The EU Commission would allow the release of the plants without prior risk assessment

The blueprint for an insecticidal genetically modified corn has been published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science. What makes it special is that it was designed using artificial intelligence (AI) for the application of new genetic engineering (NGT). A legislative proposal by the EU Commission for the future regulation of NGT plants was used as a guideline. As a result, NGT plants could be placed on the market without mandatory environmental risk assessment.

The initial results of the experiment, in which Testbiotech played a leading role, have been available since May 2025. The details have now been published in an international journal after peer review. The design proposed by the AI involves using new genetic engineering techniques to intervene in the gene regulation of plants. The aim is to increase the concentration of a specific protein that is also found in conventionally bred plants. While the concentration of the defence substance naturally only increases for a short time when insects attack, its production in NGT plants would be permanently increased.

Insecticidal plants can be toxic not only to herbivorous insects, but also pose significant risks to non-target organisms, food webs, ecosystem function, and biodiversity. Under the current EU legislative proposal, NGT plants with up to 20 genetic modifications could be released into the environment and marketed without prior environmental risk assessment. Food produced from these plants would not be subject to labelling requirements. In fact, however, there is no reliable scientific evidence that NGT plants that remain below this "magic threshold" of 20 genetic modifications are safer than other plants.

The AI specifically designed the insecticidal corn to meet the EU Commission's requirements. The criteria proposed by the Commission were used as a kind of instruction manual to circumvent a mandatory risk assessment. As a result, the insecticidal KI maize can be seen as a kind of experimental proof that the EU proposal for the future regulation of NGT plants is inadequate and already scientifically outdated before it would even come into force.

The Commission's proposal is currently being discussed in Brussels and is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks or months. Testbiotech is calling for the proposal to be rejected, as it does not ensure the safe handling of NGT plants.

The new publication:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1677066/full

Backgrounder:
https://www.testbiotech.org/en/news/chatgpt-designed-insecticidal-ngt-plants/

Source: Testbiotech
https://www.testbiotech.org/en/news/scientific-publication-on-ai-designed-ngt-maize/