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Crop Biotech Update 17 December, 2004
17-Dec-2004=20
International Service For The Acquisition Of Agri-Biotech = Applications=20 SEAsia Center And CAB International

CropBiotech Update=20

A weekly summary of world = developments in=20 agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the = Global=20 Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the = Acquisition of=20 Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter = (ISAAA), and AgBiotechNet

December 17, 2004

In This Issue:=20

Rice = Research Gets $5M=20 From USDA=20
Announcement:

New Index = Possible For=20 Screening Salt Tolerant Rice = Lines
Workshop = on Role of=20 Biotech in 2005

Paper = Recommends=20 Strategies for Biotech in = Europe
Document=20 Reminder:

European = Countries Must=20 Join Forces To Strengthen Biotech Sector =96=20 Report
Document = on Bt maize in=20 Spain Released

Country = Report Tackles=20 Success of UK Biotech = Industry
CBT News = Feature: Gurdev=20 Singh Khush

Biotech = Crop Plantings=20 Seeing Greater Expansion In Developing=20 Countries 3D""=20

=20
RICE RESEARCH GETS $5M FROM = USDA=20
United States = Department of=20 Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Ann M. Veneman = announced a=20 $5 million grant to support research to improve = rice=20 crops using genomic- based tools. The = multidisciplinary=20 team is composed of 14 institutions =96 = including the=20 Agricultural Research Service, Cornell = University, the=20 California Rice Research Foundation, and the=20 International Rice Research Institute =96 and = will be=20 coordinated by scientists at the University of = Arkansas.=20
Included in the = projects=20 goals are a) a novel extension program to engage = rice=20 extension and industry personnel in agricultural = genomics research, b) exploring the potential of = genomic-based tools, and c) public education on = the=20 merits of applying genome information to improve = agricultural crops.
Visit the USDA at = http://www.usda.gov for more information. For = details on=20 the genome project, see http://www.uark.edu/ua/ricecap.=20
NEW INDEX POSSIBLE FOR SCREENING SALT = TOLERANT=20 RICE LINES=20
The concentration = of=20 glycinebetaine, a molecule produced in plants in = response to=20 salt stress, may be used as a rapid biochemical = index=20 for the screening of new salt-tolerant lines of = rice.=20 Suriyan Cha-um of the National Center for = Genetic=20 Engineering and Biotechnology and colleagues = discuss=20 this finding in an article in the latest issue = of=20 Science Asia.=20
Glycinebetaine (Glybet) is involved in plant stress = responses=20 to extreme salt, drought, temperature, and light = conditions. Studies have shown that Glybet acts = as an=20 osmoprotective agent by stabilizing both the = quaternary=20 structures of proteins and the highly ordered = structure=20 of membranes against the adverse effects of = salinity and=20 water-deficit.
Using Thai = jasmine rice=20 seedlings, researchers found that <= U>betaine = aldehyde=20 dehydrogenase=20 (BADH), a key enzyme in the Glybet synthesis = pathway,=20 showed progressive elevation during the first = four days=20 after growth under salt-stress conditions (342 = mM NaCl),=20 but gradually decreased thereafter (days 6-8). = This=20 increase in <= U>BADH activity was accompanied = by an=20 accumulation of Glybet. In contrast, the = <= U>BADH activity and Glybet = content of=20 control seedlings (0 mM NaCl) remained at a low = and=20 constant level during the same 8-day interval. =
Significant = reductions in the=20 concentrations of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, = total=20 chlorophyll, and total carotenoid=20 content of salt-stressed seedlings were also = observed=20 with increasing exposure time to salt-stressed=20 conditions.
Glybet = accumulation in rice=20 seedlings is consistent with the known defense = response=20 in plants, and assaying BADH activity and/or = Glybet=20 accumulation may be further used in screening = for=20 salt-tolerant varieties of rice.=20
Download the = complete=20 article, "Biochemical and Physiological = Responses of=20 Thai Jasmine Rice to Salt Stress," at http://scienceasia.tiac.or.th/PDF/vol30/=20 v30_247_253.pdf=20
PAPER RECOMMENDS STRATEGIES FOR BIOTECH = IN=20 EUROPE=20
In For A = Competitive European=20 Biotechnology Industry, Christian Patermann = recounts the=20 proposals set forth by the European Union (EU)=20 Comprehensive Strategy on Life Sciences &=20 Biotechnology, and recommends strategies by = which Europe=20 may be able to strengthen its biotechnology = industry.=20 The paper is part of the compilation = Biotechnology In=20 Europe Today, available online.=20
The strategy, = first drafted=20 in 2002, emphasized research, careers and = mobility,=20 linking science and society, regulations, and=20 coordination between member states. It = specifically=20 outlined the EU-funded 6th Framework Programme = for=20 Research (2003-2006), which prioritizes Life = Sciences,=20 Genomics, and Biotechnology for Health = (designated=20 Priority 1) and Food Quality and Food Safety = (Priority=20 5).
An outgrowth of = this strategy=20 is the European technology platform on plant = genomics=20 and biotechnology, launched in June 2004, which = brought=20 together key stakeholders from various sectors = to=20 formulate a strategic research agenda for = 2005-2010. The=20 meeting sought to define medium and long-term = targets=20 and priorities; and build up the necessary=20 public-private-partnership, including the = mechanism to=20 mobilize private and public investments.
Patermann, = however,=20 recommends fresh strategies for a stronger = biotechnology=20 industry in the continent. These include = increasing=20 funds for research; drafting workable = intellectual=20 property rights laws; implementing regulations = more=20 strictly; and bringing researchers, businessmen, = and=20 other stakeholders together, working to sustain=20 momentum.=20
