Global

A meeting coordinated by the US Alliance to End Hunger and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office for North America on behalf of the International Alliance was held in Washington DC to discuss strategies to fight global hunger. Participated by representatives from Brazil, Canada, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Sierra Leone and the United States, the meeting was highlighted by the sharing of ideas and best practices to raise awareness of potential donors on the importance of interaction across national groups working on hunger issues. The UN Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation were some of the presenters.

FAO Assistant Director-General Lorraine Williams, Chair of the International Alliance against Hunger in her remarks appealed to US President-elect Barack Obama “to make the emancipation of humanity from hunger a centerpiece of American foreign policy.” She added, however, that “appeals to individual leaders, if they are to carry weight, must be reinforced by building a strong constituency of public support for the idea that mankind can – and must – rid the world of hunger once and forever". In a Congressional Briefing to the participants about hunger, Congressman Jim McGovern, Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus disclosed his optimism that the issue on hunger will be a priority in the new US administration.

The International Alliance was founded in 2003 by the Rome-based food and agriculture agencies – FAO, the World Food Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Bioversity International – to advocate jointly for more determined action against hunger and malnutrition.

For details, see press release at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/8973/icode/

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A review of biotechnology-related work in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and partner National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) forwarded several recommendations to improve the process. It noted the “clear need for special procedures, particularly involving key NARS at the earliest stage, to ensure efficient flow from research to use.” The following recommendations are a result of a workshop "Biotechnology, biosafety and the CGIAR: Promoting best practice in science and policy", organized by the Science Council of the CGIAR, the International Rice Research Institute, and Bioversity International: 

• A network to improve the delivery of CGIAR biotech products is imperative. The Network should involve NARS and other partners. Its functions should include identification of best practices, development of business plans, and other aspects of product development and delivery.

• System‐wide representation at international policy fora should be coordinated (possibly through the CGIAR Biotechnology Research Support Network), particularly in providing technical contributions and highlighting research options/scenarios.

A pre-publication version of the workshop report is at http://www.sciencecouncil.cgiar.org/home/priorities-strategies/en/

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Americas

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its report on “Genetically Engineered Crops: Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring” forwarded several recommendations in its review of the regulatory process for genetically engineered (GE) crops. These are: 1) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) make public the results of its early food safety assessments of GE crops; ·2) US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FDA develop an agreement to share information on GE crops with traits that, if released into the food or feed supply, could cause health concerns; and 3) USDA, Environmental Protection Agency, and FDA develop a risk-based strategy for monitoring the widespread use of marketed GE crops.

In reaction to the report, Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, executive vice president, food and agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), stated that “The Biotechnology Industry Organization and its member companies are confident in the rigorous testing and approval regimes of biotech products put in place by U.S. government authorities. "While we are still reviewing the 109-page report, it appears that the GAO has suggested a small number of recommendations that could improve an already robust system. However, GAO is ignoring the fact that the three agencies working together have approved for commercial use dozens of crops that have been safely developed, tested and commercialized for the marketplace.”

Access the full report at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0960.pdf. The Bio statement is available at http://www.bio.org/news/pressreleases/newsitem.asp?id=2008_1205_01

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Warmer growing seasons and milder winters, brought about by climate change, could boost populations of insects that feed on corn and other crops, according to a Purdue University study. Severe pest infestation may significantly decrease corn yield in the United States, the world’s top corn producer and exporter. The study appears in the current issue of Environmental Research Letters.

Noah Diffenbaugh and his colleagues compared conservative climate change models to the temperature survival thresholds of four common corn pests found in the U.S.: corn earworm, the European corn borer, northern corn rootworm and western corn rootworm. "Basically, we examined both the number of days warm enough for the pests to grow and the number of days cold enough to kill the pests, assuming the pests' documented climate tolerances remain the same," explained Purdue entomologist Christian Krupke, co-author of the paper. "This tells us what could happen in projected future climates.”

