[searcabic] Latest news postings on biotechnology, 09 September 2009

[SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center]

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*Posted 09 September 2009*

PHILIPPINES
1-BETTER AWARENESS FOR FILIPINO SCIENTISTS
2-CORN FARMERS TAP MONSANTO FOR SOYBEAN ALTERNATIVE
3-GOLDEN RICE TO HIT MARKET BY 2011
4-NEGOCC TO ALLOW GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
5-DEVELOP GENETICALLY MODIFIED COCONUT, PINOY SCIENTISTS URGED

VIETNAM
6-GM CROPS TO PLAY KEY ROLE ON FARMS

INDIA
7-INDIA CONSIDERS REQUEST FOR EXPORT OF COTTON TO PAKISTAN

CANADA
8-DUPONT GETS CANADA'S OK FOR CORN, SOYBEAN SEEDS
     *1-BETTER AWARENESS FOR FILIPINO SCIENTISTS*
by Alexander Villafania
07-September-2009
Inquirer.net<http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20090907-224037/Better_awareness_for_Filipino_scientists>

DoST wants faster patent process

MANILA, Philippines – Few people know that the Philippines has a number of
nuclear physicists, nanotechnology experts, biotechnology researchers, and
computer scientists.

Yet Filipino scientists strive to champion the capabilities of the country’s
scientific community.

“We have to build public awareness about what we’re doing and build interest
enough to bring more people to become part of the science community,”
according to Fortunato Dela Peña, Department of Science and Technology
undersecretary.

Dela Peña said the Philippines has a good pool of scientists, some of whom
are already working feverishly on various researches, including
nanotechnology and biotech, which can become viable commercial ventures in
the future.

He added that many young elementary and high school students excel in
science and mathematics, some of whom actually win competitions here and
abroad.

“The interest is high for some students but we want more of the younger
generation to become part of the scientific community.”

More importantly, many of these projects can also build a library of
intellectual property for the Philippines.

Dela Pena cited that the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines has
also been closely working with DOST to speed up the processing of copyright
and patent filings from researches and discoveries.

“They wanted the speed of filing to be shorter so that the scientist can
further focus on his work,” Dela Peña said.

With the recent conclusion of this year’s National Science and Technology
Week celebrations Dela Peña said the department is now focusing on the
upcoming annual convention of the Philippine Association for the Advancement
of Science (PHILAAS).

The event would bring together scientists and researchers to showcase their
recent projects. There would also be several discussions on a number of
topics, specifically on nanotech, biotech, and energy development.

The IPOPHIL will also be represented to discuss the importance of patents
and patent filing.

The DOST’s Science Education Institute will also be discussing the first
Pinoy Science Storybook. It will contain stories of well-known scientists as
well as Filipino scientists who have contributed to the advancement of
science.

Among the scientists included are Alexander Fleming, Marie Curie, Gregor
Mendel, Louis Pasteur, Isaac Newton, among others.

Filipino scientists included in the storybook are Ramon Barba, Emerita de
Guzman, Rafael Guerrero III, Julian Banzon, and Francisco Quisumbing. The
storybook, which will be presented to students in Grades 1 and 2, would be
published in early 2010.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*2-CORN FARMERS TAP MONSANTO FOR SOYBEAN ALTERNATIVE*
by Neil Jerome C. Morales
02-September-2009 Business World

A group of local corn farmers have asked biotechnology giant Monsanto Co. to
develop and distribute a genetically-modified (GM) soybean variety as an
alternative crop.

"We are asking Monsanto to help us develop a tropical variety soybean that
is round-up ready [weed-tolerant]," Roderico R. Bioco, chairman emeritus of
the Philippine Maize Federation, Inc. (Philmaize), told reporters late
Monday.

"Soybean is one of the best alternative [crop] and there is a big market for
soybeans."

Philmaize hopes to sign a deal with the biotechnology giant late this year,
he added.

A local Monsanto executive refused to comment on the group’s request, saying
that all statements will have to come from the mother company in the US.

Industry data show that around 1.5-2.5 million metric tons of soybean meal —
oil-free soybean — are imported by feed millers yearly. Soybean accounts for
a fifth of animal feed milling ingredients, Mr. Bioco said.

