PHILIPPINES TO PLANT SECOND BIOTECH MAIZE
The Philippines
has recently approved the planting and sale of its second
biotech maize, this time BT-11 from Syngenta.
Like Monsanto’s MON810, this maize is resistant to
the Asiatic corn borer, and has been extensively tested for
safety and efficacy in the Philippine climate.
The Asiatic
corn borer has been known to cause yield losses of up to
80%. With another biotech maize variety on the market,
farmers could increase their yields by up to 40% per harvest.
According to Rod Bioco, president of the Philippine Maize
Federation Inc., Bt corn farmers’ yields increased
by 25-33% last year. However, Bt maize seeds are twice as
expensive as hybrid seeds. "If there is a new competition
in the market, hopefully the price of corn seeds will drop," Bioco
says.
The country was also the first in Asia to commercialize
genetically modified (GM) corn, but with the domestic harvest
still lower than demand, the Philippines remains a net corn
importer. About 52,000 hectares were planted with BT corn
last year, approximately 2% of the total 2.5 million hectares
planted to corn in the country.
With
information from the Bureau of Plant Industry (http://bpi.da.gov.ph/)
and reports from http://www.reuters.com and http://www.agbios.com/main.php?action=
ShowNewsItem&id=6504.
TWO BIOTECH REPORTS FROM USDA
The US
Department of Agriculture has released two reports on biotechnology
developed by USDA's Advisory Committee on
Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture. The first report
on "Global Traceability and Labeling Requirements for
Agricultural Biotechnology-Derived Products: Impacts and
Implications for the United States" discusses the proliferation
of mandatory biotechnology traceability and labeling requirements
in other countries; how different segments of the United
States food and feed supply chain are addressing those requirements;
and marketplace issues and tools that are relevant to these
developments.
The
second report on "Preparing for the Future" analyses
the factors that will shape the use of biotechnology in the
future. It identifies predictable trends and key uncertainties
that could drive the future in different directions.
Both
reports are available online at http://www.usda.gov.
FAO REPORTS ON BIOTECH PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
A recent
report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows
that several developing countries have well-developed
biotechnology programs. The preliminary assessment, entitled “Status
of Research and Application of Crop Biotechnologies in Developing
Countries,” is available online, and is based on a
review of information in the FAO database on Biotechnology
in Developing Countries (FAO-BioDeC).
The assessment covers both genetically modified (GM) crops
and non-GM biotechnologies, and suggests, among others, that
1) developing countries will soon have new GM crops available,
such as virus-resistant papaya, rice tolerant to abiotic
stresses (salinity and drought), and soybeans with improved
oil composition, 2) several developing countries have been
conducting research on a wider range of crops, such as banana,
cassava, rice, and sorghum, and on traits relevant for food
security, such as abiotic stress tolerance and quality, and
3) no research has been reported in the field of nematode
resistance or post harvest losses.
According to the report, Argentina, Brazil, China, Cuba,
Egypt, India, Mexico, and South Africa are leading in biotechnology
research. GMO research is also most concentrated in Latin
America and Asia, which together constitute 85% of total
GMO research in developing countries. About 35% of research
subjects cover pathogen-resistant crops, 20% are concerned
with pest resistance, and 16% take on quality traits and
herbicide resistance.
Access the article and report at http://www.fao.org/newsroom/
en/news/2005/102236/index.html
NEW HYBRID MAIZE FIGHTS WEED IN KENYA
Striga, a parasitic weed, has invaded approximately 200,000
hectares of Kenyan cropland, resulting in losses of about
800 million Kenyan shillings each year. The weed is a pest
of cereal crops, particularly maize.
The most recent weapon in the fight against Striga is a
new hybrid maize called Ua Kayongo, which is coated with
the Strigaway herbicide. Ua Kayongo is Imazapyr Resistant
maize (IR-maize), also known as the Clearfield system, whose
resistance is based on a naturally occurring herbicide resistance
in maize, and which was later incorporated into Kenyan maize
varieties by African plant breeders at the International
Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya
Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). The African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF), in partnership with several
NGOs, research organizations, and seed companies, acts as
distributor.
Ua Kayongo
will be distributed to over 16,000 households, and AATF’s
partners will conduct several farmer field days and other
activities, including a traveling workshop
in June 2005.
For
more information, contact the AATF at aatf-information@cgiar.org,
or visit http://www.africancrops.net/striga.
OHIO RESEARCH TEAM COMBATS CORN, SOYBEAN VIRUSES
Viruses on corn and soybean can be readily controlled by
a viral strike team from Wooster, Ohio, comprised of scientists
from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Ohio
State University (OSU) in the USA. They identify viruses
from infected corn leaves sent by countries around the world,
and soybean leaves from their region.
They detect viral diseases and their insect carriers; and
develop virus-resistant varieties of soybean and corn. They
also provide viral detection kits and plant and viral genome
maps to breeders. They ensure that safe versions of viruses
are used in transferring plant genes to crops to conduct
their investigations.
The team has been formed since the 1960s and has addressed
problems such as the maize chlorotic dwarf virus (MCDV) and
the potyvirus maize dwarf mosaic virus, making it possible
to develop genetic markers for genes resistant to MCDV. Currently,
they are analyzing soybean aphids, determining if these cause
soybean rust, the latest fungal threat to the crop.
All these efforts are seen as the beginnings of future breakthroughs
in US crop protection from viral diseases.