The scientists predict that increases in temperatures could result to a substantial range expansion of each of the pests surveyed, especially in the case of corn earworm (Heliothis zea), a migratory, usually insecticide-resistant and cold-intolerant pest.

Read the full article at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008b/081216DiffenbaughCornpests.html The paper published by Environmental Research Letters is available to subscribers at http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1748-9326/3/4/044007/erl8_4_044007.html

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Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have found that weather and climate play key roles in levels of tocopherols in soybean seeds. Tocopherols are a family of compounds that protect cells from free radicals, highly reactive atoms or groups of atoms that can damage important cellular components such as DNA and cell membrane. The family includes alpha-tocopherol, the active form of vitamin E in humans.

Steven Britz and colleagues analyzed the content of tocopherols in soybean seeds grown at several locations in Maryland between 1999 and 2002. Weather was relatively normal between 1999 and 2001, but extreme drought and warmer temperatures characterized 2002. The researchers found that under extreme drought conditions in 2002, early maturing lines had as much as a 3.5-fold increase in relative alpha-tocopherol content, compared to the other years during which rainfall was adequate.

According to the researchers, the study shows how nutritional properties of crops can be dramatically affected by weather and potentially by climate change.

Read the full article at http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261

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CTNBio, the Brazilian National Biosafety Technical Committee, has approved the genetically modified corn Herculex I for commercial release in Brazil. The transgenic corn was jointly developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred and Dow AgroSciences. It is resistant to a broad spectrum of insect pests which feed on Brazilian corn, including the fall armyworm and sugarcane borer. The GM corn must still be approved by Brazil's Agriculture Ministry and the National Biosafety Council (CNBS) before it can be planted.

Herculex I is the sixth genetically modified variety of corn approved for commercial release in Brazil. CTNBio approved the cultivation of three transgenic corn lines, Monsanto’s YieldGard, Bayer’s LibertyLink and Syngenta’s Bt 11, late last year. The Committee's President, Walter Colli, noted that the commercial releases issued in Brazil so far are for products that are already in use in other countries for more than 10 years.

Read the press release (in Portuguese) at http://agenciact.mct.gov.br/index.php/content/view/50013.html

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Soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) is one of the most devastating pest of soybean in the USA that leads to around US$1 billion loses annually. The nematodes are wormlike pests that live in the soil that feed, mate and lay eggs on soybean roots leading to the obstruction of nutrient and water flow to the rest of the plant. Chemical control is costly and resistant varieties are available but virulent new races eventually develop, thus SCN is hardly controlled.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist Ben Matthews and colleagues in Beltsville, Maryland explored the use of biotechnology to possibly control the pest. They engineered soybean plants to contain a DNA copy of one of the nematode’s own protein-making genes. Nematodes that ingest the DNA copy will deactivate the expression of the pest’s corresponding gene leading to the arrest of its own protein-making machinery. Greenhouse trials in the Soybean Genomics and Improvement Laboratoy in Beltsville showed that 80% to 90% of the juvenile female nematodes that fed on transgenic soybean roots died or failed to mature by 30 days. Further studies are focused on another greenhouse trial and a search for the identity of the SCN protein gene using Caenorharbditis elegans.

See press release at http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261 for more details

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking public comment on a petition submitted by Pioneer Hi-Bred International to deregulate a genetically modified (GM) corn variety resistant to glyphosate herbicides and acetolactate synthase-inhibiting herbicides. APHIS has regulated the corn, designated as line 98140, through its biotechnology notification and permitting process since 2005. If APHIS grants the petition for deregulation, the GM corn and its progeny can be planted freely without the requirement of permits. APHIS said that scientific evidence indicates that there are unlikely to be any environmental, human health or food safety concerns associated with the GE corn.

Visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2008/12/ge_corn.shtml for more information.

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The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded University of California Davis a three-year $6.8 million grant for a plant genome project that could speed up the development of wheat varieties with improved grain quality and nutrition, higher yield, resistance to pests and diseases, and tolerance to adverse climatic conditions. The project received the largest award from the NSF Plant Genome Program this year.

