[searcabic] Latest news postings on biotechnology, 03 May 2009

Sun May 3 17:12:28 CST 2009

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*Posted 03 May 2009*

*PHILIPPINES*
1-PROBLEM FORMULATION: A CRITICAL STEP IN RISK ASSESSMENT OF GM CROPS
2-BEARER OF NEW TECHNOLOGY
3-GMO BAN SEEN TO COLLAPSE ANIMAL INDUSTRY
4-FILIPINO SCIENTIST STUDIES GENES INVOLVED IN BANANA RIPENING

*INDIA*
5-VIRUS-RESISTANT GM POTATO, GROUNDNUT UNDER TRIAL STAGE

*PAKISTAN*
6-BIOTECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE FARM PRODUCTIVITY: SEMINAR

GLOBAL
7-INTERNATIONAL TEAM FINDS KEY GENE THAT ALLOWS PLANTS TO SURVIVE DROUGHT
     *1-PROBLEM FORMULATION: A CRITICAL STEP IN RISK ASSESSMENT OF GM CROPS
*
by Jenny A. Panopio
30-April-2009 SEARCA BIC News Release

The development of regulatory dossiers in the process of risk assessment of
biotech crops aims to avoid unnecessary cost and delay, and must improve and
provide guidance in decision making of the regulators. However, prior to
risk characterization and risk evaluation, the most essential step in any
risk assessment process is the problem formulation. This was shared by Drs.
Hector Quemada and Karen Hokanson of the Risk Assessment Research and
Biotechnology and Biodiversity Interface (BBI) Component of the Program for
Biosafety Systems during the Seminar on Improving Environmental Risk
Assessment, Problem Formulation and Tiered Testing held last April 28 at the
Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in
Agriculture (SEARCA) based at University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Identification of adverse effects or problem formulation is an important
initial step in rigorous risk assessment as it allows for discerning the
need-to-know from the nice-to-know biosafety concerns thus narrowing down
the risk hypotheses that need to be addressed. A well-designed and
implemented process for problem formulation will improve the quality,
consistency, clarity and transparency of environmental risk assessment. The
use of tiered approaches for testing relevant risk hypotheses were also
highlighted during the seminar. The established methodologies and
science-based risk assessment allows for the wider adoption and use of GM
crops.

The seminar which was attended by professors, scientists, regulators and
research managers was organized by SEARCA, SEARCA Biotechnology Information
Center and the Program for Biosafety Systems.

The pdf copy of the powerpoint presentations can be downloaded at
www.bic.searca.org.

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Jenny A. Panopio
Special Project Coordinator & Network Administrator
Biotechnology Information Center
SEAMEO SEARCA
College, Laguna 4031
Email: jap at agri.searca.org <jap at agri.searca.org>
Tel: (63-49)536-2290 loc 169 or 406
Tele/Fax: (63-49)536-4105
URL: www.bic.searca.org
*------------------------------------------------------------*
*2-BEARER OF NEW TECHNOLOGY*
by Zac B. Sarian
30-April-2009 Manila
Bulletin<http://mb.com.ph/articles/204148/bearer-new-technology>

If you ask progressive rice and corn farmers in Occidental Mindoro who
taught them improved techniques of grains production, they will most likely
point to Jose Paquibongan, an agriculturist who first worked in Mindanao but
who has already settled for good in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

After finishing the agriculture course at the Bohol State College of
Agriculture and Fisheries in Bilar, Bohol, he first worked at a relative’s
coffee farm in Mati, Davao Oriental, and then with the local government of
Tagum, Davao del Norte. He was assigned as rice technician until 1987 in
Tagum until he saw an excellent opening at the Ayala Agriculture Co. based
in General Santos City which produced hybrid corn seeds.

Ayala assigned him as technical representative in Occidental Mindoro and
that’s where he disseminated the modern techniques of corn production. One
of the farmers who is very thankful for the technology he learned from Joe
is Dakila E. Danseco of Sitio Pandan, Brgy. Claudio Salgado, Sablayan town.