Mr. Bioco added that planting soybean is like using three bags of
fertilizers per hectare of land due to its nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which
will benefit the next cropping of corn or rice.

Soybean is sold in the local market at P18-P24 per kilo.

Philmaize is looking at planting soybean in 125,000-150,000 hectares of land
in the corn-producing province of Isabela.

Missouri-based Monsanto, which sells GM crops like corn, cotton, soybeans
and canola, owns the technology of GM soybean. Top soybean producers
Argentina and the United States produce temperate GM soybean varieties while
the tropical GM soybean variety is propagated in Brazil.

Mr. Bioco said all GM soy-beans produced locally can be sold to the Mindanao
Grain Processing Co., Inc.

Mindanao Grains’ P500-million Reina Mercedes Post-harvest Facility in
Isabela will be completed next year.

Mr. Bioco said "yields [of local soybeans] are not good enough to be
profitable."

Candido B. Damo, chief agri-culturist for the Agriculture department’s
National Corn Program, concurred. "Compared with corn, profits in soybean
planting is less due to low yields."

Mr. Damo said a soybean variety developed by the Institute of Plant Breeding
of University of the Philippines in Los Baños yields about 1.5-2 metric tons
per hectare.

Local soybean plantations are located in the Cagayan Valley, as well as in
northern and southern Mindanao, he said.

The GM soybean produces 2.5 MT per hectare, Mr. Bioco said.

However, Mr. Damo said "[Monsanto and Philmaize] should first test the
productivity of the tropical variety in the Philippines."

Corn farmers have protested the government’s decision last week to cut its
buying price to P10/kg from the P13/kg adopted last May, citing production
costs that average P10/kg.

Corn sold to private traders have sunk to P7-P9/kg due to the excessive
imports of feed wheat, an alternative to corn in feed milling, under the 0%
duty (down from 7%) that the government put in place from January to June
21.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*3-GOLDEN RICE TO HIT MARKET BY 2011*
01-September-2009 Food and Beverage News via Checkbiotech
Green<http://greenbio.checkbiotech.org/news/golden_rice_hit_market_2011>

A genetically modified variety of rice called the Golden Rice will hit the
market by 2011. This rice is developed to produce a carotenoid called beta
carotene which gives the rice an organgish-yellow hue, and hence its name.
Moreover, the beta carotene becomes vitamin A when processed by the body,
according to a report from Manila, Philippines. As per WHO statistics, four
out of 10 children aged between six months and five years, and three out of
10 school children show symptoms of vitamin A deficiency.

Similarly, 50% lactating and pregnant women also suffer from problems
associated with vitamin A deficiency. Since rice is a staple in many Indian
states, vitamin A fortified Golden Rice will be a boon to children and
nursing mothers. As per data available in the Philippines, daily consumption
of three cups of cooked Golden Rice can meet the vitamin A requirement of a
person. Moreover Golden Rice also has the nutritional properties that can
arrest avoidable blindness in children.

Research on this rice variety has been going on for more than a decade. The
Golden Rice technology is based on a simple principle. Rice plants
accumulate beta carotene in their leaves but not in the grain. By the
addition of two genes -- phytoene synthase and phytoene desaturase - using
modern technology, the beta carotene gets accumulated in the endosperm,
which is the edible part of the grain. The technology involved in developing
Golden Rice is free because its inventors have released all intellectual
property rights to the public through the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board.

Golden Rice is expected to be released in the Philippines in 2011. Markets
in India and Vietnam too are expected to get their version of Golden Rice
during the same period.

The first Golden Rice was developed by Dr Ingo Potrykus and Dr Peter Beyer
in 2000. Later, the duo teamed up with Syngenta, which produced Golden Rice
with higher levels of beta carotene. Syngenta donated these materials to the
Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, which oversees development of Golden Rice in
rice-producing countries, including India.

Golden Rice-1 was developed in 2003 and Golden Rice-2 in 2005. At present,
the Philippine Rice Research Institute, popularly known as PhilRice, is
developing a new Golden Rice variety that will be resistant to pests like
tungro and bacterial blight.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*4-NEGOCC TO ALLOW GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS *
by Carla Gomez (Inquirer Visayas )
30-August-2009 Inquirer.net<http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090830-222756>

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines—Despite the insistence of
environmentalists to keep the province the country’s organic farming
capital, the provincial board will amend an ordinance banning the entry of
products with genetically modified organisms (GMO).

