In This
Issue:
BRAZIL TO DO FIELD TRIALS FOR GM BEANS
The Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA),
Brazil’s organization for agricultural research, together with
the Ministry of Agriculture, Cattle and Supply, got the go-signal
from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBAMA) to conduct
field trials with transgenic beans.
Marcus Barroso Barros, IBAMA president, announced that the field
research will involve genetically modified (GM) beans (Phaseolus
vulgaris) that are resistant to the bean golden mosaic virus. The
virus is transmitted by whitefly and is considered the most important
disease that attacks the beans.
The tests will be conducted at EMBRAPA's research
station at St Antonio de Goiás. Aside from monitoring the
plots regularly, EMBRAPA is also required to develop an environmental
education project
on GM beans for the local community.
This is the second license granted to the EMBRAPA, the first being
given to conduct research on GM papaya resistant to the papaya ringspot
virus. The next transgenic product license being worked out by EMBRAPA
will be a virus resistant potato.
More
on EMBRAPA at http://www.embrapa.br/english/index.htm.
POTENTIALS AND LIMITATIONS OF GM RICE
Transgenic technologies under development for rice
have bright prospects for developing countries. These are herbicide
tolerance, biotech
stress resistance, abiotic stress resistance, and nutritional traits.
However, some countries may be concerned about the effect of genetically
modified (GM) rice on their markets. This was pointed out by Ronnie
Coffman and his colleagues from the Cornell University in a paper
entitled “Potentials and Limitations of Biotechnology in Rice” presented
during the Food and Agriculture Organization Rice Conference in Rome,
Italy on February 12-13, 2004.
The impacts on rice trade, according to the Cornell University professors
may be that:
- Unauthorized
technologies that offer a production advantage will spread through
the informal sector in most rice-growing countries;
- High
quality markets and/or markets with concerned consumers will
require segregated, certified non-GM rice, resulting in additional
costs;
- GM
and other technologies will lower the price of rice in the
world market; and
- Biotechnologies
will be utilized to combine productivity and adaptation with
quality traits, affecting the monopoly of certain geographies
for certain traits.
“How the potential of the human imagination and creative spirit
should be nurtured, guided, interpreted and ultimately directed and
controlled with respect to biotechnology is a question of profound
social, economical and ethical dimensions. It deserves to be discussed,
contemplated and digested at all levels of society,” Coffman
and colleagues concluded.
For the full paper and other papers presented during the FAO Rice
Conference, visit http://www.fao.org/rice2004/en/e-001.htm.
BIOTECH AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Modern biotechnology, including the use of transgenic
plant cultivars, may offer opportunities to strengthen the arsenal
of adaptive responses
to climate change. However, developing countries’ preparedness
for adaptation to climate change are not apparent. This is the view
of Joel Cohen of the International Service for National Agricultural
Research, and Norman Rosenberg of the Joint Global Change Research
Institute.
Cohen and Rosenberg said that the technology can impart tolerance
or resistance to heat and moisture stress and/or resistance to pests
and disease. Molecular technologies can also be used to isolate and
insert genes coding for traits that convey the needed tolerance or
resistance. However, agricultural biotechnology still faces problems
in developing countries. These are:
- Fears
that multinational companies will dominate technologies, crops,
regulatory approvals and intellectual property rights;
- Trade,
regulatory, and political problems that complicate the approval
process
- Willingness
of developing countries to approve only transgenic fiber
crops but not food crops; and
- Limited
and uncertain financial resources that jeopardize regulatory
and research capacity.
Cohen and Rosenberg shared further insights in their
paper “Addressing
Effects of Climate Change: Realities and Possibilities for Plant
Biotechnology in the Developing World” in Applications of Biotechnology
to Mitigation of Greenhouse Warming: Proceedings of the St. Michaels
II Workshop held in Maryland, USA.
Visit the Joint Global Change Research Institute at http://www.globalchange.umd.edu.
