LIFT
BAN ON GM CROP FIELD TRIALS, SAYS THAI AGRIC CHIEF
Adisak
Sreesungpagit, chief of Thailand's Agriculture Department,
plans to ask the cabinet to lift the ban on field trials of
genetically modified (GM) crops in Thailand. He noted that
the trials could shed light on the pros and cons of the technology.
In a press release, Sreesunpagit said that he came to this
decision after a group of northeastern farmers calling themselves
the Farmer Institute Network urged the department to ask the
government to review its ban on GM crops. Farmers voiced the
need for an alternative technology in the light of the papaya
ringspot virus problem that has been damaging their crop.
Adisak
said the department's researchers have been collecting information
to accompany the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry's request
for the cabinet to consider lifting the GM field trial ban.
For
information on crop biotechnology in Thailand, email Supat
Attahom of the Biosafety and Biotechnology Information Center
at rdispa@ku.ac.th.
VIETNAM SETS UP BOARD ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Vietnam's
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has set up a
board to draft a law on biological diversity. The board will
be headed by Minister Mai Ai Truc. Activities related to biological
diversity will include surveys on biological diversity; building
schemes for the preservation and sustainable development of
biological diversity; and protecting gene pools of rare plants
and animals.
The
law on biological diversity will cover the establishment of
nature reserves; the division of responsibilities for managing
biological diversity; the sharing of benefits in managing
and protecting biological diversity; and international cooperation
and the implementation of international conventions related
to biological diversity. The draft law will be submitted to
the Government for approval in early 2007.
In
other news, Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on
science and technology cooperation with Italy during the third
session of the Joint Vietnam-Italy Committee for Scientific
and Technical Cooperation. Twenty-one projects on various
fields that include biotechnology will be conducted.
Email
Le Hien of Biotech Vietnam at hienbiotechvn@pmail.vnn.vn
for other news summaries on biotechnology.
POTENTIAL FOR
GM CROPS TO REDUCE MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES
Developing
new varieties of staple foods, such as rice,
maize,
wheat,
beans and cassava,
by selectively breeding them to enhance nutritional qualities
has merit for reducing micronutrient deficiencies in the developing
world. This was forwarded by Jere Haas of Cornell University,
USA, and his colleagues, as an implication of their recent
work on bio-fortified, iron-rich rice and women's nutrition.
Using their work as an example, Haas added that “rice
that is bred to be higher in iron has great potential as a
sustainable approach to reducing the micronutrient deficiency
problems so common in developing countries.”
The
efficacy of consuming high-iron rice was tested in a nine-month
feeding trial among 192 religious sisters living in 10 convents
around Metro Manila, Philippines. Results showed that the
iron status of women who ate bio-fortified, iron-rich rice
was 20 percent higher than in women who ate traditional rice.
The bio-fortified rice was developed by the International
Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.
Details
of the study can be read in “Iron-Biofortified Rice
Improves the Iron Stores of Nonanemic Filipino Women”
published in the American Society of Nutrition's Journal of
Nutrition. A Cornell University release is available online
at http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov05/rice.
iron.ssl.html
SWISS
VOTE FOR BAN ON GM CULTIVATION
Switzerland
has agreed to support a five-year ban on the commercial cultivation
of genetically modified crops. In a referendum on a moratorium
on biotechnology in Swiss agriculture, 55.6% of Swiss voters
supported the ban until November 27, 2010.
EuropaBio,
the European Union (EU) association for bioindustries, said
that although the ban concerns only the commercial cultivation
of GM crops, the impact will indirectly affect investment
in research and innovation, as well as lessen crop alternatives
for farmers.
For
more information on the ban, visit http://www.europabio.org.
AFRICAN AGRIC
MINISTER CALLS FOR HARMONIZED BIOTECH POLICY
Permanent
Secretary James Ongwae of the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture
said there is the need for a harmonized policy on biotechnology
for the eastern and southern African region. He made this
remark during the opening ceremonies of the Kenya National
Consultative Workshop on Biotechnology and Biosafety. Allan
Kisia of the East African Standard quoted Ongwae as saying
that countries were in different levels of enacting their
biosafety guidelines.
The
consultative workshop was organized to understand regional
opportunities, challenges, views and positions on genetically
modified organisms, and the impact on trade and food security.
A regional position will be formalized based on recommendations
made.
For
more news from Africa, visit http://allafrica.com.
HARVARD
CENTER TO STUDY LEGAL SIDE OF BIOTECH
The
Harvard Law School in the United States launched the Petrie-Flom
Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics
to deal with the legal aspects of biotechnology and health
policy. The center will fund large-scale research projects,
hold conferences, and fund a fellowship program modeled on
Harvard's Society of Fellows. Fellows will be paid $60,000
a year for two years and be free from any teaching obligations.
Funded
by a $10 M private donation, the program is designed ''to
be the crucible for the next generation of young scholars
in this area," said Joseph Flom of the Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP in New York. The Center is envisioned
to “bring sound ideas to very emotional and political
topics.”
