| MALAYSIA UNVEILS NATIONAL BIOTECH POLICY
A detailed roadmap for biotechnology development in Malaysia
was recently launched by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri
Abdullah Badawi. It is expected to give impetus to the
biotechnology sector in Malaysia as it addresses vital
aspects of biotechnology
development such as legal, safety, financial, and other
issues.
The policy spells out nine development thrusts: agriculture
biotechnology, health care biotechnology, industrial biotechnology,
R&D and technology acquisition, human capital, financial
infrastructure development, and a legislative and regulatory
framework. A priority thrust will be to transform and enhance
the value creation of the agricultural sector through biotechnology.
With a policy in place, the biotechnology sector in Malaysia
is expected to move in the right direction. Government
estimates that by 2020, this sector would create 280,000
jobs and contribute
five per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Total investment under the National Biotechnology Policy
is expected to be around RM30 billion (US$7.9 billion).
For more information, contact Mahaletchumy Arujanan of the
Malaysia Biotechnology Center at maha@bic.org.my.
GM FRUIT FUTURE DISCUSSED IN REPORT
Cesar Petri and Lorenzo Burgos of Spain’s Applied
Biology of the Segura-High Council of Scientific Research
(CEBAS-CSIC) discuss “Advances And Future Perspectives
In Fruit Tree Transformation,” taking stock of research
conducted on fruit tree genetic engineering while looking
at future perspectives and advances in the field. Their work
appears in the latest issue of the Information Systems for
Biotechnology News Report.
Temperate fruit trees, such as oranges, have long reproductive
cycles (and long juvenile periods), complex reproductive
biology, and a high degree of heterozygosity, making conventional
breeding difficult. In recent years, gene transfer has been
conducted on such fruit trees, with work resulting in (or
aiming to effect) fire blight and scab resistant apples and
pears, grapes resistant to fungi and viruses, and persimmons
and walnuts resistant to lepidopteran pests, among others.
The authors see more genetic transformation techniques for
fruit trees emerging in the future, such as methods using
only marker genes and integration of putative beneficial
genes, eliminating selection genes from the transformed plants,
or avoiding selection of transformed cells with antibiotics.
Download the complete article at http://www.isb.vt.edu/
news/2005/news05.may.html#may0502.
WORK ON NEW TRANSGENIC RICE REPORTED
Tayyab Husnain of the National Center of Excellence in Molecular
Biology, Lahore, Pakistan, reports on his work on “Transgenic
Basmati Rice,” in an article that appears in the latest
Information Systems for Biotechnology News Report.
Husnain and colleagues disclose their work on the first
field trial of two transgenic lines of Indica Basmati rice
(B-370) expressing either the cry1Ac or cry2A genes, which
render the lines resistant to lepidopteran pests. With all
biosafety precautions taken, and the presence of the genes
in the lines confirmed, researchers found that the transgenic
rice lines expressed higher levels of Cry proteins when compared
with commercially released cultivars of Bt cotton, maize,
and potato; gene expression was constitutive, or present
in different parts of the plants; and the transgenic lines
had no effect on the presence of non-target insects nor on
the germination of three local varieties of wheat.
Read more at http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/
news05.may.html#may0503.
PUBRESREG
INITIATIVE GEARS UP FOR MOP2
The Public Research and Regulation Initiative recently updated
its documents and statements, all in preparation for the
coming gathering of public research scientists in the Second
meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which will serve
as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety (MOP2). The event will take place in Montreal,
Canada, from May 30 to June 3 of this year.
A preparatory meeting under the Initiative will take place
the weekend before MOP2. Two side events will also be held
during the meeting, which are aimed at updating the negotiating
officials about the ongoing work in the public research sector.
The Initiative
will also participate as observer in the Second Meeting
of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, which
will be held from 22 – 27 May, 2005, in Almaty, Kazachstan.
A draft statement has been made available at its website.
For more information, as well as the documents, visit http://www.pubresreg.org
NEW DNA TEST TO IDENTIFY FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT IN GRAINS
Scientists from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural
Research Service (USDA ARS) in Peoria, Illinois have developed
a new DNA-based test which can more easily identify fungi
that cause Fusarium head blight in cereal grains.
With this technology, all of the major head blight pathogens
can be simultaneously identified, and their toxin profiles
predicted. It is also being eyed as a possible means to understand
the worldwide distribution of these pathogens, and to determine
if individual pathogen species have specific preferences
of crops or environments. The information garnered is vital
to the development of disease control methods, which includes
the creation of cereal cultivars resistant to Fusarium head
blight pathogens.
