Gene-Silencing Biopesticides Could Transform Australia’s $50 Billion Cropping Industry, Researchers Say

SYDNEY — A new class of crop-protection sprays that work by silencing genes inside pests and pathogens could reshape Australia’s $50 billion-a-year cropping industry, according to researchers who say the technology’s success will hinge as much on public trust and regulation as on the underlying science.

An international review published this week in the journal Nature Plants examined the state of RNA interference, or RNAi, based biopesticides, a technology that uses naturally occurring biological processes to switch off genes essential to the survival of insects, weeds and plant pathogens. Unlike genetically modified crops, the approach does not alter a plant’s genetic makeup. Instead, RNA molecules are typically applied as a spray, disrupting the genetic machinery of a target pest without introducing new genes into the crop itself.

The review, titled “Advancing Adoption of RNAi-based Biopesticides,” was led by researchers at Charles Sturt University in collaboration with the University of Queensland, Curtin University, the University of California, Riverside, and GreenLight Biosciences, a U.S. biotechnology company. Its authors argue that the scientific case for the technology is increasingly well established, but that regulatory frameworks and public confidence remain the biggest obstacles to widespread use on farms.

Stephen Fletcher, the review’s lead author and a researcher at Charles Sturt University, said the precision with which RNA molecules can be engineered is what sets the technology apart from conventional chemical pesticides.

“Carefully designed RNA molecules that can switch off essential genes in a target pest or pathogen while minimising effects on other organisms are central to using RNA sprays for crop protection,” Fletcher said.

“Their precise nature offers a potential biosolution at a time when growers are facing increasing challenges with chemical pesticides from pesticide resistance, environmental concerns and tighter regulations on synthetic chemicals,” he said.

Growers around the world have grappled for years with pests developing resistance to widely used synthetic chemicals, alongside mounting environmental concerns and governments moving to restrict certain classes of pesticides. Proponents of RNAi technology say its ability to target specific pests, while largely sparing beneficial insects and other organisms, could offer a way around some of those pressures.

The technology has already cleared a significant commercial hurdle. According to the review, the first RNAi-based products have now been registered for use against the Colorado potato beetle, a major pest of potato crops, and the varroa mite, a parasite blamed for widespread losses among honeybee colonies globally. Researchers say that milestone marks a shift in the conversation around the technology, moving the debate beyond whether RNAi-based sprays are effective and toward the more practical question of how they can be adopted at scale on farms worldwide.

The review credits several recent scientific advances with pushing the technology closer to broader use, including improvements in bioinformatics that help researchers design more targeted RNA sequences, refinements in RNA molecule design itself, and new delivery systems intended to protect RNA molecules from degrading before they can take effect in field conditions. Field stability has been one of the technology’s persistent challenges, since RNA molecules can break down quickly once sprayed, reducing their effectiveness against pests.

Even as the science advances, the review’s authors caution that commercial success will not be guaranteed by laboratory results alone. Neena Mitter, a professor who has spent more than a decade researching RNA-based biopesticide technologies, said building public confidence in the approach will be just as critical as refining the underlying science.

“Consumers increasingly want sustainable agricultural solutions but public acceptance cannot be assumed,” Mitter said.

“The pathway from discovery to adoption must be built on transparent evidence, clear regulatory oversight, industry engagement and trusted communication about safety and environmental benefits,” she said.

Cost has historically been one of the barriers limiting the technology’s rollout, but the review notes that production costs for RNAi-based biopesticides have fallen sharply in recent years, making the sprays more commercially viable than they were even a few years ago. Regulatory hurdles, however, remain a significant challenge. The review points to inconsistent approval systems across different countries, which it says can make the process of bringing new RNAi-based products to market both difficult and expensive for companies attempting to operate internationally.

That regulatory patchwork means a product cleared for use in one country may face a lengthy or uncertain approval process elsewhere, complicating efforts by companies to scale up production and distribution. Researchers involved in the review argue that harmonizing regulatory approaches, or at least making them more predictable, would help accelerate adoption without compromising safety oversight.

The review concludes that RNAi-based biopesticides are positioned to become a meaningful part of sustainable crop protection strategies going forward, but only if scientific progress is matched on several fronts simultaneously: reliable performance once products are out in the field, readiness for commercial-scale manufacturing, effective and consistent regulation, and what the authors describe as a strong “social license to operate” — a level of public and industry acceptance that allows the technology to be used without significant opposition or restriction.

For Australia, where the cropping sector generates an estimated $50 billion annually and growers face many of the same pressures cited in the review — pesticide resistance, environmental scrutiny and tightening rules on synthetic chemical use — the technology’s advocates see significant potential upside. Whether that potential is realized, according to the researchers behind the review, will depend less on further breakthroughs in the laboratory and more on the regulatory and public-facing work still ahead.