Danseco’s father was a fisherman and Dakila only started farming in 1975
when he got married. But it was what may be called marginal farming for as
late as 1989, he was farming only 2.8 hectares that he owned.

Then came Joe Paquibongan who brought with him the new seeds and the
improved techniques of planting. Instead of planting three seeds per hill
and spacing the hills about 70 centimeters in the row, Joe taught them to
plant a single seed per hill at distances of about 8 cm apart. Now, Danseco
has become a rich man because his production tremendously improved. Today,
he is planting corn on 40 hectares that he owns. When it is rainy season,
the farms (parcels are found in several places) are planted to rice.

Danseco has also diversified into onion production in a big way, producing
Red Pinoy, Batanes Jumbo and the native variety (Tanduyong) on 2.5 hectares.
Joe has helped many other farmers to become rich.

Now, he is busy teaching them how to use the bio-organic fertilizer called
Durabloom which has consistent quality as it is produced with the use of
special enzymes and beneficial microorganisms. He just started his campaign
when he joined Novatech last September but already his demo farms are
showing that indeed bio-organic fertilizer can tremendously increase
production of various crops.

What’s great is that Joe himself practices in his own farm what he preaches.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*3-GMO BAN SEEN TO COLLAPSE ANIMAL INDUSTRY *
by Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas
30-April-2009 Philippine Daily
Inquirer<http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090430-202273/GMO-ban-seen-to-collapse-animal-industry>

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines -- The provincial ban on genetically modified
(GMO) products could lead to the collapse of the local livestock, poultry
and game fowl industries, the provincial veterinarian warned on Wednesday.

Almost 90 percent of the ingredients for poultry and livestock feeds needed
in Negros Occidental are imported, and the majority of these are genetically
modified, Renante Decena said.

Average feed requirement is 140 metric tons a day, 60 percent or which is
corn and the remaining volume is made up of soybeans, wheat, fishmeal
vitamins and minerals.

The 91.5 MT of corn is needed for about one million broilers, four million
game fowls, half a million layers, 800,000 ducks and geese, and 400,000
pigs, Decena said.

The provincial government recently ordered the shipping out of tons of
genetically modified corn in compliance with an ordinance banning GMO
products.

But Decena said the the GMO imports were needed because the livestock
industry imports all of its soybeans, sorghum and wheat meal, and 90 percent
of its corn for feeds.

People involved in the livestock, poultry and game fowl industries will meet
today to discuss their feeds shortage problem.

If they will seek a moratorium on the GMO ban, the governor will have to
make a decision, Decena said.

Gov. Isidro Zayco said the provincial government is duty-bound to enforce
the GMO ban. But he said it would receive the position papers of those
aggrieved for consideration.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*4-FILIPINO SCIENTIST STUDIES GENES INVOLVED IN BANANA RIPENING*
by Jenny A. Panopio
24-April-2009 SEARCA BIC News Release

Scientists from the University of the Philippines Los Banos were able to
successfully isolate and analyze the gene involved in the developmental
control of ripening in banana. Named as MaMADS2, the gene cloned from the
cDNA of ripe banana fruit, was found to have putative sequence that shares
structural sequences with Type II MADS-box transcription factors. MADS-box
gene transcription factors are regulating genes which controls flower
development and organogenesis. Promoter region analysis showed the presence
of known binding sites for MADS-box, hinting at possible autoregulation of
MaMADS2 gene transcription.

The gene expression of MaMADS2 was compared with a known-MaMADS1 gene in the
pulp and tissue of ripening banana. They found that MaMADS2 expression
starts to increase before the climacteric in both pulp and peel of bananas
while MaMADS1 expression increased only after the ethylene peak was
attained. The increase in MaMADS2 expression was earlier in fruits stored at
low humidity showing that the gene is expressed in response to stress
resulting in developmental shift and earlier ripening. MaMADS1 expression
appears to be ethylene- induced while MaMADS2 acts upstream of the ethylene
pathway and is involved in the developmental shift to ripening.