Vice Governor Emilio Yulo III on Wednesday said the board reached a
consensus to amend the ordinance after a series of deliberations and
feedback from scientists and experts. He said most members of various
committees that reviewed the ordinance had preliminary agreements, among
them allowing the entry of GMO products for processing into feeds to cater
to the needs of livestock and poultry industries.

The board also agreed to allow the entry of non-living GMOs,
pharmaceuticals, and medical products, and the conduct of research and
development under strict controlled conditions, he added.

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, organic farmers, and members of civic and
environmentalist groups, including Greeenpeace, opposed the lifting or
amending of the ban.

Greenpeace, a global campaigner for the protection and conservation of the
environment, called on the provincial board last week to preserve Negros
Occidental as the country’s organic farming capital.

The vice governor said the amendments would pass through normal legislative
processes. However, he said, the local law would remain in effect until
amended.

The proposed amendment would be referred to the board for deliberation, he
said. It would take at least three weeks to amend an ordinance.

Negros Occidental pioneered the ban on GMOs when it passed the ordinance,
also called the “Safeguard Against Genetically Modified Organisms,” in 2007.

The province, along with Negros Oriental, has been putting measures in place
to turn Negros into an organic food island.

In April, the Negros Occidental provincial government upheld the ban by
rejecting shipments of illegal GMO corn at the capital’s port in Bacolod
City, prompting protests from livestock and poultry growers who claimed they
were losing millions of pesos because of lack of adequate supply of GMO-free
feeds.

Arguing that there was no scientific proof that GMO products were harmful to
health, the growers demanded a moratorium or the lifting of the ban,
prompting the board to review the measure.

The growers also insisted that the GMO products were necessary to ensure
food security.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*5-DEVELOP GENETICALLY MODIFIED COCONUT, PINOY SCIENTISTS URGED *
by Helen Flores
27-August-2009 The Philippine
STAR<http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=499603&publicationSubCategoryId=75>

MANILA, Philippines - A University of the Philippines professor has urged
Filipino scientists to develop genetically modified coconut to increase the
production of lauric acid, a substance found mainly in coconut oil and is
used in making soaps, insecticides and cosmetics.

Dr. Calixto Protacio of the University of the Philippines Los Banos’ Crop
Science Cluster said the development of canola with a lauric acid content of
60 percent is threatening the Philippines’ lead in the oils market.

Canola is already available in the United States although it is not yet used
to a large extent in Asia.

Protacio said local scientists should use the same biotechnological advances
for GM canola in coconut, stressing that it offers the “fastest avenue for
coconut improvement and makes it possible to target the gene(s) of
interest.”

Protacio called for urgent research to regain the competitive advantage of
coconut oil over canola oil, which is derived from rapeseed boosted by a
gene from the California bay tree and another gene from coconut to raise its
lauric acid content from virtually zero to 60 percent.

The US and Canada produce a huge volume of rapeseed.

Protacio said coconut oil used to enjoy a monopoly of a segment in the oil
and fats market, estimated at between two and three percent that could not
be substituted with cheaper oils.

“Coconut oil is difficult to substitute with other vegetable oils because it
is mainly composed of medium chain fatty acids, the most dominant of which
is lauric acid, which occurs at 49 percent level,” he said.

Lauric acid, a medium-length, long-chain fatty acid, is found in the form of
glycerides in a number of natural fats, especially coconut and palm kernel.
It offers advantages in food processing as it acts as a kind of
preservative, staving off oxidation and spoilage.

“Lauric acid, a 12-carbon molecule without any double bonds (which makes it
a saturated fatty acid), lends unique properties in the food, soap and
cosmetic industry. It was also shown to have antiviral and anti-bacterial
properties when used as virgin coconut oil,” Protacio said.

In the past, Protacio said the only traditional competitor is palm kernel
oil, which also contains roughly the same amount of lauric acid as coconut
oil but the volume is quite low to really pose a threat to coconut oil.

Palm kernel oil is derived from the meat of the oil palm seed. The main
product of palm oil is derived from the husk or pericarp of the fruit that
contains mainly palmitic acid (a 16-carbon long molecule), Protacio said.

