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NewsGlobal[Top]
The biological sciences are adding value to a host of products and services resulting into a "bioeconomy". This bioeconomy could make major socio-economic contributions to improve health, boost agricultural productivity and industrial processes, and enhance environmental sustainability. Coordinated policy action by governments is needed to harness the bioeconomy's potential and reap the benefits of the biotechnology revolution. This is the view of The Bioeconomy to 2030: Designing a Policy Agenda published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report reviews biotechnology applications, and the role of R & D funding, human resources, intellectual property, and regulation in the bioeconomy. Scenarios up to 2030 are presented to show the interplay of policy choices and technological advances in shaping the bioeconomy. See the report at http://www.oecd.org/document/38/0,3343,en_2649_36831301_42570790_1_1_1_1,00.html [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
The Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) and the Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) have made available grant awards to support scientists working to breed disease-resistant, high yielding and climate-proof crops. The scientists will explore the millions of seed samples maintained in 1,500 crop genebanks around the world in search for traits needed to protect food production from the ravages of climate change. "We want to support scientists to probe crop genebanks for natural traits that will allow farm production to stay one step ahead of climate change," said Cary Fowler Executive Director of the Trust. The GCDT-GIPB partnership is also supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Grant recipients include researchers from the Philippines searching for bananas that are resistant to the dreaded banana streak virus, scientists in India searching for pearl millet varieties that can tolerate scorching temperatures, plant breeders from Burkina Faso and South Africa working to develop climate-proof maize varieties and scientists from Chile transferring traits from a wild to a cultivated variety of potato that convey resistance to bacterial wilt. The press release is available at http://km.fao.org/gipb/images/pdf_files/FinalResultAnnouncementPrebreedingGrantsGIPBwebsite_220509.pdf For the complete list of the grant recipients, visit http://www.generationcp.org/sp5/?da=09142800 Africa[Top]
The lead Bt cotton researcher in Kenya Dr. Charles Waturu predicts that the country will commercialize the crop in three years time. Bt cotton has been undergoing contained field trials (CFT) under the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) for about five years. Speaking to senior policy makers from agriculture sector ministries who were on a fact-finding mission at the Bt cotton CFT site in Thika, near Nairobi, Dr. Waturu, who is also the KARI Thika Center Director, said biotech cotton was urgently need to help boost production, which was in a free fall due to challenges caused by pests and diseases. Cotton production in Kenya has fallen by 70% from 70,000 bales in the mid 1980s to less than 20,000 bales last year. This has forced the country to import about 100,000 bales to meet the shortfall. For more information contact Daniel Otunge at d.otunge@cgiar.org or Dr. Faith Nguthi at f.nguthi@cgiar.org [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Uganda government is boosting its investment in modern biotechnology laboratories as well as human resources development to boost its agricultural productivity, the State Minister for Animal Industry and Fisheries, Bright Rwamirama, said while opening the conference on Delivering Agricultural Biotechnology to African Farmers: Linking Economic Research to Decision Making, in Entebbe, Uganda. "We have a fully equipped National Agricultural Biotechnology Center at the National Agricultural Laboratories Institute, Kawanda that was commissioned by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni in August 2003. Another laboratory is being constructed at the National Crop Resource Research Institute, Namulonge," the minister said. Currently, Uganda is conducting confined field trials (CFTs) of black sigatoka resistant banana, herbicide resistant cotton and Bt cotton. Virus resistant maize and cassava CFTs are expected to start soon. The minister urged African countries to embrace modern biotechnology as one way of fulfilling their pledges to reduce hunger and poverty by 2015 under the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He said food production potential on the continent are severely hampered by diseases, pests, drought and other production challenges which could be solved by biotechnology crop varieties. For more information on this article and on biotechnology in Uganda, contact Olive Nabukonde at onabukonde@yahoo.com [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Mark Rosegrant, Director of IFPRI's Environment and Production Technology Division, has called on African countries to build public and private partnerships in adopting agricultural biotechnology development to improve crop yields, household income and nutritional quality of food in an environmentally sustainable way, in a recently-concluded conference on Delivering Agricultural Biotechnology to African Farmers: Linking Economic Research to Decision Making in Entebbe, Uganda. In a press conference immediately after the opening of the conference, Rosegrant said "Africa should invest in funding scientific expertise in order to improve agricultural biotechnology development, and streamline the process of testing, confined field trials and commercialization." He noted the importance of strengthening regional coordination harmonization by looking at the licensing systems, to reduce bureaucracy and unnecessary delays and duplication. For more information on the conference and on biotechnology in Uganda, contact Olive Nabukonde at onabukonde@yahoo.com Americas[Top]
