自然：俄罗斯转向开始拥抱基因编辑（福利在文末）

基因农业网（Panda）编译：据《自然》杂志（Nature）报道，一项耗资17亿美元的项目在俄罗斯准备启动，计划在未来十年内开发30种基因编辑的植物和动物品种。

俄罗斯要拥抱基因编辑技术时代了。最近的一项俄联邦项目耗资1110亿卢布（约合17亿美元），旨在到2020年时创造10种基因编辑作物和动物新品种，然后到2027年时再增加20种。

位于新西伯利亚的俄罗斯科学院（RAS）西伯利亚分院的细胞学和遗传学研究所主任Alexey Kochetov对该研究项目表示欢迎，并指出，在过去的数十年中，俄罗斯遗传学已经长期资金短缺。20世纪90年代前苏联解体后，俄罗斯科学经费急剧下降，至今，俄罗斯仍然落后于其他大国：2017年，俄罗斯国内生产总值中仅有1.11％用于研究，而在中国这一数值是2.13％，在美国则是2.79％。

但是一些研究人员怀疑这些目标是否能够按时完成，并认为该项目并不能解决他们面临的其他问题，例如过度的官僚主义。

目前还不清楚所称的1110亿卢布是否包括在现有的联邦民用科学预算之内。2018年该项预算资金为3640亿卢布，其中220亿卢布用于遗传学研究，或者也可能在现有预算的基础上增加新的资金。

这项于4月份宣布的项目，也同样引起了人们对法规监管的兴趣，因为这一项目意味着一些基因编辑产品将不受2016年通过的禁种法律约束。后者规定，俄罗斯境内禁止种植转基因（GM）生物，研究目的除外。以前，人们并不清楚基因编辑的生物是否受该禁令管辖。

与转基因的区别

2016年的禁种法律将转基因生物描述为通过“不能由自然过程产生”的基因修饰得到的生物。但是，建立新计划的法令中对基因编辑技术（例如CRISPR-Cas9，它不一定会插入外源DNA）作出的描述则是：与传统的育种方法相当。

俄罗斯RAS某研究所的一名科学家（该科学家因害怕职业反应而要求保持匿名）称，这对俄罗斯研究人员来说是一个值得庆幸的进展，其中许多研究人员因2016年禁令的不确定性而失去动力。

该法令的措辞与美国农业部门的立场相吻合，后者在去年表示，它没有计划规范“原本可以通过传统育种技术开发的植物”，包括基因编辑物种——尽管基因编辑动物的情况尚不明朗，因为它由食品和药物管理局负责监管。

相比之下，2018年7月欧盟最高法院宣称，基因编辑作物受到与传统转基因生物相同的严格规定。许多科学家认为这种裁决会妨碍研究。

Konstantin Severinov是参与建立该政府项目的一名分子遗传学家，他告诉《自然》杂志，这对于俄罗斯不被排除在全球CRISPR研究大潮之外非常重要，该项目的目标之一就是让俄罗斯减少对进口作物的依赖。

“尽管自认为是一个面包篮，但是当提到优良的作物品种时，俄罗斯却高度依赖进口，所以政府确实需要决定做些什么，” Severinov说，他的工作往返于新泽西州皮斯卡塔韦的罗格斯大学和莫斯科附近的斯可科沃科学技术研究所之间。“幸运的是，一些RAS成员设法证明了CRISPR-Cas9是一件好事。”

大麦和甜菜

最新这项法令列出了四种作物（大麦、甜菜、小麦和土豆）作为重点作物。据FAO数据，俄罗斯是世界上最大的大麦生产国，也是其他三大作物的主要生产国。

对这些作物的基因编辑改良已经开展。莫斯科RAS研究所的科学家正在开发抗病的马铃薯和甜菜品种。另一项基因编辑研究正在圣彼得堡的瓦维洛夫植物工业研究所以及RAS细胞学和遗传学研究所进行，旨在使大麦和小麦更易于加工和更有营养。

但目前还不清楚俄罗斯科学家是否能够实现该计划雄心勃勃的目标。尽管曾参与过制定该计划，Severinov曾经说过一句很有名的话，将在俄罗斯工作形容成就像“在没有水的游泳池里游泳”，因其没有解决在俄罗斯进行生命科学研究的“非人道的不良”条件，包括官僚的繁文缛节和物资供应不足。

一位不愿意透露姓名的科学家对《自然》杂志表示，怀疑该计划的时间表，我相信政府会花钱并称该计划取得巨大成功。我不太相信明年会有任何新品种——也许是晚些时候。

Kochetov表示，该项目的目标是切合实际的。“毫无疑问，研究计划将带来有前途的产品。”他认为，因为现在的法律更加清晰，私人公司可能会加快基因编辑研究的资金投入。但他认为仍存在一些法律上的不确定性，并预计该项目中开发出的任何生物在进入市场前仍将需要进一步的监管。

