Plant breeder René Smulders: “Real progress only comes from working better together”

DNA techniques such as CRISPR-Cas could become an important driver for plant breeding in the near future, alongside crosses with wild relatives, Smulders believes. “During my career, DNA techniques have developed rapidly, and that has led to major changes in the breeding industry. Being able to make targeted changes to plant traits offers so many possibilities. Think of plant varieties that are resistant to several diseases and pests at the same time, something that is becoming increasingly important because of climate change, without it taking decades to develop them.”

Smulders is not afraid that breeding techniques will make more possible than is desirable. “If we regulate plant growth well, we can get the most out of it.” According to him, these technological possibilities do require strong knowledge of plants and their traits. “WUR should aim to remain at the forefront at all times. By understanding plant mechanisms better, we can develop durable resistance.”

Precisely because of these rapid technological developments, collaboration is becoming increasingly important, Smulders stresses. “To make full use of technology, you do not only need people who know how the technology works. It is important to know very clearly which genes exactly you need to change. Knowledge from research therefore remains essential.”

The importance of collaboration is also clear in research into wheat and coeliac disease, Smulders says. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition in which the body reacts to gluten proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. This reaction damages the small intestine, which can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea and fatigue.

“We worked with medical specialists and used CRISPR-Cas to alter the wheat plant’s DNA. In this way, we tried to make gluten safer for people with coeliac disease. The first plants show that it can be done, but they are not yet completely safe because wheat has so many different gluten genes.”
In theory, Smulders believes, people with coeliac disease should be able to eat wheat again in around five to ten years. But companies will need to see a business case for it. 

Production requires a fully separate supply chain. “And then there is regulation,” says Smulders. “For the use of CRISPR-Cas, the rules in the EU are stricter than in many other parts of the world, and that stands in the way of innovation. However, a relaxation of the rules is on the way, which will make it possible, for example, to switch off a number of gluten genes.”

Smulders feels at home in the lab, but has no hesitation in leaving his white coat on the hook and heading into the field in search of moor frogs, tree frogs, plants and insects. Together with researchers from WUR’s Environmental Sciences Group, he roamed through the landscape. “At one point, there was funding to encourage collaboration between different parts of the organisation. We combined our genetic techniques with landscape ecology. We studied genetic variation within and between frog populations, how large those populations are and how many individuals move between them,” he says.

“Without sufficient exchange, isolated populations will disappear. That is why our colleagues studied in which landscapes the populations were connected and where corridors were needed. Our research showed that exchange depends on distance, but also where it breaks down. For frogs, roads and canals, for example, form an extra barrier that disrupts that pattern.”

Smulders looks back on his career with pride. He can still clearly picture his first day in Wageningen, in 1991. It was a different time, and a different organisation. “The institutes were islands that were only just being connected through mergers,” he says. “You hardly ever spoke to colleagues in other buildings.” That is precisely why he sees the later integration of the Plant Breeding business unit and the Plant Breeding chair group as a turning point.

“That step set a great deal in motion: joint project acquisition, many joint PhD candidates and research assistants from Wageningen Research contributing to the chair group’s teaching and scientific work,” he explains. “Together, we strengthened our links with industry and accommodated the growing number of thesis projects and internships. Our shared labs deliver considerable cost savings by reducing the amount of space needed, sharing equipment and using a common stock of consumables. I have always encouraged that collaboration.”

Smulders still has plenty of ideas for strengthening collaboration within WUR. “There are collaborations between business units and chair groups within WUR, but so much more would be possible. You first have to get to know each other to understand the added value of working together.” He therefore believes there should be many more activities in which people from different departments get to know one another. He also argues for funding for small collaborative pilot studies. He has one more message for young researchers: “Work together, share projects and arrange funding together. You do not have to do it alone.”

Within WUR, there are many researchers who retire mainly on paper, but in practice can still regularly be found in Wageningen. The same applies to Smulders. “In June, I am starting a two-and-a-half-year project: we will map out what is needed for a strategic research agenda for plant breeding in Europe. It will be my last project, but I am looking forward to it. Working together and continuing to innovate – the thread that has run through my career since my first day in Wageningen. I cannot quite let go of my field yet.”