IMPROVED
RICE CULTIVATION TO REDUCE HUNGER IN AFRICA
A
shift in consumer preference in sub-Saharan Africa plus
high population growth has resulted in increasing demand
for rice. Consequently, rice imports have drained resources
otherwise meant for infrastructure development. Dr. Mahabub
Hossain, head of the social sciences division of the
Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), says that there is a need to explore opportunities
by which lowland rice cultivation can be expanded.
Hossain explains in his article “Rice in Africa” that the development
of profitable lowland rice technologies should be a central element in increasing
African rice productivity and production. He notes however, that the main constraint
to increasing rice productivity in Africa is the dominance of unfavorable environments
for rice cultivation.
Exploring
the potential for growing rice in such conditions may
help Africa reduce hunger and poverty.
Other
articles on rice are available in Rice Today published
by IRRI. Email Adam Barclay of Rice Today at a.barclay@cgiar.org.
ASIAN
BIOTECH TRAINING CENTER IN INDIA
The
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)'s General Conference at its 33rd
Session in Paris approved the creation of a Regional
Centre for Biotechnology Education and Training.
To
be hosted by the Indian government, the center will provide
biotechnology trainings and research opportunities for
scientists in Asia. UNESCO says that the center will
network existing expertise in the region, boost capacity
building strategies and address research and development
concerns in biotechnology. Specific activities include
scientific and information exchange, collaborative research
programs, and promotion of South-South cooperation in
technology and knowledge transfer.
For
more information, contact Lucy Horeau of UNESCO at l.hoareau@unesco.org or visit http://portal.unesco.org/
sc_nat/ev.php?URL_ID=4841&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIO
GHANA READY TO IMPLEMENT BIOSAFETY FRAMEWORK
Mr
Alex Owusu-Biney, lead person for the implementation
of Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS) in Ghana, called
for the development of critical capacity to implement
a mechanism to handle requests for permits for laboratory
work and field releases of genetically modified organisms
(GMOs).
Speaking
in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Owusu-Biney
said Ghana was ready to implement the biosafety framework
and a comprehensive program had been developed to build
capacity in the development of the legal framework for
biosafety and its implementation. He said Ghana's Biosafety
Framework, which included biosafety guidelines, regulations,
and a law, would be put before Parliament early next
year.
According
to him, the Ministry of Environment and Science had been
the focal point for promoting safe use of biotechnology
and a National Biosafety Framework had been developed
to promote government policy on biosafety and ensure
a regulatory system to address safety in the field of
modern biotechnology. This, he said, would include national
obligations in the area of trans-boundary movement under
the requirements of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
which Ghana had already ratified in May 2003.
Mr
Owusu-Biney, who is also the Coordinator of the National
Biosafety Committee, said two case studies on Bt Cassava
and Bt Maize were analyzed by the regulators for possible
consideration and they were also taken through competitive
grant facility for environmental risk assessment research
under the Biotechnology and Biodiversity Interface (BBI)
of the global PBS.
For
more information, contact Linda Asante of the Ghana News
Agency at lindaagyei13@yahoo.co.uk.
BASF
AND CROPDESIGN COLLABORATE ON GM RESEARCH
BASF
Plant Science and CropDesign have signed a broad license
and research cooperation agreement to genetically improve
crops such as corn, soybean, and wheat. Aside from increased
yields, the two organizations will look into enhancing
agricultural crops' resistance against environmental
stress conditions, such as drought. CropDesign's trait
portfolio will be used to strengthen and complement BASF's
product pipeline.
CropDesign
is a biotechnology company delivering traits for the
global seed market and for plant-based products while
BASF Plant Science deals with agricultural products and
chemicals.
To
find out more about BASF Plant Science visit
http://www.basf.com/biotechnology and http://www.cropdesign.com for additional
information on CropDesign.
VIETNAM
DRAFTS ACTION PLAN ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
A
collaborative team of international and local experts
through the Department of Environmental Protection and
the International Support Group on Natural Resources
and Environment has helped Vietnam draft an action plan
to preserve and develop its diversified gene pool. The
draft plan incorporates efforts to develop sustainable
biodiversity and at the same time help Vietnam fully
implement its commitments with the international community.
Email
Le Hien of Biotech Vietnam at hienbiotechvn@pmail.vnn.vn for other news summaries on biotechnology.
IMPROVED
NEW MEXICO COTTON ASSESSED
The
cotton breeding program for New Mexico's cultivars has
hitherto led to the release of over 30 Acala 1517 cotton
cultivars, and a variety of germplasm lines with high
fiber quality and tolerance to Verticillium wilt. By
analyzing “Genetic Improvement of New Mexico Acala
Cotton Germplasm and Their Genetic Diversity,” J.
F. Zhang of New Mexico State University and colleagues
look at the products of the breeding program, and take
a look at the cotton at both the molecular and macromolecular
model.
By
using such parameters as yield, boll size, and fiber
strength; and measuring genetic divergence by molecular
markers, researchers found, among others that: 1) lint
yield and lint percentage have increased since the program's
inception, while boll size and seed index have gradually
decreased since the 1960s; 2) fiber strength has been
enhanced, while fiber length has tended to shorten; and
3) there is substantial genetic diversity among the Acala
1517 cotton germplasm.
Researchers
state that the Acala 1517 cultivars are “most genetically
diverse from other current commercial cultivars and should
be promising sources in breeding to be used as parental
lines to broaden genetic variations within upland cotton.”
