ArticleEFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority2020
Evaluation of existing guidelines for their adequacy for the microbial characterisation and environmental risk assessment of microorganisms obtained through synthetic biology.
Article in EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Horizon scanning of potential environmental applications of terrestrial animals, fish, algae and microorganisms produced by genetic modification, including the use of new genomic techniques.Frontiers in genome editing · 2024Pooled it
- Literature horizon scan for new scientific data on plants, microorganisms and animals, and their products obtained by new genomic techniques (October 2025).EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2026Article
- Probiotic-based mycotoxin detoxification in poultry feed: mechanisms, efficacy, challenges, and future directions for sustainable production.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- New developments in biotechnology applied to animals: An assessment of the adequacy and sufficiency of current EFSA guidance for animal risk assessment.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2025Article
- Engineering biology applications for environmental solutions: potential and challenges.Nature communications · 2025Review
- Environmental Applications of GM Microorganisms: Tiny Critters Posing Huge Challenges for Risk Assessment and Governance.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The ever-evolving world of microbes: the current state of microbial taxonomy, genome evolutionary dynamics, and the potential impact on the future of agricultural microbials risk assessment.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Review
- New developments in biotechnology applied to microorganisms.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2024Article
- Challenges for the Post-Market Environmental Monitoring in the European Union Imposed by Novel Applications of Genetically Modified and Genome-Edited Organisms.Biotech (Basel (Switzerland)) · 2024Review
- Scanning the Horizon for Environmental Applications of Genetically Modified Viruses Reveals Challenges for Their Environmental Risk Assessment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Navigating the 'moral hazard' argument in synthetic biology's application.Synthetic biology (Oxford, England) · 2024Review
- Exploring the Impact of Tensions in Stakeholder Norms on Designing for Value Change: The Case of Biosafety in Industrial Biotechnology.Science and engineering ethics · 2023Article
- Environmental Galenics: large-scale fortification of extant microbiomes with engineered bioremediation agents.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2022Review
- Evaluation of existing guidelines for their adequacy for the food and feed risk assessment of microorganisms obtained through synthetic biology.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2022Article
- Evaluation of existing guidelines for their adequacy for the food and feed risk assessment of genetically modified plants obtained through synthetic biology.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2022Article
- Targetron-Assisted Delivery of Exogenous DNA Sequences intoACS synthetic biology · 2021Article
- Context matters: On the road to responsible biosafety technologies in synthetic biology.EMBO reports · 2021Article
- Evaluation of existing guidelines for their adequacy for the microbial characterisation and environmental risk assessment of microorganisms obtained through synthetic biology.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
24 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
EFSA was asked by the European Commission to consider synthetic biology developments for agri-food use in the near future and to determine if the use of this technology is expected to constitute potential risks and hazards for the environment. Moreover, EFSA was requested to evaluate the adequacy of existing guidelines for risk assessment and if updated guidance is needed. The scope of this Opinion covers viable synthetic biology microorganisms (SynBioMs) expected to be deliberately released into the environment. The evaluation was based on: (i) horizon scanning of published information, (ii) gap analysis of existing guidelines covering the scope of this mandate, and (iii) future outlooks. A horizon scan showed that SynBioM applications could be ready for deliberate release into the environment of the EU in the next decade. However, extensively engineered SynBioMs are only expected in the wider future. For the microbial characterisation and the environmental risk assessment, the existing EFSA Guidances are useful as a basis. The extent to which existing Guidances can be used depends on the familiarity of the SynBioM with non-modified organisms. Among the recommendations for updated Guidance, the range of uses of products to be assessed covering all agri-food uses and taking into account all types of microorganisms, their relevant exposure routes and receiving environments. It is suggested that new EFSA Guidances address all 'specific areas of risk' as per Directive 2001/18/EC. No novel environmental hazards are expected for current and near future SynBioMs. However, the efficacy by which the SynBioMs interact with the environment may differ. This could lead to increased exposure and risk. Novel hazards connected with the development of xenobionts may be expected in the wider future.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.