He said a similar fate befell the sugar industry in the 1980s, when the US
reduced its imports as American biotechnologists developed high-fructose
corn syrup.

He said biotechnology did the trick for US rapeseed and corn while Filipino
policy-makers and environmentalists and anti-GMO groups are still squabbling
over the propriety of using GMOs.

Protacio said rapeseed produces lauric acid through the introduction of the
acyl-ACP thioesterase gene from the California bay tree that was
over-expressed in the first line of canola.

US biotechnologists introduced the lysophosphatidic acid acyl transferase
(LPAAT) gene from coconut in the second line of canola, resulting in the 60
percent laurate content, he said.

“Thus, coconut oil may now be substituted by the more available canola oil
and this has posed a threat to the traditional market share of coconut oil
in the world market,” Protacio said.

Currently, six genes involved in the biosynthesis of lauric acid in coconut
have been characterized and cloned at the UPLB, including the thioesterase
and LPAAT genes, all coming from coconut, Protacio said.

“However, these genes are still as yet unutilized because a reliable
regeneration protocol is still lacking. The transfer of genes (or
transformation) can only be done in cells or simple tissues after which the
transformed cells have to be regenerated into a whole new palm for the
improved characters to be manifested,” he said.

“The six cloned genes for increasing the lauric acid content of coconut are
languishing in a -80 degrees Centigrade freezer. They have not been
introduced into any coconut cell culture to produce a transgenic coconut
cell line,” he said.

Protacio said that although a reproducible cell regeneration system is still
lacking in coconut, some success in tissue culture research has been
achieved over the years at the Albay Research Center of the Philippine
Coconut Authority (PCA).

“Around 19 coconut palms derived from cell tissue culture from several
experiments have been produced which are now growing in the field. However,
the tissue culture method is not yet consistently reproducible. In contrast,
tissue culture of palm oil has already been in existence since the 80s in
Malaysia and a transgenic oil palm has already been reported,” he said.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*VIETNAM
6-GM CROPS TO PLAY KEY ROLE ON FARMS
*29-August-2009 Vietnam
News<http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02AGR290809>

HA NOI — Genetically modified crops are expected to make up to 50 per cent
of the country’s total agricultural output by 2020.

Experts met yesterday at the National Meeting on Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMO) and Biological Safety Management on GMO to discuss issues
pertaining to GMO in domestic agriculture.

"In order to develop and apply GMOs into agricultural production in a
sustainable way, it is necessary to set up and implement effective
biotechnology regulations and safety management mechanisms for GMOs and
foods derived from recombinant DNA," said Nguyen Xuan Cuong, deputy minister
of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE).

A decree on biotechnology safety management for GMOs drafted by MoNRE will
be submitted to the Government in October, according to Le Thanh Binh,
deputy head of MoNRE’s Biodiversity Preservation Department.

Under this decree, individuals and organisations who want to research and
develop GMO technology would have to meet all standards on staff and
equipment set by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Binh said that GMOs being considered for use in food or other products would
have to undergo a number of tests to assess potential risks to the
environment, biodiversity or people’s health. All these tests will be
regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and
the Ministry of Health (MoH).

After assessment, organisations or individuals would have to show the
approval of the GMO product to MoNRE; which would then grant a certificate
to certify the product is safe before it is released into the environment.
For GMOs being used for food, MoH would grant a certificate that declares
the product safe for human consumption.

Products which contain more than 5 per cent of GMOs will have a label
stating that these products "used genetically modified technology",
according to the draft decree.

Providing information about GMOs products for consumers is also regulated in
this decree.

Binh said that this decree delineated clearly the responsibility of every
State agency to ensure the safe usage of biotechnology for GMOs, as well as
the rights and tasks of those researching and developing GMOs.

A guidance circular on biotech safety management and the research and
development of GMO technology is being created by the Ministry of Science
and Technology; a circular on biotech safety management for GMO crops is
also being created by MARD.

*Make help*
Cuong said that with biotechnology, plants could be created that are disease
resistant and can withstand drought and floods.

The world had witnessed achievements in modern biotechnology, which could
boost the volume and hardiness of crops to help supply enough food for an
increasing population, said Cuong.

"Application of genetically modifying (GM) technology is an irresistible
trend when scientists can hardly forecast when it will be rainy or sunny or
when drought or floods will occur," said director of the Agricultural
Genetics Institute Le Huy Ham.