See
the full article by Marcella Bombardieri at
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/30/new_harvard_
center_to_study_legal_aspects_of_biotechnology/?rss_id=Boston+Globe
+--+City%2FRegion+News
RICE DEVELOPED
FOR ALLERGY TREATMENT
Allergy
is a significant health problem, and affects over 15% of all
children and adults worldwide. It may involve the skin, respiratory
tract, and gut, and may arise due to a great variety of environmental
triggers, such as exposure to pollen, fiber, or certain kinds
of molecules present in certain types of food.
Synthetic medicines are currently the most common treatment
for most allergies, but Hidenori Takagi of Tsukuba, Japan,
and colleagues seek another route by exploring how “A
rice-based edible vaccine expressing multiple T cell epitopes
induces oral tolerance for inhibition of Th2-mediated IgE
responses.” Their work appears in the latest issue of
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online.
Researchers
utilized dominant epitopes found in allergens carried by Japanese
cedar pollen. Epitopes
are short amino acid sequences which, on their own, can trigger
a mild immune response. By fusing the gene sequence of the
epitope with the seed storage protein glycinin, and by introducing
this into rice,
researchers were able to produce crops with about 0.5% of
total seed protein composed of the glycinin-epitope fusion
protein.
When
mice were fed with this transgenic rice, researchers found,
among others, that the mice were expressing lower levels of
histamine, and did not develop the symptoms of pollen-induced
allergies. The protein was also shown to be stable for 6 months
in the transgenic seed, even when stored at room temperature.
For
more information, read the complete article at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/48/17525
or its accompanying commentary at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/48/17255.
GLYPHOSATE MAKES
GR CROPS RUST RESISTANT
Paul
C. C. Fengof Washington State University, and colleagues,
show that “Glyphosate inhibits rust diseases in glyphosate-resistant
(GR) wheat and soybean.” Their work appears in the latest
issue of the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences
online.
Glyphosate
is a herbicide used to control weeds in glyphosate-resistant
crops. Researchers have found that it can also provide both
preventive and curative activities against Puccinia striiformis
f. sp. tritici and Puccinia triticina, which
cause stripe and leaf rusts, respectively, in wheat.
Moreover, glyphosate applied to GR crops also suppressed Asian
soybean rust in GR soybeans.
Researchers
believe that GR crops engineered with a glyphosate-insensitive,
instead of glyphosate-deactivating gene, can allow for better
rust control, since glyphosate is not destroyed and can be
allowed to act on other invading pathogens.
Read
the complete article at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/48/17290
LACK
OF VITAMIN DRIVES IMMUNE RESPONSES IN PLANT
Both
plants and animals are subject to programmed cell death (PCD),
a phenomenon which allows a living body to eliminate unneeded
cells, and which can allow it to develop the correct morphology,
or even respond to environmental stress. PCD is triggered
by intrinsic factors or extrinsic defense cues, and is initiated
through genetic signals which move cells through a specific
suicide program. A plant may also undergo PCD when faced with
pathogens, where infected cells die to prevent the spread
of a disease.
In
the latest issue of Plant Physiology, Valeria Pavet, of the
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and colleagues demonstrate
that “Ascorbic Acid Deficiency Activates Cell Death
and Disease Resistance Responses in Arabidopsis.”
By studying the Arabidopsis
low vitamin C mutants vtc1 and vtc2, researchers found that
such low levels of the vitamin retard plant growth and senescence,
and may even limit the proliferation of bacteria through the
plant. By tracking certain plant molecules known to be involved
in senescence, researchers also found that the levels of vitamin
C affect how plants arm themselves against pathogens, and
in a pathway independent from the natural senescence or cell
death programs.
Subscribers
to Plant Physiology may access the complete article at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/139/3/1291.
Other readers may view the abstract at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/3/1291.
GENE MAKES
PLANTS RESISTANT TO STRESS, INFECTION
With
a little work on the weed Arabidopsis, Nobuhiro Suzuki of
the University of Nevada, Reno, and colleagues report “Enhanced
Tolerance to Environmental Stress in Transgenic Plants Expressing
the Transcriptional Coactivator Multiprotein Bridging Factor
1c.” Their article appears in the latest issue of Plant
Physiology.
To
acclimatize themselves to abiotic conditions such as drought,
salinity, or heat, plants undergo a complex defense process,
which, in turn, is mediated by a complex network of transcription
factors and other regulatory genes that control multiple defense
enzymes, proteins, and pathways. Molecules called transcriptional
co-activators are involved in such pathways, and enhance the
reactions that take place.
In
their work, researchers increased expression of the stress-response
transcriptional coactivator multiprotein bridging factor 1c
(MBF1c) in Arabidopsis,
then subjected the transgenic plants to various biotic or
abiotic stresses. They found that the transgenic plants were
20% larger than control plants and produced more seeds. They
also found that transgenic plants had enhanced tolerance to
bacterial infection, heat, and osmotic stress. The enhanced
tolerance of transgenic plants to osmotic and heat stress,
moreover, was maintained even when these two stresses were
combined.
Subscribers
can access the complete article at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/139/3/1313.
Other readers may read the abstract at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/3/1313.
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