http://www.isaaa.org/kc/A weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA).en-usWed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17695The Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Nigeria chapter has stepped up its efforts to raise awareness and appreciation on agricultural biotechnology by rolling out a biotechnology awareness program in Nigerian schools.OFAB inaugurated the first Biotechnology and Biosafety Club (BBClub) in Nigeria where students irrespective of age can b...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Africahttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17682Scientists led by the National Laboratory of Genomics for Biodiversity (LANGEBIO) in Mexico, Texas Tech University, and the University at Buffalo in the USA have sequenced the avocado genome. The scientists report their findings in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study sheds light on the origins ...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Americashttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17693The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given its approval to Verdeca for HB4® drought tolerant soybeans which will allow for commercialization in the U.S. market. The USDA approval comes two years after the U.S. Food and Drug administration approved Verdeca's HB4 trait in 2017.With the USDA approval, the HB4 trait now has regulatory appr...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Americashttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17696A panel convened by the Royal Society Te Apārangi has concluded that New Zealand's (NZ) genetic engineering (GE) regulations need to be updated to cope with the rapid advances of the technology. The findings of their investigation were summarized into several reports that defines what is now considered genetic modification and weighs in the be...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Asia and the Pacifichttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17694The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO Panel) has published the Scientific Opinion on the safety of five-event stack genetically modified drought‐ and glyphosate‐tolerant and insect resistant maize MON 87427 × MON 87460 × MON 89034 × MIR162 × NK603 and its subcombinations independently of ...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Europehttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17687A year after the European Court of Justice ruled that genome editing technology should be classified as being the same as genetic modification, Professor Achim Dobermann, Director and Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research, responded to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pledge "…to liberate the UK's extraordinary bio-science sector from anti-geneti...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Europehttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17690Galactinol synthase (GolS) is an important enzyme that hastens the production of raffinose oligosaccharides (RFOs) which have vital functions in abiotic stress adaptation of plants, particularly drought tolerance. Researchers have isolated the GolS gene in several plants to develop material resources for generating transgenic plants resistant to ad...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Researchhttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17688Researchers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, and Kennesaw University in the US, discovered that parasitic plants steal genes from their host plants and use it to efficiently absorb nutrients from their host. The study focused on the parasitic plant dodder, which has stolen a huge quantity of genetic material from its host plants, including over a hu...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800Researchhttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17691OsNramp5 is an important gene in the regulation of Cadmium (Cd), Manganese (Mn), and other metal icons by rice root cells. When this gene is impaired, it can reduce the buildup of Cd in rice grains, but the effect on yield and quality is yet to be discovered. Thus, researchers from Hunan Agricultural University and partners developed three OsNramp5...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800New Breeding Technologieshttp://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17697Developing broad-spectrum resistance is one of the main objectives of crop breeding but more investigation is needed to reveal the molecular mechanisms involved in this process. ACCELERATED CELL DEATH6 (ACD6) in Arabidopsis thaliana is a key component of broad-spectrum resistance. However, the role of ACD6 remains unclear in crop plants. Thus, Agri...Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:00 +0800New Breeding Technologies