There are an increasing number of publications from Asian scientists on transgenic technology, reports Philippe Vain of the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom. He studied global trends in the development of the technology using literature statistics obtained from a set of 4,545 bibliographic records from the past 30 years.

Vain stated that the number of publications focusing on the development of transgenic technology slowed down from 1980 to mid-1990. Except in Asia, there is an evident stagnation or regression in the volume of publications particularly in Western Europe and North America. The researcher cautions that the slowdown likely corresponds to overall technological weakening that will probably negatively affect plant transgenic science as a whole in most countries.

The bibliographic records were analyzed with respect to economic zones, countries, plant species, and DNA delivery method. Among the plants, tobacco was found to be the most often used model for the analysis of transgene integration and stability. It is followed by rice, wheat, maize and Arabidopsis. Among the DNA delivery methods, Agrobacterium remains the favored method for the transformation of plants.

The paper published by the Plant Biotechnology Journal, can be accessed by subscribers at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2006.00225.x..