Subscribers
to Crop Science can access the complete article at http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/45/6/2363.
Other readers may see the abstract at http://crop.scijournals.org/
cgi/content/abstract/45/6/2363.
HERBICIDE
FOUND TO RAISE SOY DEFENSES
The
herbicide lactofen, though effective in keeping weeds
away from crops, can also cause the same crops' leaves
to be bronzed and damaged. In “The Diphenylether
Herbicide Lactofen Induces Cell Death and Expression
of Defense-Related Genes in Soybean,” Madge Y.
Graham of Ohio State University shows, among others,
that such bronzing is actually accompanied by cell death
in a plant.
The
paper, which appears in the latest issue of Plant Physiology,
tested the effects of lactofen on soybean plants, and
tracked what genes were expressed during application
of the herbicide. Graham found that the isoflavone synthase
genes were expressed at higher levels during herbicide
applications. These genes play a part in the crop's defenses,
and are usually expressed when a plant is wounded, or
is being attacked by a disease.
Graham
concludes that lactofen has the potential to be a disease
resistance-inducing agent.
Subscribers
to Plant Physiology can read the complete article at
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/reprint/139/4/1784.
Other readers may access the abstract at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/4/1784.
OXYLIPINS
DEFEND PLANTS, DELAY MICROBE GROWTH
Oxylipins
are molecules believed to occur in all higher plants.
Over a hundred types of such molecules have been found,
and they are thought to contribute to the plant defense
mechanism. Some studies have shown that they work to
protect the plant from harmful microbes, and can contribute
to the regulation of plant cell death.
How
exactly oxylipins work is still not widely understood,
which prompted Isabelle Prost of the Unité Mixte
de Recherche and colleagues to investigate the molecules.
In their article, which appears in the latest issue of
Plant Physiology, they conclude that “Evaluation
of the Antimicrobial Activities of Plant Oxylipins Supports
Their Involvement in Defense against Pathogens.”
Researchers
worked on 43 natural oxylipins, and assayed their effects
against a set of 13 plant pathogens, including bacteria
and fungi. Their tests showed
that: 1) most oxylipins could impair growth of some pathogens, but not kill
them entirely; 2) 26 of the oxylipins tested inhibited the spread of at least
three different microbes, and 3) oxylipin treatment could also result in
spore death. Subscribers
to Plant Physiology can read the complete article at
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/reprint/139/4/1902.
Other readers may access the abstract at http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/4/1902.
NEW
MARKER REPORTED FOR TRANSFORMING DURUM WHEAT
Marker
genes are used in genetic engineering to check if a plant
has been successfully transformed with a desired trait.
Such marker genes may allow a plant cell to be resistant
to a certain antibiotic, or to express a certain color,
or produce a certain protein. Some concerns on the persistence
of such marker genes have been expressed, however, prompting
scientists to turn to other possible markers, or alternative
methods for selecting successfully transformed cells.
Some
markers are also suited only to certain plants, and it
can be difficult to find markers which could aid in engineering
better crop species. One such plant is durum wheat, and
A. Gadaletam of the University of Bari, Italy and colleagues
use it as their subject in their study. In an article
in the latest issue of the Journal of Cereal Science,
researchers report “Phosphomannose isomerase, pmi,
as a selectable marker gene for durum wheat transformation.”
Scientists
compared the selection efficiency of two genes: bar,
from Streptomyces hygroscopicus, which allows cells to
be resistant to the herbicide bialaphos; and phosphomannose
isomerase (pmi) from Escherichia coli, which allows transformed
cells to be selected by a color assay. By using these
genes as markers on durum wheat cv. Svevo, they found
that selection efficiency was higher for plants with
pmi (90.1%) than with bar (26.4%). The enzyme for which
pmi codes is, moreover, common in nature, and present
in soybean and several other legumes.
Subscribers
to the Journal of Cereal Science can read the article
at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2005.06.004.
EPA
SEEKS PROPOSALS
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of
its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking
proposal applications to develop methods to assess the
potential allergenicity of genetically engineered foods.
The development of these methods will help to identify
substances that induce dietary allergy in humans and lead
to improved evaluation of the relative potency of unknown
proteins. For more information, visit http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2005/2005_star_biotech.html.
ICAC CONFERENCE SET FOR 2007
The
World Cotton Research Conference-4 will be held in Lubbock,
Texas, USA from September 10-14, 2007. Organized by the
Washington D.C.-based International Cotton Advisory Committee,
the theme of the conference is 'Nature's High-Tech Fiber.” Free
online pre-registration is available at http://www.icac.org/.
The full registration package along with more details on
the program and hotel booking will be available close to
mid 2006. For more information, contact Dr. Dean Ethridge
(Chairman, US Organizing Committee) at melvin.ethridge@ttu.edu or Dr. M. Rafiq Chaudhry (Head, Technical Information Section,
ICAC) at rafiq@icac.org.
CONFERENCE ON BIOTECH SET FOR JANUARY 2006, MANILA
The
2nd Annual Philippine Conference on Biotechnology Enterprise
and Investment will be held on January 17-20, 2006. Organized
by Hybridigm Consulting, and Businessmaker Academy Educational
Center, the conference aims to promote the advancement
and better understanding of biotechnology in the Philippines
by calling together Philippine scientists, academics, regulators,
policy formulators, venture capitalists, and mainstream
businessmen to discuss new trends, discoveries, and business
opportunities. Interested attendees may register online
through http://www.philbiotech.com.
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