b'ASSOCIATION NEWS GMO CommitteeEnrico Noli (Chair) and Ren Mathis (Vice-Chair)www.seedtest.org/en/technical-committees/gmo-committee.htmlTHE CORE MISSION OF ISTA IS TOgroup testing applied to small populations, suchGMO Committee NoticesFACILITATE INTERNATIONAL SEEDas when issuing a BIC or in the case of ProficiencyThe Committee is currently composed of 14 TRADE. In general, analytical methods are firstTest samples: in fact, in these cases the resultsmembers. Following the suggestion of the ISTA validated and then prescribed by ISTA, allowingcan only refer to the sample. Executive Committee, it was decided to nominate testing laboratories around the world to becomea second Vice-Chair in order to improve accredited according to the ISTA AccreditationGMO Workshops and Seminars efficiency and guarantee continuity of action; Standard. However, in the field of biotech traitOn 30 October 2024, the sixth event of the ISTAhowever, no nomination has yet been made.testing, which for ISTA includes both adventitiousCentennial Webinar Series was held, addressing presence (AP) as well as trait purity (TP) testing, athe link between GMO testing and ISTA. Norbert performance-based approach (PBA) was adopted.Leist (former ISTA President and Chair of the This choice was due to the consideration (stillGMO Task Force) gave an overview of the early valid) of the wide range of testing objectives,years and how ISTA became involved in GMO technologies, units of measurement, thresholdtesting; Enrico Noli described the evolution of levels, crops, traits and types of equipment. InChapter 19 of the ISTA Rules since its creation in addition, organisations more specialised than2014; and Laura Bowden, a new member of the ISTA produce internationally validated methods;Committee, illustrated the testing on GMO that is therefore, there is no need to reinvent the wheel.carried out at her laboratory and how it relates to Under the PBA, laboratories can freely adopt suchthe activities of the parent institution.validated methods, provided they verify that they meet specific performance criteria set by ISTA,Proficiency Testsand they can demonstrate their ability throughProficiency Tests (PT) on GMOs with seeds are Proficiency Tests. essential for accreditation under the PBA. Due to several issues (phytosanitary, GMO status, There are currently 12 ISTA laboratories frometc.) PT preparation requires significant efforts, 10 different countries accredited for geneticallyin particular by the ISTA Secretariat and the modified organism (GMO) testing. The speciespreparing laboratory. Support has also come concerned are soybean, maize, cotton andfrom the [industry-based] seed provider, to canola, and the technologies used include end- which we are very thankful. Over time, a specific point and real-time polymerase chain reactionprocess has been developed to go through the (PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assaymany steps. A material transfer agreement (ELISA) and lateral flow strip. Both quantitativebetween the seed provider, ISTA and the methods and group testing are used to estimateparticipant laboratories needs to be signed. For the level of GM material present in seed lots. Soeach country of destination it is necessary to far, only one laboratory has TP in their scope ofcarefully check the import requirements (import accreditation. permit, phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin) and the rules for packaging and Highlights of the Yearadditional labelling. A new external laboratory (January 2024 to present) (Intertek, Sweden) has been contracted to take Proposed Amendments to ISTA Rulescare of preliminary testing, sample preparation for 2026 and shipping. At the time of writing, samples of Section 19.7 (Reporting results) of thePT24 on Zea mays are being shipped out.International Rules for Seed Testing (ISTA Rules), states that two conditions must be met in orderOther GMO Committee Activitiesto report GMO testing results on an OrangeWork on preparing an ISTA handbook for GMO International Seed Lot Certificate (OIC): thetesting is ongoing, but the draft is still not sample must be drawn according to the ISTAcomplete. Four of the eight sections are in an Rules by an accredited laboratory or samplingadvanced stage. Some sections require further entity, and the number of seeds tested must bework, particularly those concerning new known. However, to provide greater clarity on thetechnologies (digital PCR, next-generation conditions under which GMO test results can besequencing, etc.).referred to either the seed lot or the seed sample, amendments were proposed and accepted at theEfforts were also devoted to keeping the List of ISTA Ordinary General Meeting in Christchurch,Standardised Terms in GMO Testing current, but New Zealand. These amendments aim toa procedure and responsibilities for its systematic clarify when GMO test results can be reportedmaintenance need to be defined. The list contains on either an OIC or a Blue International Seedterms that must be used on the ISTA website Sample Certificate (BIC). This also relates to theto consistently and informatively describe development of a statistical tool (split-samplethe scope of accreditation of laboratories for group test) by the Statistics Committee to be usedstakeholders.for estimating the presence of GMOs through 34 SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL www.seedtest.org'