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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced approval on Aug. 27 for growing wheat with the HB4 drought-tolerant trait, drawing praise from growers’ associations who anticipate commercial production in the U.S. following field trials.
“Wherever wheat is grown in the world, drought takes its toll on yields and quality, so an innovation like HB4 holds a lot of interest for growers like me,” said Michael Peters, Past Chairman of US Wheat Associates (USW) in a statement.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) review of HB4 wheat “concluded that it does not pose an increased plant pest risk relative to comparator wheat plants,” according to Bioceres Crop Solutions, the Argentinian firm that developed HB4 wheat.
HB4 wheat is genetically modified through the introduction of the Hahb4 gene from sunflowers. Hahb4 naturally gives sunflowers the ability to withstand drought by encouraging changes in the plant when water is scarce, research shows.
The road to commercialization
“Although USDA’s ruling clears the regulatory pathway for cultivation of HB4 wheat in the United States, there are several additional steps needed before those benefits are realized and HB4 is grown commercially in the United States,” said USW. “These include the need to conduct closed-system field trials prior to commercialization.”
The field trials necessary to allow commercial production of wheat with the HB4 trait would take about three years, Casey Chumrau, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, told The Spokesman-Review. If the trials are successful, the HB4 trait could be added to many types of wheat grown in the U.S., Chumrau said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already deemed HB4 wheat safe in 2022, saying no premarket review or FDA approval was necessary.
Bioceres obtained approval in 2020 to grow HB4 wheat in Argentina. Subsequent approval to sell the flour made from that wheat in Brazil in 2021 was followed by approval for food and feed in Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia, and Chile.
Why we need drought-resistant wheat
The U.S. is the fourth-largest wheat producer in the world and a major exporter. In recent years, drought has been impacting harvests of all kinds of U.S. crops, and we may not be aware of the extent of the risks to wheat, according to research.
“Climate change is causing unprecedented events globally, which could exceed critical thresholds and reduce yields, even if there is no historical precedent. This means that we are likely underestimating climate risks to our food system,” according to a study on wheat and drought published in Nature.
Other efforts are underway to make wheat more resilient to drought. A group of researchers in the UK have isolated a gene that naturally occurs within wheat and enables wheat to be more productive at a higher temperature.
Meanwhile, an innovation to reduce gluten in wheat through genetic modification will make it possible for more people to eat this staple food.
These developments are among the multiple approaches biotech is taking to enhance food security—even as we are threatened by increasing drought and other climate pressures.
“When you look at the many ways in which biotech companies are rising to the challenge of reducing and mitigating climate impacts, such as developing crop traits and plant-based materials to replace fossil resources, there is no question that biotech is ‘climate tech,’” according to Beth Ellikidis, BIO VP for Agriculture and Environment at BIO.
