VIET
SCIENTISTS PRODUCE GM RICE
The
Vietnam News Agency reports that scientists from the Cuu Long
Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI) have been able to create
a nutritious rice
variety through genetic modification. This was accomplished
by work on three existing varieties of rice: IR64, MT1250
(indica), and Taipei 309 (japonica).
The
rice breed is insect resistant and easy to plant. It is also
rich in Vitamins A and E, iron, zinc, and oryzanol, and will
be planted in remote and disadvantaged areas of the country
to raise the quality of nutrition in local communities.
With
reports from the Vietnam News Agency and Toui Tre News at
http://www.tuoitre.com.vn.
For more information, contact Le Hien of the Vietnam Biotechnology
Information Center (VnBIC) at hienbiotechvn@pmail.vnn.vn
or visit http://www.agbiotech.com.vn.
VIETNAM TO INVEST
IN BIOTECH
Phan
Van Khai, Vietnam's Prime Minister, has approved a program
to develop the country's biotechnology sector, and to aid
it in applying the field in agriculture and rural development.
This program will continue until 2020, and involves an investment
of 1 trillion Vietnam Dong (US$ 62.9 million) for 2006-2015.
The
investment will be used for research activities, trial production
runs of major products, and human resource training. The program
plans to train doctors, higher-degree holders, and agricultural
biotechnologists; and aims to have 70% of land under cultivation
used for new varieties of biotech plants, with 30-50% of the
acreage reserved for genetically modified (GM) plants by 2020.
With
reports from Sai Gon Liberation Daily, Vietnam News Agency,
and Vietnam Net Bridge at http://english.vietnamnet.vn/.
For more information, contact Le Hien of the Vietnam Biotechnology
Information Center (VnBIC) at hienbiotechvn@pmail.vnn.vn
or visit http://www.agbiotech.com.vn.
GHANA BIOTECH
ASSESSED IN PRESSCON
Ghana
can develop its own genetically modified (GM) seeds, but “the
public sector must be ready to absorb the cost.” This
was stated by Dr. Walter Alhassan, coordinator for the Program
for Biosafety Systems (PBS) in West and Central Africa, during
the press conference for the release of the International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications'
(ISAAA) Annual Report on GM Crops.
Speaking
in Ghana's capital, Accra, Dr. Alhassan also announced that
Ghana would host this year's West Africa Ministerial Conference
on Biotechnology. This, Dr. Alhassan said, was due to the
country's contributions to and interest in the field. Dr.
Alhassan also encouraged Ghana's Ministries of Environment
and Science, and Food and Agriculture to speed up the approval
process of Ghana's National Biosafety Law, which is currently
before Ghana's cabinet.
Also speaking at the conference was National Biosafety Project
Coordinator Alex Owusu-Biney, who said that the United Nationas
Environment Program (UNEP) is considering an additional four
years of support to help in the Law's implementation.
With
reports from Ghana Today and Public Agenda news at http://news.africast.com/africastv/article.php?newsID=57568.
For more information, contact Dr. Walter Alhassan at WAlhassan@fara-africa.org.
SOYBEAN GENOME
NEXT TO BE SEQUENCED
The
U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy announced they
will share resources and coordinate the study of plant and
microbial genomics. First on the list is the sequencing of
the soybean
genome, of particular interest to the Department of Energy,
as soybean is the principal source of biodiesel, a renewable,
alternative fuel.
"Both
agencies will leverage their expertise and synergize activities
involving agricultural- and energy-related plants and microbes,"
said Dr. Ari Patrinos, Department of Energy Associate Director
of Science for Biological and Environmental Research. "We
will enhance coordination of proposed sequencing projects
through the Biological and Environmental Research Microbial
Sequencing Program or the Joint Genome Institute's Community
Sequencing Program."
The
DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) will carry out the sequencing
work. The institute is supported by the DOE Office of Science,
and unites the expertise of five laboratories along with the
Stanford Human Genome Center.
Read
the press release at http://www.energy.gov/news/2979.htm.
EU TO SUPPORT
PROMOTION OF AGRI PRODUCTS
The
European Commission (EC) has approved 25 agriculture-related
programs in a number of its member states to provide information
on and to promote agricultural products in the European Union
(EU). The total budget of the programs is € 51 million,
of which the EU will contribute half.
The
programs cover organic products, agricultural quality products,
oils, milk, cheese, meat, wine, fruit and vegetables, flowers,
and potatoes;
originate from Belgium, Germany, Greece and Cyprus, Spain,
France, Italy, Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland,
Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom; and will run between
one to three years.
Read
the press release at http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=
IP/06/22&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en.
SMALL
FARMERS BENEFIT FROM BIOTECH CROPS
The
high adoption rate by 8.5 million farmers worldwide who are
planting biotech crops reflects the consistency of the technology
in delivering significant economic, environmental, health,
and social benefits to both small and large farmers in developing
and industrial countries. This was stressed by Dr. Clive James,
chair of the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in his report on the global
status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in 2005.