More papers are = available for=20 download at http://www.teknoscienze.com/supplements/biotech_in_europe/
Bi= otech_in_europe.htm=20
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MUST JOIN FORCES TO = STRENGTHEN=20 BIOTECH SECTOR =96 REPORT=20
Countries in = Europe must join=20 forces, sources, and knowledge to develop a = strong=20 biotechnology sector. This was proposed in a = recent=20 compilation of country reports on the state of = local=20 biotechnology, as well as on emerging = biotechnology=20 products and techniques in the continent, = entitled=20 Biotechnology in Europe Today.=20
The report cited = the lack of=20 financial resources, lack of business knowledge = by the=20 science sector, delays due to a stringent = regulatory=20 framework, and low consumer acceptance as the = main=20 obstacles to growth of biotechnology in the = region.=20
Problems are = further explored=20 in each country report. Portugal, for instance, = is doing=20 research, but has little entrepreneurial spirit = amongst=20 its researchers, as well as strong public = diffidence=20 towards biotechnology applications. On the other = hand,=20 other countries like Estonia have difficulty in=20 attracting Venture Capital (VC), since VC's have = poor=20 information and knowledge about risk assessment=20 regarding the biotech sector in that country, = and are=20 not interested in the sector itself because it = gives no=20 assurance of success.=20
More country = reports are=20 available for download at http://www.teknoscienze.com/supplements/biotech_in_europe/
Bi= otech_in_europe.htm=20
COUNTRY REPORT TACKLES SUCCESS OF UK = BIOTECH=20 INDUSTRY=20
Liberal = regulations and=20 research focus are behind the booming = biotechnology=20 industry in the United Kingdom. This was = reported in=20 Biotechnology In the United Kingdom: A Strong = Wish To=20 Maintain The Leadership, a paper included in the = compilation Biotechnology In Europe Today, = available=20 online.=20
Research in the = UK is=20 dominated by pharmaceutical biotechnology, and = is funded=20 indirectly through fiscal measures from the = government.=20 These include LINK, run by the Office of Science = and=20 Technology, which provides funds for over two or = three=20 years for joint projects between universities = and=20 business for bioscience; and BIO-WISE, an = on-line=20 information service promoting awareness of = biotechnology=20 and its potential.=20
Other features = peculiar to=20 the UK system are a liberal regulatory = framework;=20 efficient technology transfer and business = development;=20 and clustering, where companies involved in=20 biotechnology business are situated in the same = area as=20 universities involved in biotechnology = research.=20
Read the full = report at=20 http://www.teknoscienze.com/supplements/pdf/biotechnology_in
= _europe_today_2004/uk1.pdf=20
BIOTECH CROP PLANTINGS SEEING GREATER = EXPANSION=20 IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES=20
The direction of = global plant=20 biotechnology suggests that major expansion in = biotech=20 crop plantings will occur in developing = countries,=20 particularly in Asia, Latin America, and parts = of=20 Africa, according to a new study, The Global = Diffusion=20 of Plant Biotechnology: International Adoption = and=20 Research in 2004, conducted by C. Ford Runge, = director=20 of the Center for International Food and = Agricultural=20 Policy, University of Minnesota.=20
Apart from this = expansion,=20 the range of biotech crops approved commercially = will=20 continue to grow, resulting in new markets and=20 opportunities, especially in developing=20 countries.=20
Biotech crops are = now being=20 grown in 18 countries, while another 45 = countries are=20 into research and development and field = testing.=20
Twelve countries = in the=20 Asia-Pacific region are involved in some aspect = of plant=20 biotech research and development. The leading = national=20 programs are in Australia, China, India, = Indonesia, and=20 the Philippines. More modest plant biotech = research=20 activities are underway in Bangladesh, Japan, = Malaysia,=20 Pakistan, Korea, and Thailand.=20
"Perhaps the most = significant=20 single potential actor in Asia is China, which = is=20 aggressively engaged in biotech adoption and = research.=20 There is reason to expect China to emerge as an=20 influential force in plant biotech in the years = to=20 come", the study says. The study foresees that = in the=20 next 10 years, about half of China's fields will = be=20 planted to biotech crops.=20
Countries with = biotech crop=20 research in Africa include South Africa, Kenya,=20 Zimbabwe, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. South = Africa is=20 taking the lead with commercial production of = biotech=20 maize, soybean, and cotton, all valued at $146.9 = million.=20
Countries in = Latin America=20 and the Caribbean are aggressively adopting = biotech=20 crops and are poised to move to adopt more = varieties in=20 the near future. The adoption process is led by=20 Argentina, with nearly 14 million hectares = planted to=20 biotech soybean, maize, and cotton. Brazil has 3 = million=20 hectares planted to biotech soybean.=20
The study is = available at=20 http://www.apec.umn.edu/faculty/frunge/globalbiotech04.pdf.=20
ANNOUNCEMENT=20
WORKSHOP ON ROLE OF BIOTECH IN = 2005=20
A workshop on The = Role of=20 Biotechnology for the Characterization and = Conservation=20 of Crop, Forestry, Animal, and Fishery Genetic = Resources=20 is slated for the 5th-7th of March, 2005, in = Villa=20 Gualino, Turin, Italy.
Organized by the = FAO Working=20 Group on Biotechnology, the Fondazione per le=20 Biotecnologie, the ECONOGENE project, and the = Societ=E0=20 Italiana di Genetica Agraria, the workshop = includes=20 sessions on the status of the world's = agro-biodiversity;=20 the use of biotechnology for conservation of = genetic=20 resources; and genetic characterization of = populations=20 and its use in conservation decision-making. =
For more = information, visit=20 http://www.fobiotech.org/FAO_2005.htm