Latin America and the Caribbean have invested $3.0 billion in agricultural research and development but only 70 percent was spent in three countries: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. This was forwarded by the report Public Agricultural Research in Latin America and the Caribbean: Investment and Capacity Trends published by the International Food Policy Research Institute. Authors Gert-Jan Stads and Nienke Beintema note that sustainable support for agricultural R&D is crucial in all countries of the region for both export and food crops and, more generally, development initiatives to alleviate rural poverty. "If the region is to achieve food security, reduce poverty, and compete in an increasingly competitive global market, strong political support for agricultural R&D is called for in addition to financial support, as is greater integration of agricultural R&D systems both within and among countries," they concluded. See the full report at http://www.asti.cgiar.org/pdf/LAC_Syn_Report.pdf [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
The growing demand for biofuels may encourage farmers to plant corn in fields where grasses are now grown. Environmentally friendly grasses, such as bromegrass, have been used by farmers trying to save erodible soils, enhance habitats and increase soil organic carbon. But there's nothing to worry about. According to researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), those making the switch can still sequester soil carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by not tilling the soil. Ron Follett and colleagues spent six years monitoring levels of soil organic carbon in a Nebraska field where bromegrass was grown for 13 years and the field then was converted to no-till corn. The team found that although yields were decreased, the total amount of carbon didn't change. The rates of loss of soil organic carbon previously sequestered by the bromegrass were offset by similar rates of increase in newly sequestered carbon from the corn. Follett and colleagues said that the grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) may be converted to grain crops for bioenergy. The USDA yearly spends some USD 1.8 billion to support the 35 million acres of bromegrass for its CRP project. For the complete story, visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090527.htm Follett's paper appeared in the recent issue of the Agronomy Journal. The paper is available for download at http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj2008.0107 [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
The Brazilian National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) has cleared Monsanto's genetically modified Bollgard II cotton for commercial release in Brazil. The insect-resistant cotton variety, however, must still be approved by the Agriculture Ministry before it can be planted in the country. Bollgard II cotton is Monsanto's third transgenic cotton variety approved in Brazil. Last month, CTNBio approved Dow's WideStrike cotton for release. Bollgard II and WideStrike both express insecticidal Bt proteins, controlling the attacks of Lepidopteran larvae, particularly the fall armyworm (Helicoverpa armigera), on vegetative and reproductive parts of the cotton plant. Read the original article at http://www.mct.gov.br/index.php/content/view/303156.html Asia and the Pacific[Top]
California-based Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) and Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology (ACGT) based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia announced that they have completed the first draft of the genome of jatropha (Jatropha curcas), an important biofuel crop. Researchers at SGI and ACGT used both the traditional Sanger sequencing and next generation sequencing to crack the crop's genome. According to the results, the genome is around 400 million basepairs long, similar to the size of the rice genome. The teams are now working on annotating the genome to pinpoint particular genes of interest and to discover genetic variations for use in marker assisted breeding. The teams are also applying traditional breeding tools, as well as modern plant molecular biology tools, to improve plant yield, oil quality, fertilizer requirements and to enhance stress and disease tolerance. For more information, visit http://www.syntheticgenomics.com/press/2009-05-20.htm [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
In a keynote speech at the recently concluded conference of the Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines, the Philippine Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Segfredo R. Serrano expressed his support to the use of biotechnology to nearly 300 crop scientists and members of the academe. "Biotechnology is one of the emerging technologies which the Philippine government supports to develop a new platform of technologies in meeting these challenges of water and energy crises. The Philippines is the only country in the Southeast Asia with an established and functional biotechnology regulatory system, and this will pave the way for the commercialization of biotechnology products that can help in meeting these challenges" , he said. Usec Serrano added that the Department of Agriculture will continuously support biotechnology research, development and extension efforts to attain food sufficiency and improve