The test
spots nucleotide variations that are unique to each species
of blight. The scientists also use DNA “probes,” which
are labeled with fluorescent dyes and designed to bind to
the DNA of a head blight sample. Results can be observed
by a special camera and a high-power laser. This results
to the identification of a certain head blight pathogen and
its toxin potential.
See the full news report on http://www.ars.usda.gov/
news/docs.htm?docid=1261
‘
BLACK ROT’ DISEASE GENES REVEALED The complete
genome of the pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pathovar campestris (Xcc) was sequenced by scientists
from four major genomics and plant patholology laboratories
in China. Xcc causes “black rot” disease, the
most serious disease of vegetable crops. They used whole-genome
comparative genomic approaches.
Xcc spreads through plant vascular tissues, causing veins
of leaves to turn yellow and black, and leaving V-shaped
lesions along leaf margins. Some plants that may be affected
by Xcc are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower,
kale, mustard, and radish.
Seventy-five
(75) different genes for Xcc virulence were identified
in the study. These were shown to belong to 13
different functional categories or related metabolic pathways.
The researchers hope that these results may lead to the formulation
of a treatment for “black rot” disease.
The study is published online in the journal Genome Research.
For details of the study, visit http://www.genome.org
ANNOUNCEMENT
NEW
OPEN ACCESS E-JOURNAL LAUNCHED An open
access electronic “Journal of Land and Water” has
recently been launched, with the aim of publishing scientific
papers of international significance covering basic, applied,
and strategic research in the area of land and water. The
journal is also peer reviewed and will focus on the integration
of the various aspects of land and water management and conservation
at a range of scales.
Submissions of manuscripts are welcomed and should be sent
through the on-line submission section of the journal at
http://ejlw.sakia.org/. For more information, contact Thomas
M. Stein at thomas-manuel.stein@sakia.org.
|
| CBTNews
Features |
The
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
“Rice
science for a better world” is helping farmers
in developing countries produce more food despite
having limited land and using less water, labor,
and chemical inputs, while at the same time preserving
the environment. This is the thrust of the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI). |
| Read
more... |
| |
DOCUMENT
REMINDERS
SYNGENTA
RELEASES BT10 STATEMENTS
Syngenta
has released its statements regarding its genetically modified
(GM) corn variety Bt10, reporting that there are no safety
concerns regarding its use, and that the company will continue
to cooperate with all government authorities regarding the
issue. This is due to recent reports of unauthorized release
of the corn variety in the European Union (EU). Download
the statements at http://www.syngenta.com/
en/news/bt10_docs.aspx. Also available for download are
a brief backgrounder on Bt10 Maize, as well as the EU's detection
and certification methods.
Syngenta's
GM maize varieties continue to be commercialized around the
world. In the Philippines, for instance, Bt11 was recently
approved, making it the third biotech crop successfully tested
for safety and efficacy, and released for commercial use
in the country (and not the second, as was earlier reported).
INSTRUCTIONS PUBLISHED FOR
STRIGA FIGHT
Ua
Kayongo is the latest hybrid maize designed to fight Striga,
a parasitic weed prevalent in African countries. Ua Kayongo
seeds are coated with the Strigaway herbicide (and not the
maize itself, to clarify a related article in last week's
Update) and will be distributed by the African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF), in partnership with several
NGOs, research organizations, and seed companies. A field
testing package, field instructions, and press releases may
be accessed at the African Crops Net site.
The
instructions, as well as other relevant documents, may be
downloaded at http://www.africancrops.net/
striga/
LIST
OF APPROVED BY COTTON HYBRIDS IN SELECTED ZONES IN INDIA
A
fact sheet on approved Bt cotton hybrids for India has been
released, detailing which varieties have been approved for
the Central, Northern, and Southern Zones for the year. For
a complete list of approved Bt cotton hybrids in India, go
to http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
AFRICABIO
CALLS FOR HIGHER YIELDING MAIZE
Africa
needs higher yielding maize and other grain crops to meet
its food requirements. Agricultural biotechnology is one
of the technologies that can be used to increase maize production,
Professor Jocelyn Webster said, as she spoke before the South
African National Consumer Union’s general meeting in
Pretoria.
Professor
Webster is executive director of AfricaBio, an organization
for stakeholders in the GMO industry. For more, download
the press release at http://www.isaaa.org/kc |
