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SUNY-ESF researchers are reviewing public comments from a petition to deregulate a genetically modified American chestnut tree, the first step toward introducing the tree into the wild.

The petition, filed with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has to display evidence that the genetically modified chestnut tree — which SUNY-ESF researchers developed — would not pose a risk to the environment if it were planted in the wild, said William Powell, co-director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project and a professor SUNY-ESF. 

“Once we have non-regulated status, we can do things we can’t do under permits,” Powell said. “It allows us to do more experiments, allow the trees to flower, things like that”

This petition is the first of three that researchers must file with the federal government before moving forward, Powell said. If the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service approves this petition, researchers must then file similar petitions to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.

Once the federal government gives its full approval, researchers can distribute their current stock of genetically-modified chestnuts, called Darling 58, to the public for planting without careful monitoring, Powell said. During previous phases, the chestnuts had to be monitored after researchers planted them.

The American Chestnut, once a common tree in the eastern United States, was largely wiped out by an invasive fungus in the early 20th century. Darling 58 contains a wheat gene that would allow the tree to survive fungal infection without killing the fungus or the tree, according to the project’s website.

At the close of the public comment period on Oct. 19, scientists, environmental organizations and general citizens had filed 123,897 comments on the petition’s website, Powell said.

Researchers have yet to fully examine all of the public feedback, said Kaitlin Breda, the administrative assistant for the Chestnut Project. This is in part due to a last-minute jump in comments from 3,000 to roughly 120,000, Breda said.

Breda speculated that the unexpected increase in comments may have resulted from a technical error, repeat comments or the work of bots. The researchers do not have access to the full set of comments yet and can’t verify their origin.

In general, the trend of opinion appears to be 2:1 in favor of moving forward with the project, Powell said.

Comments on the petition range from qualified support to words of encouragement from citizens, Powell said. Objections referenced the potential dangers of genetically modified organisms or criticized SUNY-ESF’s research, he said.

Some commenters also expressed concerns that deregulation would lead to Darling 58 spreading out of control, Breda said.

“(Some fear) all of a sudden, there’s gonna be American chestnut trees walking all over the place,” Breda said. “That’s not something that can happen in a year.”

Powell said that genetic modification happens constantly. Traditional hybrid trees, created through crossing one parent seed with another, are commonly sold at retail stores, Powell said.

“We live in an age of genomics,” Powell said. “All kinds of changes occur in addition to mixing genes from both species, and yet, that’s not regulated. There’s been no problems with that.”

The goal of SUNY-ESF’s chestnut restoration project differs from the more profit-motivated genetic modification projects, said Sara Fitzsimmons, director of restoration at the American Chestnut Foundation.

“This is for forest health,” Fitzsimmons said, “This isn’t for commercialization, it’s not for agroforestry, it’s not for timber production, it’s for overall ecosystem health.”

Powell said he hopes Darling 58 will set a precedent, encouraging others to develop genetically modified trees for conservation goals. But Darling 58 will not be able to restore the American Chestnut alone, Fitzsimmons said.

“Darling 58 is a huge piece of this puzzle, but it’s not the only one,” Fitzsimmons said.

Published on October 27, 2020 at 12:09 am

Contact Mary: mmrand@syr.edu