CBTNews = Features

Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush =
Dr. Gurdev = Singh Khush=20 is one of the world's authorities on crop=20 breeding, and a major force behind the = development=20 of productive rice varieties. He is often = referred=20 to as one of the fathers of the Green = Revolution=20 in rice farming.
Dr. Khush was = born...

Read = more...

DOCUMENT REMINDER=20
DOCUMENT ON BT MAIZE IN SPAIN = RELEASED=20
In First impact = of=20 biotechnology in the EU: Bt maize adoption in = Spain, M.=20 Demont and E. Tollens of the Katholieke = Universiteit=20 Leuven in Belgium present a bio-economic model=20 constructed to estimate the impact of Bt maize = adoption=20 in Spain. Spain provides 11% of the European = Union grain=20 maize, and is the only country in the Union = where=20 transgenic crops are currently grown by = farmers.=20
Bt maize has been = grown in=20 Europe since 1998. During the 6-year period from = 1998-2003, a total welfare gain of 15.5 million = euros=20 was estimated from its adoption, of which = Spanish=20 farmers captured two thirds, the rest accruing = to the=20 seed industry.=20
Read the abstract = at=20
http://www.ingentaconnect.
com/content/aab/annals/
200= 4/00000145/00000002/
art00008;jsessionid=3D3f25lk2
tr39g6.victoria.= =20
Download the=20 complete article
at the <= U>ISAAA=20 website.=20

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Copyright=20 =A9 2004. CropBiotech=20 Net.