Biotech Updates

GM Wheat Development in China

December 21, 2011

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences scientist Lanqin Xia and colleagues reported the current status of GM wheat in China through an article published in the Journal of Experimental Botany. According to their report, significant financial resources were provided by the Chinese government for research and development of GM crops. The goal of the project was to provide an opportunity to improve crops using a safe, precise, and effective wheat genetic transformation system suitable for commercialization. One of the main aspects of the R&D project is the genetic improvement of wheat. The authors said that the increasing hectarage and acceptance of GM crops appears to be gaining momentum in China, thus providing a broad and stable foundation for future growth of GM wheat both in China and the rest of the world.

Read the article at http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/12/14/jxb.err342.abstract.