James
added that ninety percent of these farmers are resource-poor
farmers mostly planting Bt cotton
in China, India, and South Africa; subsistence farmers cultivating
maize
in the Philippines; with the balance in the other developing
countries where biotech crops were planted in 2005.
The
global number and proportion of small farmers from developing
countries growing biotech crops are expected to increase dramatically
early in the next decade (2006-2015). A similar trend will
apply to the less affluent and more agriculturally based countries
of Eastern Europe such as Czechia, which has recently joined
the European Union; and those expected to join in 2007 and
beyond, such as Romania.
For
more of the global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops
in 2005, visit http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
BLUEPRINT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT-DERIVED
VACCINES
A
Blueprint for the Development of Plant-derived Vaccines, which
demonstrates that the development of plant-derived vaccines
is both straightforward and achievable, was developed by the
BioDesign Institute of Arizona State University, USA. Prepared
with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Blueprint
is based on a series of international consultations.
Richard
T. Mahoney, research professor of BioDesign Insitute, says
that “plants offer a potentially very important means
to produce vaccines that are affordable, heat stable, orally
administered, and readily produced in developing countries.”
For
more information on the Blueprint, visit http://www.biodesign.asu.edu/centers/idv/projects/provacs
or email Richard Mahoney at rmahoney@pdvi.org.
Related documents are available at http://www.provacs.net.
OUTCROSS
OF GM CANOLA EXPLORED
According
to European Union (EU) rules, foods containing less than 0.9%
genetically modified (GM) ingredients need not be labeled
as containing GM, provided that this presence is “adventitious
or technically unavoidable during seed production, cultivation,
harvest, transport, or processing.”
In
relation to this, Tristan Funk of Technische Universität,
München, Germany and colleagues look at “Outcrossing
frequencies and distribution of transgenic oilseed
rape (Brassica napus L.) in the nearest neighbourhood.”
Their research, published in the January 2006 of the European
Journal of Agronomy, focused on the possibility of GM canola
outcrossing into nearby non-GM plants, and arose out of work
on a two-year field trial.
By
checking on the resistance of plants in surrounding acceptor
plots, researchers found, among others, that 1) an average
gene flow of 0.28%, 0.01%, and 0.0065% was detected for 100%,
1.0%, and 0.1% transgenic donor plots, respectively, clearly
below the EU labeling threshold of 0.9%; 2) outcrossing events
in short distances are mainly due to insects, such as honey
bees and wild bumblebees; 3) a separation distance as low
as 1.1m would already be sufficient to comply with the EU
threshold.
Subscribers
to the European Journal of Agronomy can read the complete
article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2005.04.002.
BT COTTON CHECKED
FOR EFFICACY
The
Asian corn borer is an important pest of cotton
in China, and is, moreover, difficult to control. Spraying
it with pesticides is a short-term solution, as larvae are
vulnerable only a short time before they tunnel into the cotton's
stalks, squares, and bolls, and are protected.
To
test the “Efficacy of transgenic Bt cotton for resistance
to the Asian corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae),” Kanglai
He of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and colleagues
evaluated transgenic varieties NC 33B, expressing the Cry1Ac
protein; and a Chinese transgenic Bt cotton GK-2, expressing
the Cry1A protein for resistance to the borer during the 2001-2002
season. Their findings appear in the February 2006 issue of
Crop Protection.
Researchers found, among others, that 1) low larval survival
rates were observed on NC 33B and GK-2, contrasting greatly
with the high number of survivors found on non-Bt cotton tissue;
2) larval survival was higher on the tissues isolated from
late-season Bt cotton plants than on early season; and 3)
higher larval survival was observed on GK-2 than NC 33B in
assays with the late season tissues.
Subscribers
to Crop Protection can read the article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2005.04.003
PROTEIN PROFILES
USED TO EVALUATE GM POTATO
Food
safety experts always ask how much genetic variation can occur
in a crop plant upon transfer and integration of a single
gene, and how this may affect the plant's safety as a food
product. These so-called “unintended effects”
cover the realm of protein quantities, and are measured in
“Proteomic Profiling and Unintended Effects In Genetically
Modified Crops,” an article written by Sirpa O. Kärenlampi
and Satu J. Lehesranta for the January issue of the Information
Systems for Biotechnology News Report.
Researchers
carried out protein profiling on eight lines of genetically
modified (GM) potato
(including controls each containing only a vector, and no
gene), and compared the resulting profiles with conventional
cultivars. They found, among others, that 1) Nine of 730 proteins
showed statistically significant differences among the GM
lines and controls, 2) no new proteins that would be unique
to the individual GM lines were observed, and 3) variation
between the non-GM cultivars was much greater than the differences
between the GM lines.
Proteins which contributed to the uniqueness of individual
non-GM lines appeared to be involved in disease and defense
responses, sugar and energy metabolism, or protein targeting
and storage.
Read
more at http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2006/news06.Jan.htm.
For more information, contact Sirpa O. Kärenlampi and
Satu J. Lehesranta at skarenla@messi.uku.fi.
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