Agricultural Bioweapon Technology Being Developed by DARPA

The Science Policy Forum has published a report claiming that DARPA has developed a bioweapon through weaponized insects. The insects can genetically modify crops on-the-fly by infecting them with the modified genes. The stated goal is to make crops resistant to various things, but the technology could be used to introduce genes that lead to a loss of crops, creating food shortages as a weapon against certain areas of the world.

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In July 2017, the first of three consortia announced that they had been awarded a contract from DARPA to develop systems for insect dispersion of genetically modified viruses.

The project is called Insect Allies. The states goal was to help farmers with climate change, drought, frost, floods, salinity, and disease resistant crops. Instead of the seeds being modified in a lab and grown later, insects would be used to do the job for them. Swarms would be released to go modify crops with a special virus that passes along the genes that do the modification.

This could not only help farmers, but as Richard Guy Reeves from the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology warns, it has a potential for dual use as a bioweapon technology.

The report is woried about how such technology can be used:

The regulatory, bio-logical, economic, and societal implications of dispersing such horizontal environmental genetic alteration agents (HEGAAs) into eco-systems are profound.

Instead of having to wait for a plant to pass new traits to the next generation via seeds, instant genetic modifications could be made on the fly through "horizontal genetic alteration". Using CRISPR (or other method), labs would insert genetic modification into the chromosomes of insects like leafhoppers, whiteflies, and aphids. They would carry the modifications to the plant crops which would then be infected with a transgene and trigger the new trait to be developed, like drought-resistance.

DARPA assures us that the allegations in the report are mischaracaterized inaccuracies. They say "all work is conducted inside closed laboratories, greenhouses, or other secured facilities" and that insects have built-in limited lifespans. The Science Policy Forum report sees the potential for a bioweapon:

It is our opinion that the knowledge to be gained from this program appears very limited in its capacity to enhance U.S. agriculture or respond to national emergencies. The program may be widely perceived as an effort to develop biological agents for hostile purposes and their means of delivery, which—if true—would constitute a breach of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

The insects can be controlled when they are released. Using them as a vehicle to genetically modify crops is a bad idea. The report prefers the use of sprays to deliver the infection. DARPA argues farmers don't have the infrastructure for overhead spraying, and that insects are the "only practical solution".

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DARPA has stated the use of Insect Allies as a way to combat the "threat" to "National Security" from "state or non-state actors". The report interprets this intent as meaning HEGAAs will be used for offensive purposes of biological warfare. A new era of biological warfare can conceivable be created, leading to disastrous consequences. Rival nations or powers could develop similar programs with ill intent, even if the Pentagon's claims of only being used to help farmers is true.

Blake Bextine, DARPA Program Manager for Insect Allies, has responded to the claims:

DARPA is not producing biological weapons, and we reject the hypothetical scenario. We accept and agree with concerns about potential dual use of technology, an issue that comes up with virtually every new powerful technology. Those concerns are precisely why we structured the Insect Allies program the way we did, as a transparent, university-led, fundamental research effort that benefits from the active participation of regulators and ethicists and proactive communication to policymakers.

Despite the possible benefits over traditional methods of dealing with threats to agriculture, like not having pesticides or others chemicals blow into other areas of seep into groundwater, there is reason to be concerned. Jason Delborne, an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University says:

The social, ethical, political, and ecological implications of producing HEGAAs are significant and worthy of the same level of attention as exploring the science underpinning the potential technology. The authors argue persuasively that specifying insects as the preferred delivery mechanism for HEGAAs is poorly justified by visions of agricultural applications. The infrastructure and expertise required for spraying agricultural fields—at least in the U.S. context—is well established, and this delivery mechanism would offer greater control over the potential spread of a HEGAA.

Maybe DARPA's intention are noble, and this won't ever become a bioweapon technology used by the Pentagon. But it seems like anyone with the capabilities can use this technology to do a lot of damage. HEGGAs could create a disastrous world. Is Pandora's box already open? Is it too late to put the genie back in the bottle and prevent this technology from being developed further or used in the future? We may just have to hope the power players of the world don't use this technology to decimate the crops of their enemies and starve people.

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References:

• Scathing Report Accuses the Pentagon of Developing an Agricultural Bioweapon
• Agricultural research, or a new bioweapon system?, R. G. Reeves, S. Voeneky, D. Caetano-Anollés, F. Beck, C. Boëte, Science 05 Oct 2018: Vol. 362, Issue 6410, pp. 35-37, DOI: 10.1126/science.aat7664
• Insect Allies

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