Jan Dvorak and colleagues seeks to construct a physical map of one of the three genomes making up the chromosome complement of wheat, a mammoth task considering the size of the plant’s genome. Each of the three wheat genomes, for instance, is larger than the genome of rice. Physical maps represent the location of genes and other landmarks along a chromosome. Scientists use landmarks known as sequence-tagged site (STS) to help them find their way around the genome. STS are stretches of DNA, usually a few hundred basepairs long, which is found in only one place in the genome.

“Instead of producing a physical map of wheat chromosomes directly, the chromosomes of Aegilops tauschii, one of the three ancestors of wheat and the source of its D genome, will be mapped first,” Dvorak said. “These maps will then be used as templates in physical mapping of individual chromosomes of the wheat D genome, which is one of the specific objectives of this project.”

Read more at http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8902

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Monsanto announced that it has entered into an agreement with Britain-based Plant Health Care PLC for the commercialization of harpin-based technology as a seed treatment in Monsanto’s major row crops and vegetables. Harpin is a specific type of protein produced in nature by certain plant pathogens. It elicits the plant's intrinsic ability to protect itself and enhances growth. Harpin has been shown to activate the salicylic acid-dependent and jasmonic acid–induced pathway, both of which are involved in plant defense, enhance plant nutrient uptake and increase net photosynthesis. Because harpin does not interact directly with pests, nor does it alter the DNA of treated plants, pests are not expected to develop resistance to it.

Under the long-term agreement, Plant Health Care will license Monsanto the exclusive rights to commercialize harpin seed treatment technology in corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and selected vegetables. In return, Plant Health Care will get a milestone payment plus ongoing royalties based on the volume of harpin seed treatment. Monsanto seeds treated with Harpin may be available to farmers as part of its Acceleron brand seed treatment by 2010.

View the press release at http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=672

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Asia and the Pacific

Australia’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) is currently assessing license application from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) to intentionally release genetically modified (GM) wheat and barley lines into the environment. If approved, the trial will be conducted in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on a maximum area of 1 ha between July 2009 and June 2012. The GM lines contain two partial genes from wheat involved in grain starch biosynthesis, as well as the antibiotic resistance genes hpt and nptII. CSIRO is bound to adopt certain measures to restrict the dissemination of GM plant materials, such as surrounding the trial site with a pollen trap and postharvest monitoring of fields.

Some products made from the GM wheat and barley may be fed to rats and pigs in controlled laboratory experiments. Products containing GM wheat from this trial may also be consumed by a small group of volunteers as part of a carefully controlled nutritional study.

For more information, contact ogtr@health.gov.au or visit http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/Content/dir093

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Biotechnology can help Australian farmers to remain viable despite the effects of a changing climate. Australia’s Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) makes this conclusion in a report on “Australia’s crops and pastures in a changing climate: can biotechnology help?”

“There are a number of plant traits likely to be important for adapting to climate change, including heat tolerance, water and nitrogen use efficiency, and pest and disease resistance,” says Karen Schneider, BRS Executive Director. “Techniques, such as genetic modification (GM), are increasingly playing an important role in the development of new crop and pasture varieties with these traits.”

To download a copy of the report visit http://www.brs.gov.au. A media release is available at http://www.daff.gov.au/about/media-centre/brs-releases/2008/biotechnology_is_helping_the_fight_against_climate_change

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Consumer concerns seriously jeopardize the future market success of modern biotechnology products, including genetically modified (GM) food products. Scientists are themselves a consumer group. However, compared to general consumers, scientists are more knowledgeable about GM foods. Scientists are also expected to provide information for decision makers with regards to policy related to GM products. Furthermore, they are also the first group to react if any unsafe GM food enters the market. Indirectly, they help all consumers to be protected.