This is the first report of the presence of the MaMADS2 gene from banana, a
climacteric fruit. The results show the involvement of a regulatory gene
that acts upstream of the ethylene pathway, which has been the target of
many climacteric ripening control experiments. The identification of the
developmental factor in banana shows another avenue for regulatory pathways
in ripening that could also control the endogenous ethylene pathway. These
findings provide critical information in development of research strategies
in prolonging the shelf-life of banana.

To see the abstract and order the full paper visit
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=19911512. For additional
information about the research work, contact eteresaocampo at yahoo.com or
email bic at agri.searca.org.

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Jenny A. Panopio
Special Project Coordinator & Network Administrator
Biotechnology Information Center
SEAMEO SEARCA
College, Laguna 4031
Email: jap at agri.searca.org <jap at agri.searca.org>
Tel: (63-49)536-2290 loc 169 or 406
Tele/Fax: (63-49)536-4105
URL: www.bic.searca.org
*------------------------------------------------------------*
*INDIA
5-VIRUS-RESISTANT GM POTATO, GROUNDNUT UNDER TRIAL STAGE
*by Joseph Vackayil
27-April-2009 The Financial
Express<http://www.financialexpress.com/news/virusresistant-gm-potato-groundnut-under-trial-stage/451407/>

CHENNAI, India - Genetically modified virus-resistant potato and groundnut,
and drought and salinity-tolerant rice are under various stages of trials in
the green houses and confined fields of select universities and research
institutions in the country.

The programme is spearheaded by the Agricultural Biotechnology Support
Project-II (ABSP-II) of the Cornell University, which helped the development
of the fruit and shoot borer-resistant brinjal and led it to the Genetic
Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) gateway for commercialisation.

The GM brinjal was developed by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company
(Mahyco). The other three were developed by researchers in the US
universities. ABSP-II facilitated the transfer of the genetic technology for
all the four to public sector universities and institutions for the
development of native varieties.

Prof Ray Wu of the Cornell University has demonstrated that stress tolerance
in plants can be induced by manipulating the genes that are responsible for
the accumulation of the sugar 'trehalose'. Prof Wu's system is designed in
such a way that the bioengineered genes are specifically turned on when the
plant is under drought or salt stress.

Through ABSP-II, the trehalose genes has been transferred to Directorate of
Rice Research (DRR), Hyderabad, to be introduced into local rice varieties
and to evaluate the positive events in green house conditions and screen
them for drought tolerance.

According to information form Sathguru Management Consultants, regional
coordinator for ABSP-II, DRR will conduct confined field evaluations for
drought tolerance for the transgenic lines of IR64 and the Central Soil
Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, will evaluate the salinity
tolerance of the same. The Tamil Nadu Agriculture University is to evaluate
the efficacy of the selected events through limited field trials.

It is estimated that in India, 30% of the agricultural area receives less
than 750 mm rainfall and chronically drought-prone and 35% of the area with
750-1125mm rainfall is also subject to drought once in four to five years.
ABSP-II estimates show that 68% of the total sown area covering about 142
million hectare is vulnerable to drought conditions. Moreover India accounts
for nearly 47% of saline, 20% of sodic and 7% of acid sulphate soils of
tropical Asia.

For fighting the dreaded 'late blight' virus in potatoes, ABSP-II has
assisted the transfer of 'Rb gene' to the Central Potato Research Institute
(CPRI), Shimla. The gene was isolated from a wild relative of potato by
researchers at the University of Wisconsin and incorporated into a popular
potato variety in the US.

CPRI has transferred the Rb gene to two popular varieties 'kufri jyothi' and
'kufri bahar'. Confined field trials were conducted during November 2008. It
will be field evaluated during May-June 2009.

The disease, which attacks almost 50% of the crop in the country, could not
be controlled by pesticides or fungicides. Genetic engineering is giving an
affordable solution to poor farmers. Groundnut cultivated in 7.5 million
hectare in India by over nine million marginal farmers in semi-arid regions
is subject to the attack of 'tobacco streak virus' (TSV) leading to severe
crop and income loss.