See the full news report on http://www.ars.usda.gov/
is/pr/2005/050502.htm,
and details of the research on http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may05/viral0505.htm
IN FRUIT FLAVOR, LIGHT IS MIGHT
Fruit firmness and flavor are important to growers and consumers
alike. With consumer demands for high quality fruit, growers
need to find ways and means to test their produce before
putting them on the market. Current methods include sample
tastings of edible crops, or stabbing fruits with a thick
steel probe to check for firmness. The first method does
not ensure that all fruits in a batch will taste or feel
alike. The second, of course, renders fruits unmarketable.
Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are
now testing a machine that can predict the quality of fruits
or vegetables without touching or damaging the product. Led
by Renfu Lu, an agricultural engineer with the ARS Sugar
Beet and Bean Research Unit in Michigan, the research team
uses laser beams to detect fruit sweetness and firmness in
a technique called imaging spectroscopy, or multispectral
imaging.
Lu’s team currently tests the machine on apples and
peaches. Their technique makes use of four laser beams, each
with a different wavelength, and focuses these beams into
a single beam that shines into individual fruits. Laser photons
then scatter all the way to the fruit’s core and are
reflected back. The amount of returning photons indicates
firmness. The amount of absorbed photons, on the other hand,
is affected by fruit sugar levels, so that sweetness can
be estimated at the same time.
Read more at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/
may05/apple0505.htm
SORGHUM TRAIT FOR WEED CONTROL
Because of its potent allellopathic traits, sorghum is being
eyed by scientists for a natural method of weed control.
Allellopathy
in plants is the secretion of “phytotoxins” that
ward off other crops, and this is exhibited in crops such
as rice, black walnut, and sorghum. Sorgoleone is a compound
in sorghum which fights weeds more vigorously than other
similar compounds in other crops. Scientists at the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) Natural Products Utilization Research
Unit are now generating essential information needed to help
them increase sorgoleone in sorghum.
According to plant physiologist Stephen Duke, research leader,
they must decide on which of the compounds used by sorghum
would be herbicidal if manufactured, and could be secreted
into the soil in adequate amounts. Moreover, there are other
considerations such as weeds developing resistance to allellopathy
and safety of non-target organisms such as humans.
Still, the team believes that the advantages will be significant.
The use of herbicides may be lessened. Allellopathy is also
a continuous source of protection, unlike herbicides. Lastly,
it does not depend on weather conditions and does not harm
the environment.
Sorghum is a major grain in most of the eastern hemisphere,
and is notable for its drought tolerance. It originated in
Africa and is now gaining popularity is the United States.
This is because of its cancer-fighting compounds and digestibility
for people with gluten intolerance.
For more details, visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/
archive/may05/sorghum0505.htm
REPORT SHOWS LITTLE NUCLEUS-MITOCHONDRION COORDINATION
The mitochondria
of all living systems contain their own genome, which codes
for proteins and RNA molecules necessary
for cellular respiration. Some of these proteins and RNA
molecules, however, are functional only if they are part
of protein complexes. Other components of such complexes
are encoded by the nuclear genome. Therefore, coordination
between the nucleus and mitochondrion is important in protein
expression and cellular respiration – the extent of
that coordination, however, has been relatively unknown.
Philippe
Giegé, of the Institut de Biologie Moléculaire
des Plantes in France, and colleagues explore the “Coordination
of Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genome Expression during Mitochondrial
Biogenesis in Arabidopsis.” Their findings appear in
the latest issue of the Plant Cell Online.
Using Arabidopsis plants as their model, researchers grew
their cells in a low sucrose cell culture system in order
to modulate mitochondrial biogenesis in response to sugar
starvation. This system would also allow them to see the
extent of coordination of gene expression between mitochondrial
and nuclear genes during times of plant stress.
Using
dyes to track mitochondria, as well as SDS-PAGE, DNA micro-arrays,
and protein blot systems to monitor protein
expression, researchers found that there was no coordination
of expression of the two genomes at the transcript level,
and instead found that coordination could occur at the level
of protein-complex assembly. They also found that even with
plant cells under stress, mitochondria still continued to
churn out their protein subunits, while the nucleus had already
stopped doing so in order to respond to stress signals. This
suggests that the mitochondrial genome, at least in this
case, could not perceive stress, and could still continue
expressing it proteins as though the cell were living normally – thus
leading to an excess of unassembled mitochondrially-encoded
(but eventually, non-functional) proteins.
Download the complete article at http://www.plantcell.org/
cgi/reprint/17/5/1497.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
NABC MEETING TO BE HELD IN JUNE
The University
of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee will be hosting
the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council’s
17th Annual Meeting. With the theme “Agricultural Biotechnology:
Beyond Food and Energy to Health, and the Environment,” the
meeting will convene at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville,
Tennessee, June 27-29, 2005.
Four main modules will be tackled. These are Plants as New
Sources of Medicinals: Production of Protein Pharmaceuticals
in Food and Non-Food Plants; Bioremediation, Phytosensing,
and Eco-restoration; Gene-to-Product Development; and Regulatory
and Legal Challenges.
Read more at http://www.outreach.tennessee.edu/ppd/nabc/.
SEARCA HOSTS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
The SEAMEO
Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture
(SEARCA) will hold an international conference
on Agricultural and Rural Development in Asia: Ideas, Paradigms,
and Policies Three Decades After. The conference will be
held at the SEARCA building in Los Baños, Laguna,
Philippines from the 10th to 11th of November 2005.
For inquiries,
contact the ARD Conference Secretariat at SEARCA, College
4031, Los Baños Laguna, Philippines;
or +6349536-2365 to 67, local 133 and 137; or fax +6349536-4105.
You may also visit http://web.searca.org/ard/index.html for
on-line registration.
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