ANALYSIS OF BIOSAFETY SYSTEM IN KENYA
Kenya, as a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol for Biosafety, needs
to develop the biosafety expertise of key government officials within
existing regulatory agencies to help them handle increasing volumes
of applications. This was one of the main findings of a country report
on the status of the national biosafety system in Kenya.
Patricia Traynor and Harrison Macharia of the International
Service for National Agricultural Research, and National Council
for Science
and Technology in Kenya, respectively, noted also in their report
entitled “Analysis of the Biosafety System for Biotechnology
in Kenya: Application of a Conceptual Framework” that:
- There
is a concern about the entry of transgenic organisms into Kenya
outside of regular channels, such as genetically modified (GM)
grain arriving as food aid, which could subsequently be planted by
farmers.
- The
National Biosafety Committee currently takes a cautious approach
to risk assessment. It needs to look at the potential benefits of
GMOs and also the risks associated with not adopting some GM products.
- Public
understanding of biotechnology and GM is limited.
- Kenya
is well placed to take the lead in biosafety initiatives
in the region.
Traynor
and Macharia’s report is available
in hard copy as ISNAR Country Report 65, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Visit the ISNAR
website at http://www.isnar.cgiar.org or email isnar@cgiar.org.
BIO-EARN SET TO CHANGE ITS PROGRAM
The East African Regional Programme and Research
Network for Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biotechnology Policy Development
(BIO-EARN), which
is East Africa’s premier biotech capacity building facility,
is set to develop a new program that is in-line with the new initiatives
on biotechnology capacity building and policy support that have recently
emerged in the region. This decision was arrived at during BIO-EARN’s
fourth General Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania last March 3-5, 2004.
Thematic workshops focusing on key agricultural biotech issues affecting
the region were discussed during the assembly, while progress report
presentations were done by the different heads of biotech institutions
who also attended the said meeting. The meeting was attended by 150
delegates from different countries, and was jointly organized by
the Tanzania Commission of Science and Technology (COSTECH); BIO-EARN
Regional Office in Kampala, Uganda; and the Stockholm Environment
Institute (SEI).
Prior to the said assembly, the Network commissioned an external
review of its activities. The external review was conducted by Dr.
Jane Morris, Director, African Centre for Technologies; and Dr. Niels
Louwaars of the Netherlands-based Research Programme International
Cooperation. The external reviewers recommended that the future BIO-EARN
program find a clear niche in the region. They also made recommendations
on how a future BIO-EARN program could be developed, how partnerships
with other organizations can be formed, how competitive research
grants can be conceptualized, and how to branch into other areas
of biotechnology.
At present, BIO-EARN has three broad objectives, which includes:
building biotechnology, biosafety and biotechnology policy capacity;
facilitating regional collaboration; and stimulating dialogues between
policy makers and scientists in the East African region./ Kenya Biotechnology
Information Center (http://www.isaaa-africenter.org)
ISLAM AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
What is Islam’s view on food biotechnology? Tuan Shaikh Mohd
Saifuddeen bin Shaikh Mohd Salleh, a fellow with the Institute of
Islamic Understanding Malaysia, says any discourse on food is considered
important. The general criteria for any food to be consumed by Muslims
is known as halalan tayyiban, which means “permissible from
the shariah perspective (halal) and of good quality (tayyib).” In
the case of genetically modified (GM) food, as long as they meet
these two criteria, then it is consumable by Muslims.
Hence, the halal criterion is that food should originate from sources
that are slaughtered according to the shariah and are not of prohibited
animals. To date there is only one fatwa or religious decree in Malaysia
pertaining to GM food. It states that GM food with DNA from pigs
are haram (not permissible) for Muslims to consume.
Read more on “Biotechnology and Religion: Are They Compatible?” in
the latest issue of the BICNews, a publication of the Malaysian Biotechnology
Information Centre. Email info@bic.org.my or visit their website
at http://www.bic.org.my.