Under ABSP-II, Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
and Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Centre, USA teamed up with Acharya N G
Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, the International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, and National
Bureau of Plant Genetic Research, New Delhi, to develop transgenic groundnut
with ability to fight TSV. Two varieties of groundnut plants were developed
and were being evaluated in green house.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*PAKISTAN
6-BIOTECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE FARM PRODUCTIVITY: SEMINAR
*26-April-2009 The News<http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=174275>

LAHORE: The country’s cotton production has fallen to 11.5 million bales
from 14.5 million bales in 2004-05, while the cotton output of India in five
years has retained more than double from 16 million to 34 million bales.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Challenges and Opportunities in
Agri-biotechnology’, organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, speakers pointed out that India leaped forward in cotton
production by adopting BT cotton hybrid technology that Pakistan has still
not adopted.

They said Pakistan would have to focus on genetically-modified and hybrid
crops to tap true potential of agricultural productivity in the country in
the shortest possible time.

Provincial Agriculture Minister Mohammad Ali Aulak, while stressing the need
for establishment of institutes both at provincial and federal levels for
creating awareness among the farming community about genetically-modified
(GM) technology, said that sustainability and improvement in crop yields is
the major challenge in coping with threats of increasing population and
depleting water resources.

He said biotechnology has shown considerable potential to raise agricultural
productivity by addressing problems which could not be solved through the
conventional research.

Among other applications of biotechnology, development of genetically
modified organisms is the promising tool to facilitate plant breeding in
development of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant crops.

The minister said GM crops have contributed to sustainable development in
several significant ways. These included contribution to food security and
more affordable food, conservation of biodiversity, alleviation of poverty
and hunger, mitigating climate change, reduction in greenhouse gases and
contribution to cost-effective production of biofuels and above all
contribution to sustainable economic benefits.

In addition to aiding issues of food security, genetically modified crops
have an important role to play in lessening the environmental impact and
improving the sustainability of food production. Insect-resistant rice, for
example, has potential to benefit about one billion people.

LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali said Pakistan’s agriculture sector was
losing heavily due to insufficient utilisation of biotechnology as the magic
progress of worldwide agriculture takes place only due to genetically
modified crops. He said the agriculture sector of Pakistan has a huge
potential.

“It continues to be the single largest and dominant driving force for growth
as well as the main source of livelihood for 66 per cent of population.” But
it has always faced two major problems.

First, production per acre is lower than many countries. Secondly, around 40
per cent of production is wasted in post-harvest losses due to insufficient
utilisation of biotechnology.

He stressed the need for utilising this beneficial technology for more and
more production in various economic sectors.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*GLOBAL
7-INTERNATIONAL TEAM FINDS KEY GENE THAT ALLOWS PLANTS TO SURVIVE DROUGHT
*01-May-2009 via Checkbiotech
Green<http://greenbio.checkbiotech.org/news/international_team_finds_key_gene_allows_plants_survive_drought>

A team of scientists from Canada, Spain and the United States has identified
a key gene that allows plants to defend themselves against environmental
stresses like drought, freezing and heat.

"Plants have stress hormones that they produce naturally and that signal
adverse conditions and help them adapt," says team member Peter McCourt, a
professor of cell and systems biology at the University of Toronto. "If we
can control these hormones we should be able to protect crops from adverse
environmental conditions which is very important in this day and age of
global climate change."

The research team, led by Sean Cutler of the University of California,
Riverside, has identified the receptor of the key hormone in stress
protection called abscisic acid (ABA). Under stress, plants increase their
ABA levels, which help them survive a drought through a process not fully
understood. The area of ABA receptors has been a highly controversial topic
in the field of plant biology that has involved retractions of scientific
papers as well as the publication of papers of questionable significance. A
receptor is a protein molecule in a cell to which mobile signaling molecules
may attach. Usually at the top of a signaling pathway, the receptor
functions like a boss relaying orders to the team below that then executes
particular decisions in the cell. "Scientists have been trying to solve the
ABA receptor problem for more than 20 years, and claims for ABA receptors
are not easily received by the scientific community," says Cutler.