health and well being of the Filipinos. In addition, Dr. Antonio C. Laurena of University of the Philippines Los Banos Institute of Plant Breeding shared the current research and development initiatives in biotechnology which are aimed in meeting water and energy crises. These include drought-tolerant crops such as rice, corn, wheat and sugarcane, as well as genetically engineered biofuel feedstocks as one option in boosting biofuel production. For additional information about biotech updates in the Philippines, visit http://www.bic.searca.org or send an email to bic@agri.searca.org [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Scientists at the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development, Bogor, Indonesia have successfully introduced the proteinase inhibitor II (pin II) gene to a soybean variety through the particle bombardment technique. Pin II gene is implicated in the defense mechanisms of many crop species. Two plants of soybean variety Wilis (WP1, WP2) and three plants of the Tidar variety (TP1, TP2, TP3) produced transgenic plants. However, molecular analysis of these regenerated plants using the polymerase chain reaction technique showed that only WP2 contained the pinll gene. Further evaluation of this positively transformed plant will be conducted and more transgenic plants will be generated in the future. More information on this research can be obtained from http://digilib.biologi.lipi.go.id/view.html?idm=30140. For information on biotechnology in Indonesia, contact Dewi Suryani of the IndoBIC at dewisuryani@biotrop.org. [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) and Ali Akbar Group have inked a memorandum of agreement to develop an agricultural information management system, and work on transgenic and conventional hybrids of agronomic and horticultural crops. Other activities include tissue culture and micropropagation, pesticide formulations, evaluation and efficacy testing and resistance management, drip irrigation and other water management systems. The article is available online at http://www.uaf.edu.pk/new_site/prp/events/090525.html http://www.pabic.com.pk/26%20May,%202009%20UAF%20and%20Ali%20Akber.html [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) to establish an effective strategic partnership on agricultural research, development and training in a bid to fight poverty in the dry areas across the developing world. The MoU was signed at the ICARDA headquarters in Aleppo, Syria by ICARDA Director General Mahmoud Solh and IDB President Ahmad Mohamed Ali. IDB and ICARDA will work together to identify development priorities in dry areas, and develop and implement agricultural projects, particularly the research component in rural development projects that are a priority for Bank funding. Other key areas identified include: development of improved cereal, food legume, and forage crop varieties, technology ‘packages' to improve crop yields and the health and sustainability of farming systems, increased water use efficiency in agriculture and measures to combat land degradation and desertification. For more information, visit http://www.icarda.org/News/258 [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has submitted an application to Australia's Gene Technology Regulator for the controlled release of 16 genetically modified wheat lines with altered grain composition. The trial is set to take place at one site in the Australian Capital Territory, on a maximum area of 1 ha, between July 2009 and June 2012. The Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) for this application concluded that the release poses negligible risks to people and the environment. With the exception of rat and pig nutritional trials, the GM wheat will not be used for human food or animal feed. CSIRO is bound to adopt certain measures to restrict the dissemination and persistence of GM plant materials in the environment. For more information, visit http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/Content/dir092 Europe[Top]
The roundtable discussion on agricultural biotechnology initiated by Germany's Research Minister Annette Schavan and Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner did not yield concrete results but it starts further discussion on specific issues. Participants included 30 representatives from science, industry, government, and associations who deliberated on the status of agricultural biotechnology in Germany. "We want to explain and build trust. We have to use the potential offered by biotechnology, whilst at the same time taking the risks seriously and creating acceptance," said Research Minister Schavan. Subsequent discussions will be on issues such as biosafety research and the release of genetically modified plants, approval and authorization procedures, and genetic engineering and animal feed. The news article is available at http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/news/689.docu.html [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
The United Kingdom's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has launched a consultation on future research to discuss the food security crisis. The end result will be a food security research road map. Professor Janet Allen, BBSRC Director of Research, said "We need to increase global food supply by 50% by 2030. This consultation is the opportunity for all interested organizations and individuals to comment on the future research we need to deliver this and avoid a growing food security crisis. We are looking for responses to questions that include research targets in food production and supply, ways to ensure knowledge transfer into practical application and public policy and providing the skills and training we need." The full consultation document is available at http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/consultations. The news release is at http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2009/090527_consultation_launched_on_future_research_for_ Research[Top]