CHALLENGES OF GENOMICS IN INDIA
“India, being host to a vast bio-reservoir and a pool of competent
scientific and technical manpower, can really make a mark in the
post-genomics era if there is an organized and directed private/
public partnership. India can contribute immensely with (its) scientific
manpower capabilities existing in both life sciences and information
technology (IT),” says Kannan Sivaprakasam, a research associate
from Cornell University, USA. Sivaprakasam added that India can also
benefit immensely by actively encouraging investment in genomics.
However, the field of genomics is information-driven, thus the opportunities
and challenges lie with the large databases for new knowledge and
having the ability to convert knowledge into useful and commercially
significant results. In line with this, Indian IT companies have
a niche and can offer complete database solutions to major pharmaceutical
and genome-based biotech companies around the world.
Sivaprakasam observed that computational biology and bio-informatics
(the integration of biology, computer science and information technology)
are the areas where substantial levels of development skills are
required to develop custom applications. Bio-informatics is also
crucial for the advancement of the genome-based industry since it
can cut the timeframe and costs in developing a product. At present,
the bio-IT solutions market in India is pegged at $15 million and
is envisioned to amount to $120 million by 2006.
Download the full article published at the Asia Times Online at
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FC11Df04.html
2004 IS YEAR OF RICE
The United Nations has declared 2004 as the International
Year of Rice with the theme "Rice is life." First proposed by the
International Rice Research Institute, and then endorsed and supported
by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and
the government of the Philippines, the International Year of Rice
celebrates, “not only the cultural and culinary importance
of rice, but also seeks to highlight the major challenges still facing
one of the world's most vital industries, an industry that feeds
almost three billion daily and employs hundreds of millions more.”
Scientists and researchers with the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research have been active in creating rice varieties
to meet the needs of people around the world. These include:
- Storage
and maintenance of varieties by the International Rice Research
Institute has saved a treasure-trove of biodiversity from
extinction.
- The
International Rice Research Institute has developed a high-yielding,
tropical rice plant that grows on dry, irrigated
land. The new "aerobic
rice" may one day reduce water usage for rice planting by 50
percent in the dry areas of developing nations.
- Collaborative
research on biofortication of rice for better nutrition hopes
to improve the quality of life.
- The
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical is engaged in
a focused program of research that integrates advanced techniques
with conventional plant breeding to broaden the genetic base of rice
production, providing genes for useful traits that have not previously
been available to the region's rice growers.
To learn more about these efforts visit http://www.futureharvest.org.
BIOTECH PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN
India and Pakistan have established biotechnology
collaboration during the BioAsia 2004 meeting in Hyderabad last
week. During the
said event, the Pakistani delegation signed five agreements — three
with Indian biotechnology companies, and two with the All India Biotech
Association (AIBA).
According to Anwar Nasim, chairman, Pakistan's National Commission
on Biotechnology, and head of the delegation, Pakistan intends to
collaborate with the Indian companies in the areas of industrial
products, vaccines, diagnostic kits and transgenic crops. Also, biotechnology
companies in India will benefit from the opening of a potential market
in Pakistan.
Under
the said agreements, AIBA will help Pakistan establish its own
biotechnology association, and provide a list of Indian technologies
that are available for licensing in Pakistan. Indian technology could
also help Pakistan to lessen the price of drugs that are more costly
than those produced in India.
Further,
the relationship between Indian and Pakistani scientists
look promising. The Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and
the Pakistan Academy of Sciences are due to launch discussions
on common
interests such as agriculture and malaria. Read the full article from Nature at http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v428/n6979/full/428110a_fs.html.
VRN2 GENE KEY TO WHEAT GLOBAL ADAPTATION
Jorge Dubcovsky from the University of California Davis and colleagues
have isolated and cloned the VRN2 gene in wheat, which controls vernalization.
This research gives new ideas on how wheat has been able to adapt
to a wide range of climates and provides practical implications for
improving wheat varieties through manipulation of flowering times.