This team used a new approach called chemical genomics to identifying a
synthetic chemical, designated pyrabactin, which specifically activates an
ABA receptor in the model laboratory plant Arabidopsis. With pyrabactin in
hand it was now possible to directly identify the ABA receptor. "This
approach not only found a gene that had been long sought by the plant
science research community but also showed that chemical genomics can
identify new chemicals like pyrabactin that may have profound impacts on the
way we farm in both the developing and developed world," says McCourt.

The study results will appear April 30 in Science Express and in the May 22
issue of Science magazine. Lead author Sean Cutler is a former University of
Toronto scientist who is now an assistant professor of plant cell biology in
the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at the University of California,
Riverside. In addition to the University of Toronto and the University of
California, Riverside, team members were from University of California, San
Diego, Universidad Politecnica, Spain, the University of Ontario Institute
of Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara; and the Medical
College of Wisconsin.

Research was funded by the Canada Research Chair program, the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council. the National Science Foundation
and the National Institutes of Health.

CONTACTS:
Peter McCourt
Cell and Systems Biology
University of Toronto
mccourt at csb.utoronto.ca
416-978-0523
416-978-0837
Kim Luke
Arts & Science Communications
University of Toronto
kim.luke at utoronto.ca
416-978-4352

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*DISCLAIMER*: Articles that are posted in this news service do not
necessarily reflect the views of SEARCA.

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*SEARCA invites participants to International Training on Responding to
Changing Climate * <http://www.searca.org/web/news/2009/apr/web/28.html>

*Putting a price on clean air and
water*<http://www.searca.org/web/news/2009/apr/web/21.html>

*---------------------------------------------------------*
*Download available paper and/or presentation handouts of some notable
speakers presented at SEARCA Agriculture and Development Series. CLICK HERE.
* <http://www.searca.org/web/adss/2009/index.html>

*2nd International Training on Responding to Changing Climate:
Knowledge-based Strategies in Managing Risks in Agriculture and
Environmental Management* <http://www.bic.searca.org/>
*SEAMEO RETRAC, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
11 - 15 May 2009*

*Creating Public Awareness, Knowledge and Understanding of Biotech Crops:
Media Conference and Social Marketing of Public Sector Biotech Products in
Eastern Visayas* <http://www.bic.searca.org/>
*Ormoc, Leyte
12 - 14 May 2009*

*20th FCSSP Scientific Conference* <http://www.bic.searca.org/>
*Siliman University, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, PHILIPPINES
18 - 23 May 2009*

*2nd Annual Biofuels
Summit*<http://www.bic.searca.org/events/index2009.html#may>
*Marina Mandarin, SINGAPORE
25 - 27 May 2009*

*International Symposium on Second Green Revolution: Priorities, Programmes,
Social and Ethical Issues (BIOSPECTRUM
2009)*<http://www.bic.searca.org/events/index2009.html#july>
*Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, INDIA
02 - 04 July 2009*

*-------------------------------------------------------------*
*CALL FOR APPLICATION

Department of Agriculture, Philippines: Biotechnology Research Fellowship
Program
8 Slots Available for Senior Scientist Research Grant and Research
Fellowship Grant
View details here.

CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS

Enabling Bio-innovations for Poverty Alleviation for Asia: 2009 Small Grants
Competition Program of the Asian Institute of Technology
(AIT)*<http://www.bic.searca.org/home_files/announcement/bioinnovationasia2009.pdf>

*2009 iBoP SMALL GRANTS COMPETITION

Open to Individual researchers and groups/institutions who are working on
marginalized based of pyramid (BoP) sector issues and/or the development of
S&T-related policies can apply for grants of up to 25,000 CAD (Canadian
Dollars). Deadline of submission of applications is on 22 MAY
2009.*<http://www.bic.searca.org/>
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