美国康涅狄格大学斯托尔斯校区的植物科学家Yi Li表示，该计划的推出对俄罗斯和全世界都是一次“重大举措”。他说这可能促使中国在基因编辑技术上投入更多资金，并有助于提高美国对此类技术的热情。 “对于欧洲国家而言，鉴于欧洲法院对基因组编辑作出裁决，这可能是一个非常有趣的发展，”他补充说。

李森科，前苏联生物学家，由于一系列政治因素而形成的“李森科主义”给前苏联以及后来的俄罗斯的生物遗传学研究带来了毁灭性的影响，至今没有完全消除。

原文链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01519-6

中文翻译：http://www.agrogene.cn/info-5585.shtml

翻页看原文：

​Russia joins in global gene-editing bonanza

A US$1.7-billion programme aims to develop 30 gene-edited plant and animal varieties in the next decade.

Russia is embracing gene-editing. A 111-billion-rouble (US$1.7-billion) federal programme aims to create 10 new varieties of gene-edited crops and animals by 2020 — and another 20 by 2027.

Alexey Kochetov, director of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, welcomed the research programme, noting that genetics in Russia has been “chronically underfinanced” for decades. Funding for science plummeted in the 1990s following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and Russia still lags behind other major powers: in 2017, it spent 1.11% of its gross domestic product on research, compared with 2.13% in China and 2.79% in the United States.

But some researchers doubt that the goals can be met on time, and worry that the initiative does not address the other issues they face, such as excessive bureaucracy.

It is also not clear whether the 111 billion roubles is included in the existing federal civilian-science budget — which in 2018 was 364 billion roubles, with 22 billion roubles spent on genetics research — or whether it comes in addition to that budget.

The programme, which was announced in April, has also attracted interest because it suggests that some gene-edited products will now be exempt from a law passed in 2016 that prohibits the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) organisms in Russia, except for research purposes. Previously, it was not clear whether gene-edited organisms were included in the ban.

Transgenic distinction

The 2016 law describes GM organisms as those with gene modifications “that cannot result from natural processes”. But the decree that established the new programme describes gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR–Cas9 — which do not necessarily insert foreign DNA — as equivalent to conventional breeding methods.

That marks a welcome step for Russian researchers, many of whom were demotivated by the uncertainty of the 2016 ban, according to a scientist at a major institute of the RAS in Moscow who asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional repercussions.

The wording of the decree chimes with the stance of the US agriculture department, which last year said that it has no plans to regulate “plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques”, including gene-edited species — although the situation is less clear with animals, which are overseen by the Food and Drug Administration.

By contrast, a July 2018 ruling from the European Union’s highest court declared that gene-edited crops are subject to the same tough regulations as conventional GM organisms — something many scientists said would hamper research.

Konstantin Severinov, a molecular geneticist who helped to develop the government programme, told Nature that is important that Russia is not sidelined in the world’s “CRISPR bonanza”, and that one goal of the programme is to make Russia less dependent on imported crops.

“Despite considering itself a bread basket, Russia is highly dependent on imports when it comes to elite crop varieties, so [the government decided] something needs to be done,” says Severinov, who splits his time between Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology near Moscow. “Luckily, a few RAS members managed to make the case that CRISPR–Cas9 is a good thing.”

Barley and beets

The decree lists four crops — barley, sugar beet, wheat and potatoes — as priorities. Russia is the world’s biggest producer of barley and a major producer of the other three, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

Projects to develop gene-edited versions of these crops are already under way. Scientists at RAS institutes in Moscow are developing pathogen-resistant varieties of potatoes and sugar beet. And gene-editing research aiming to make barley and wheat both easier to process and more nutritious is in progress at the Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry in St Petersburg, and at the RAS Institute of Cytology and Genetics.

But whether Russian scientists can meet the programme’s ambitious goals is unclear. Despite helping to develop the programme, Severinov — who once famously described working in Russia as like “swimming in a pool without water” — says that it does not address the “inhumanely bad” conditions for doing life-sciences research in Russia, including red tape and poor access to supplies.

The anonymous scientist who spoke to Nature also doubts the programme’s timeline: “I am sure [the government] will spend the money and call the programme a huge success. I am less confident there will actually be any new varieties by next year — perhaps later.”

Kochetov says that the initiative’s goals are realistic. “The research programme will bring promising products — there’s no doubt about it.” He says that private companies might accelerate funding for gene-editing research now that the law is clearer. But he thinks that some legal uncertainty remains, and predicts that further regulation will be required to bring to market any organisms developed under the programme.

Yi Li, a plant scientist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, says that the programme’s launch is “a significant move” both for Russia and the world. He says that it could prompt China to invest more in gene-editing technologies, and help to fuel growing enthusiasm for such technologies in the United States. “For European countries, this can be a very interesting development in the light of the European court of justice ruling on genome editing,” he adds.

Nature 569, 319-320 (2019)

doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-01519-6

Until June 2018, Olga Dobrovidova was employed by TASS, a state-owned news agency in Russia.

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