A study to assess the attitudes of scientists (i.e. whether they agree or disagree) about GM foods, and associated matters was conducted by researchers of  the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education, Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network and the Research Triangle Institute, Indonesia. They found that of 400 scientists from Bogor Agricultural University,  84% believed their peers to be capable of assessing the benefits and risks of GM foods. Most of them (72%) disagreed that the likely risks of GM foods are greater than the benefits. The author also suggests that scientists and other relevant parties can be expected to persuade government about the need for food labeling regulations. 

Further study is recommended to address labeling issues as they affect scientists and consumers. The abstract of this research can be found at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17468097 or send email to J. Februhartanty at jfebruhartanty@seameo-rccn.org for more details. For information on biotechnology in Indonesia, contact Dewi Suryani at dewisuryani@biotrop.org

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Bangladeshi electronic media icon Mr. Shyke Seraj committed to popularize biotech products in both electronic and print media for its wide awareness building and acceptance to stakeholders. He made this commitment  while coordinating the recent roundtable on “Biotechnology in Development: World Scenario and Bangladesh” organized by the Young Biotechnologists Association of Bangladesh and Global Network of Bangladeshi Biotechnologists (GNOBB) at the VIP Lounge of National Press Club, Dhaka. About 150 participants representing policymakers, politicians, economists, business entrepreneurs, academia, and journalists attended this roundtable.

Several recommendations were adopted during the roundtable, among them:  to set up an independent National Commission on Biotechnology (NCBT); a National Institute of Biotechnology to be made an autonomous body and placed under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s portfolio; strengthening of public-private partnership; at least 1% of the GDP be spent on promotion and development of education and biotech research; at least 50% of the high officials be recruited from science graduates; and print and electronic media to focus more on biotech products including GM crops. 

For more information email Dr. Khondoker Nasiruddin of the Bangladesh Biotechnology Information Center at nasirbiotech@yahoo.com 

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Europe

According to a US Department of Agriculture GAIN report, Italy has approved the resumption of GM crop field trials after a ten-year ban. The country’s State-Regions Conference, a special body of representatives from the federal government and each of the 20 Italian regions, approved biotech field test protocols for nine crops, including kiwi, strawberry, corn, eggplant, olive, tomato, and grapes. The decree, however, leaves it up to each region to develop implementing regulations, including the authority to adopt even more restrictive measures than the original protocols in order “to reduce the risk of contamination.” Numerous regions in the country have declared themselves as GMO-free, but northern Italian regions of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna appear open to the biotech trials.

Download the report at http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200812/146306725.pdf

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The European Commission reports that an analysis of large-scale European field trial data reveals that lower quantities of herbicides are applied to crops genetically modified (GM) for herbicide-resistance compared with conventionally grown crops. Data also reveal that biodiversity may be reduced if GM crops are grown widely.

The report also says that cultivation of GR crops could provide an alternative method of weed management with positive effects for the environment. However, measures for maintaining biodiversity must be done.  See http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=8819&codi=41058&idproducttype=8&level=0 for additional information.

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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its draft scientific opinion in relation to nanoscience and nanotechnologies and food and feed safety. Nanotechnology is a field of applied sciences and technologies involving the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally below 100 nanometers. The technology enables the management of food ingredients on a molecular level and it is claimed that nanotechnology products could have a substantial impact on the food and feed sector in the future. Given the novelty of this technology, the safety of possible food and feed applications needs to be assessed. The European Commission asked for EFSA’s opinion since consideration is needed to be given as to whether risk assessment approaches in place can be appropriately applied to this technology.

EFSA concluded that the current approaches to risk assessment for non-nano chemicals can also be applied to engineered nano materials (ENM). The EU agency however noted that limitations and uncertainties exist, especially when it comes to characterizing, detecting and measuring ENM in food, feed or the human body. There is limited information on the toxicity, absorption excretion and metabolism of ENM.

Download the scientific opinion at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/BlobServer/DocumentSet/sc_opinion_nano_public_consultation.pdf?ssbinary=true or visit http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=EFSA%2FPage%2Fntp_A&cid=1178680051353&pagename=efsa for more information.

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