Scientists from St George's, University of London achieved a major advance by developing a protein that can kill the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) when used as a microbicide. What's more, the researchers have devised a way to produce the protein in plants in quantities enough to make it affordable for people in developing countries. The research is published in the current issue of the FASEB Journal. Julian Ma and colleagues combined two known protein microbicides, b12 monoclonal antibody and cyanovirin-N, into a single molecule and showed that this molecule has greater anti-HIV potency compared to its individual components. Biologically active forms of the fusion molecule were produced from transgenic plants. In a press release, FASEB Journal editor-in-chief Gerald Weissmann said: "This study is nothing short of a breakthrough—not only does it yield a new drug to fight the spread of HIV, but it also shows us how we can produce it on the scale necessary to get it into the hands of those who need it most." The abstract of the article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1096/fj.09-131995 [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Researchers at the Michigan State University have identified two new genes in tomato that are essential in the manufacture of monoterpenes, a large family of compounds used by plants to attract pollinators, ward off pests and protect themselves from diseases. Monoterpenes are also responsible for giving many plants their unique smell and taste. The aroma of many leaf spices, such as mint and basil come from terpenes. Scientists thought that plants always use a specific compound, geranyl diphosphate, to make monoterpenes. But Robert Last and colleagues found that tomato plants use a different compound, neryl diphosphate, as the substrate for making the compounds. The team identified two new enzymes: neryl diphosphate synthase 1 (NDPS1) and phellandrene synthase 1 (PHS1) by sequencing the DNA of tomato trichomes (hair in plant stem and leaves). According to the scientists, the new discoveries will allow them to look for similar genes in other plants and perhaps discover new enzymes that make monoterpenes, which could lead to new ways to protect plants from pests. The original story is available at http://news.msu.edu/story/6374/ The paper by Last and Colleagues appear in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Suberin is a waxy substance found between some plant cells. It primarily prevents water from penetrating tissues. But there's more to suberin than meets the eye. Scientists from Purdue University, by studying a mutant Arabidopsis plant that produces twice as much suberin as normal varieties, believe that manipulating the substance may lead to plants that better absorb nutrients. Their work appears in the current issue of PLoS Genetics. David Salt and colleagues discovered which pathways particular nutrients use to get into plant shoots based on suberin concentration. By adjusting the amount of suberin in roots, plants could be engineered to allow for easier absorption of beneficial nutrients. Plants with more suberin were found to contain less calcium, manganese and zinc, and high sodium, sulfur and selenium in their leaves. "Just like animals, plants want to select the things they take in," Salt said. "They want a certain amount of potassium or a certain amount of nitrogen." The amount of suberin they produce allows them to choose how much they get. Salt and colleagues also observed that plants with twice the amount of the waxy substance activated a defense mechanism to keep from wilting. Since suberin was restricting water absorption, the plant allowed less transpiration, or evaporation of water from the leaves. Manipulation of suberin might also lead to the development of plants that use water more efficiently. The scientific paper is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1000492 For more information, visit http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2009a/090522SaltSuberin.html [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Plants have their own version of the immune system, and pretty much like the human immune system, it is very prone to overreacting. If the system overreacts to pathogens, it can stunt plant growth and reduce seed production. Researchers at the University of Minnesota identified important suppressors that negatively regulate immune responses in the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana. Better understanding of the plant immune system, the scientists say, will allow breeders to create crops with more durable safeguards against pathogens. The plant immune system works this way: Pathogens deploy effector proteins to mess up with the plant's immune system. These effectors trigger an immune response by activating specific plant resistance proteins. The resistance proteins, in turn, are regulated by suppressors to achieve minimal side effects to the plant while providing optimal responses to pathogens. The suppressors act as guards to prevent the plant immune system from overreacting. In the study published by the Plant Journal, Walter Gassmann and colleagues examined plants with genetic mutations that resulted in heightened plant immunity. By examining this mutation, researchers were able to identify specific genetic components that may negatively regulate the immune system and thus contribute to an appropriate immune response. The complete article is available at http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2009/0527-Gassman-plant-defense.php Download the papers published by The Plant Journal and Plant Signaling and Behavior at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2008.03669.x and http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/10/article/7682/ [ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ] [Top]