Coupled with the loss of agricultural land for industrialisation and
urbanisation, and the fast pace of population growth, there was no other way
to develop plants that would adapt to the changing climate to maintain the
nation’s food security, he added.

Professor Le Tran Binh of the Biotechnology Institute said that a GMO or
genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material
has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques,
generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from
different sources and then combine them into one molecule to create a new
set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it
modified or novel genes.

"Achievements are expressed through transferring into the plants the genes
which help plants to be resistant against diseases and pestilent insects,"
said Binh.

Today, the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, as well as developing
countries worldwide support the use of GM plants. However, many European
countries have yet to agree with their use.

To date, up to 800 million hectares of GM plants have been grown in 25
countries, and about 55 countries allow the sale of foods derived from
recombinant DNA.

Pham Van Toan, chief of MARD’s Biotechnology Department said that the total
profit in the last 10 years that farmers in developing countries have earned
from GMO crops is US$16.5 billion and in developed ones the number is $17.5
billion. Coupled with that, using GMO in agricultural production is
estimated to have helped decrease the usage of pesticides by more than
200,000 tonnes.

However, many opponents had expressed concern about how to ensure GMO
products are safe for people and the environment, said Dr Nguyen Van Khai,
who is well known for his vegetable and plant protection methods.

Cuong said that this technology posed some risks to environment,
biodiversity and people’s health which required the experts and relevant
authorities to find the ways to minimise these effects. — *VNS*

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*INDIA
7-INDIA CONSIDERS REQUEST FOR EXPORT OF COTTON TO PAKISTAN
*29-August-2009 Daily
Times<http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C08%5C29%5Cstory_29-8-2009_pg5_15>

ISLAMABAD: Monsanto, a leading global provider of technology-based solutions
and agricultural products on Friday said Indian regulatory authorities were
considering Monsanto’s request for exporting hybrid cotton seeds to Pakistan
for trial purposes and the process was moving forward.

Official spokesperson of the Mosanto told Daily Times India has not banned
the export of Bt. Cotton seed to Pakistan. Monsanto Pakistan has been
associated with Pakistan farmers since 1998 providing superior quality seeds
and herbicides. Official in the ministry of food and agriculture told Daily
Times today that as it was for the first time that Bt. Cotton would be
export from Indian to Pakistan, it needed some rules, which for the time
being not intact.

The Genetic Engineering Review Committee considering the request of
Monsanto, seeking permission for export of Bt. Cotton seed from India to
Pakistan.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*CANADA
8-DUPONT GETS CANADA'S OK FOR CORN, SOYBEAN SEEDS
*03-September-2009 Delaware
Online<http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090903/BUSINESS/90902061/-1/archive/DuPont%2Bgets%2BCanada%2Bs%2BOK%2Bfor%2Bcorn%2B%2Bsoybean%2Bseeds>

DuPont Co. has received Canadian regulatory approval for its Optimum GAT
trait in corn and soybean seeds.

The company said the Canadian government approved the seeds, which are
genetically modified to resist weed killers, for cultivation, animal feed
and food.

DuPont is developing Optimum GAT to compete with Monsanto Co.'s Roundup
Ready trait, which helps crops resist glyphosate, an herbicide.

DuPont says Optimum GAT also gives protection against another class of weed
killers.

The company has received U.S. approval for Optimum GAT soybeans and expects
approval for Optimum GAT corn in the coming months, although the planned
commercial introduction of the corn trait has been pushed back because of
regulatory delays in export markets.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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*---------------------------------------------------------*
*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>
*---------------------------------------------------------*

*African Agriculture in the 21st Century: A Case of Water Efficient Maize
for Africa (WEMA)* <http://www.searca.org/>
*Speaker: Dr. Francis Nang'yo, Manager and Head, Regulatory Affairs Unit,
African Agricultural Technology Foundation, Nairobi Kenya
Drilon Hall, SEARCA, College, Laguna, Philippines
15 September 2009, 4-5 PM*

*Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference
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*Bangkok, Thailand
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*Measures of Hope and Promises Delivered: An International Conference on
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*Bangkok, Thailand
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*Bangkok, Thailand
01-02 October 2009* ** **
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