminator activities • www.freie-saat.de (in german) • Initiated in october 2005 by the BUKO Agrar Koordination • Activities: • position paper with 35 signing organizations • Press conference • Public work: Articles in german newspaper, TV • Participation in Granada demonstration • Handover from 2359 signatures to the German Parliament • Action in front of Canadian Embassy • Lettres to EU members of parliament • Meeting with the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), institution for GMO authorization because of “Transcontainer-project”

10. signing organizations (1) „Kein Patent auf Leben!“ • Aktion 3. Welt Saar • Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL.) • Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Umweltbeauftragten in der Ev. Kirche in Deutschland (AGU) • ATTAC • Ausschuss für den Dienst auf dem Lande in der EKD • Bioland • Bonner AK gegen Gentechnologie • Brot für die Welt • BUKO Agrar Koordination • BUKO-Kampagne gegen Biopiraterie • Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) • Bund Ökologischer Lebensmittelwirtschaft (BÖLW) • Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Evangelische Jugend im ländlichen Raum (BAG ejl)

11. signing organizations (2) • Bündnis für die gentechnikfreie Landwirtschaft in Niedersachsen, Bremen und Hamburg • Bürgerinitiative gentechnikfreies Schleswig-Holstein • Coordination gegen Bayer-Gefahren • Demeter • Dreschflegel e.V. • Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED) • Evangelisches Bildungszentrum Hesselberg • Gen-ethisches Netzwerk • Gentechnikfreie Regionen in Deutschland • Germanwatch • NABU • Naturland • Ökologischer Ärztebund • Ökomarkt • PAN Germany (Pestizid Aktionsnetzwerk) • Share e.V. • Umweltinstitut München • Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt (VEN) • Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft

12. Handover from 2359 signatures to the German Parliament

13. press action in front of the Parliament

14. Other ban-terminator campaigns • Ban terminator campaign: www.banterminator.org • Spain : Ecologistas en Accion • United Kingdom • Canada • Australia

15. Result of all campaigns • The CBD moratorium remained in the COP8 CBD in Curitiba • Two problems: • Not legally binding • Call for new scientific research on Terminator Technology in decision V/5 Nr. 23 and 25.

16. „transcontainer“- project • a EU-wide official project executed by 8 European Member States • Over all: scientific institutions and universities and two private companies: SweTree Technologies AB in Sweden (researching with trees) and the DLF-Trifolium A/S in Denmark • Destination crops: Canola, sugar beet, trees, aubergine and tomato • Aim: To enhance the acceptance of GMO. • Glasshouse-testing in Sweden an Denmark • Transcontainer-workshop 2008 in Eastern Europe

18. Projectpartner • Plant Research International B.V., Wageningen, The Netherlands (coordinator) Drs. Kim Boutilier and Ruud de Maagd • Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, SwedenProf. Ove Nilsson • Research Institute for Vegetable Crops, Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyDr. Giuseppe Rotino • Vienna University, Campus Vienna Biocenter, AustriaProf. Alisher Touraev • University of Milan, ItalyProf. Martin Kater • National University of Ireland, Maynooth, IrelandProf. Philip J. Dix • Wageningen University, NetherlandsDr. Justus Wesseler • Institute of Plant Genetics-Research (CNR-IGV), Perugia, ItalyDr. Sergio Arcioni • Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, Berlin, GermanyDr. Detlef Bartsch • University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, BulgariaProf. Ivan Minkov • Schenkelaars Biotechnology Consultancy, Leiden, The NetherlandsIr. Piet Schenkelaars • SweTree Technologies AB, Umeå, SwedenDr. Magnus Hertzberg • DLF-TRIFOLIUM A/S, Store Heddinge, DenmarkDr. Christian Sig Jensen

19. Fertility confinement of transcontainer • Plant Research International B.V., Wageningen, Netherlands; Dr. Kim Boutilier • Vienna University, Campus Vienna Biocenter, Austria; Prof. Alisher Touraev • University of Milan, Italy; Prof. Martin Kater • Research Institute for Vegetable Crops, Montanaso Lombardo, Italy; Dr. Giuseppe Rotino • Controllable Fertility Objectives • To realise a male sterility-based transgene containment system based on amino acid depletion and complementation in oilseed rape and tomato • To realise a male sterility-based transgene containment system based on TAF loss of function and complementation in oilseed rape • To develop and validate a transgenic containment technique based on the coupling of parthenocarpy to male sterility in tomato (amino acid depletion) and eggplant (TAF loss-of-function)·  • To evaluate the potential of restorable male sterility strategies as a tool for F1 hybrid breeding in oilseed rape and tomato • To implement the two-component ablation system in grasses in preparation for a male sterility-based hybrid system in European forage crops • To develop a seed lethal transgene containment system based on Recoverable Block of Function (RBF) in oilseed rape.

20. COP 9 and possible activities • Untill now nothing on the Agenda; but new attack from Canada and Australia probable • Possible activities: • Take care on the Moratorium • Maybe influence on the Moratorium excluding the call for scientific research • Watch carefully the „transcontainer“-project; side-event on COP 9 • ...