Oilseed rape is one of the most important oilseed crops grown in the world but is subject to significant seed losses because of pod shattering, which causes a 10-25 percent loss of seeds and up to 70 percent in some cases. Pod-shattering is an advantage in nature, allowing efficient seed dispersal. But is one of the biggest problems in farming oilseed rape and other Brassica crops. To make matters worse, volunteer seedlings arising from the unharvested seed also cause significant contamination of subsequent crops. Scientists at the John Innes Center in England think they may have solved this problem. By producing a hormone in a specific region of the fruit, the researchers have stopped the fruit opening in the related model plant Arabidopsis, completely sealing the seeds inside. Lars Østergaard and colleagues found out that the absence of the hormone auxin in a layer of cells in the fruit is necessary for the fruit to open. Auxin, considered as the master manipulator of plant development, coordinates numerous growth and behavioral processes in the plant life cycle, including cell division and elongation, leaf senescence and fruit ripening. According to the researchers, this is the first time that removal of a hormone has been found to be important for plant cell fate and growth. Read the press release at http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/media-and-public/current-releases/090527podshatter.htm The paper published by Nature is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature07875 [Top]
AnnouncementsAn international conference on Food Security and Climate Change in Dry Areas, organized by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and Jordan's Ministry of Agriculture, will be held at Amman, Jordan on October 12-15, 2009. Conference themes include impacts of climate change on natural resource availability, agricultural production systems and environmental degradation in dry areas, mitigation, adaptation and ecosystem resilience strategies: natural resource management, crop improvement, etc, and policy and institutional options to ensure an enabling environment to cope with climate change impacts. For more information visit http://www.icarda.org/Announcement/2009/IntlConfrnc_FoodSecurity/FoodSecurityAndClimateChangeInDryAreas_2009.htm or contact n.haddad@cgiar.org A website dedicated for researchers who are focusing on Jatropha crop improvement, molecular biology, genetics and genomics has recently been launched. The website http://jatrophagenomics.rellife.com/ is a one stop portal for the scientific community to create a common platform to upload expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and full length DNA sequences for free. Suibmitted sequences are accepted from registrants and are checked by a technical group before uploading. For further information, visit http://jatrophagenomics.rellife.com/. Suggestions to further improve the website are welcome. Comments may be posted on the website or write to jatropha_genomics@relbio.com. The 2nd IBSF National Congress 2009 will be held on 15 – 17 July 2009 at Biology Department, University of Al Azhar, Indonesia. The congress with the theme "The challenge of biotechnology in Indonesia" aims to introduce biotechnology, its applications and benefits to senior high school students. Activities in the annual event will include a national biotechnology symposium, annual national members meeting, iBiotech, biotechnology business proposal competition, training for the trainers, and laboratory tours. For details on how to join in this event, visit http://indonesia-biotechnology-students-forum.org/ or email edwinnata@gmail.com. For biotechnology information in Indonesia, contact Dewi Suryani at dewisuryani@biotrop.org The International Conference on Agro-biotechnology, Biosafety and Seed Systems in Developing Countries:AGBIOSAFESEED 2010 will be held on March 8 to 12, 2010 in Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda. The conference hopes to bring together policy makers, researchers, civil society organizations and development partners from all over the globe, especially developing countries and economies in transition to discuss cross-cutting issues in agro-biotechnology, biosafety and biotech/conventional seed production, and distributions systems in developing countries. The Conference is being organized by the Science Foundation for Livelihoods and Development (SCIFODE), the National Agricultural Research Organization, the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa. For more information and inquiries visit http://www.scifode.org/ or email scifode@scientist.com [Top]
Document RemindersThe European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) has adopted the draft updated version of its Guidance Document for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants and derived food and feed. The Guidance Document was released to the public for comment early last year. At the deadline of its public consultation EFSA had received 357 submissions from 19 interested parties. The Update Guidance Document, as well as the reports on the public consultation, are available at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902545663.htm?WT.mc_id=EFSAHL01 |
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