The same research team also cloned the first wheat vernalization
gene, VRN1.They discovered that VRN1 and VRN2 work together to confer
the winter growth habit. Loss-of-function mutations in either of
these two genes can result in spring wheat varieties that do not
require cold weather to initiate flowering. Hence, these varieties
can be planted in spring to grow throughout the warmer months of
the year.
Dubcovsky noted that an additional application of
their discovery will be the experimental manipulation of cereals’ flowering
time.
The
paper entitled “The Wheat VRN2 Gene is a Flowering Repressor
Down-Regulated by Vernalization” appears in the March 12, 2004
issue of the journal Science. View the journal online at http://www.sciencemag.org.
CONVENTIONAL PLANT BREEDING
Conventional plant breeding resulting in open pollinated varieties
(OP) or hybrid varieties has had a tremendous impact on agricultural
productivity over the last decades. Forms of conventional plant breeding
are: mutation breeding and hybrid seed technology. Some advantages
of conventional plant breeding are: yield improvement, extended growing
season, and quality improvement.
While an extremely important tool, conventional plant breeding also
has its limitations. First, breeding can only be done between two
plants that can sexually mate with each other. This limits the new
traits that can be added to those that already exist in a particular
species. And second, when plants are crossed, many traits are transferred
along with the trait/s of interest - including those traits that
have undesirable effects on yield potential.
Read more about conventional plant breeding as discussed in the
latest Pocket Knowledge (K) from the Global Knowledge Center on Crop
Biotechnology of the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA-KC). The Conventional Plant Breeding
Pocket K is downloadable at http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
TISSUE CULTURE TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA AND ASIA
Plant tissue culture is a technique that has been around for more
than 30 years, and is still seen as an important technology for developing
countries for the production of disease-free, high quality planting
material and the rapid production of uniform plants. Also, micropropagation,
which is a form of tissue culture, increases the amount of planting
materials to facilitate distribution and large scale planting. In
general, micropropagated plants are observed to establish more quickly,
grow more vigorously and taller, have shorter and more uniform production
cycles, and produce higher yields as compared to conventional propagules.
To date, the benefits of tissue culture technology
is already experienced farmers in Africa and Asia. In Kenya, small-scale
banana producers
used tissue culture as an option to provide sufficient quality and
quantity of planting materials. The same technology was also used
by scientists from the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA)
for combining the ruggedness of the African rice species (Oryza
glaberrima)
with the productivity of the Asian species (Oryza sativa), which
resulted to the ‘New Rice for Africa’ (NERICA).
In Asia, tissue culture technology has been refined to suit the
needs of orchid species and hybrids. Judging from the experiences
of Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, the ornamental and cut-flower
trade is a substantial source of foreign exchange, and provides additional
income for small growers.
All these issues are extensively discussed in the latest Pocket
Knowledge (K) from the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology
of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Applications (ISAAA-KC). The Tissue Culture Pocket K is downloadable
at http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
ISAAA CHAIR TO PRESENT GLOBAL STATUS OF GM CROPS
Dr. Clive James, chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications will give a presentation on the global
status of genetically modified crops and their contribution to sustainability
and future prospects at the Cape Milner Hotel, Milner Road Tamboerskloof
in South Africa on March 26, 2004. It is being organized by Cape
Biotech, a government-funded Biotech Regional Innovation Centre in
the Western Cape. Additional information may be obtained from Britt
Akermann of Cape Biotech at britt@capebiotech.co.za.
WORLD CONGRESS ON CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE
The
3rd World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, organized by the
Africa Conservation Tillage Network (ACT) in collaboration
with
the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Conservation Tillage Initiative
(KCTI), and African Union’s New Partnerships for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD), will be held on October 3 to 7, 2005 in Nairobi,
Kenya. For more information, visit their website at http://www.fao.org/act-network,
or email Martin Bwalya at actsecre@africaonline.co.zw. |
