[searcabic] Latest news postings on biotechnology, 17 Mar 2010

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*Posted 17 March 2010*

PHILIPPINES
1-AFTER CHINA, PHILIPPINES MAY APPROVE GMO RICE
2-RP STILL A BIOTECH 'MEGA COUNTRY'
3-FILIPINA IS FIRST ASEAN WINNER OF L’ORÉAL-UNESCO SCIENCE AWARD

CHINA
4-GM GRAIN STILL 'LONG DISTANCE AWAY'

EUROPE
5-SCIENTISTS FIND NEW WAY TO HELP CROPS FIGHT PESTS

GLOBAL
6-BIOTECH CROPS' GLOBAL VALUE HITS $10.5 BILLION IN 2009

     *1-AFTER CHINA, PHILIPPINES MAY APPROVE GMO RICE*
by Manolo Serapio Jr. (Manila)
16-March-2010 Reuters<http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62F0T720100316?type=FoodandAgriculture10>

(Reuters) - The Philippines may follow China as the next Asian country to
approve widespread planting of genetically modified rice crops, possibly as
early as 2011, an industry expert said on Tuesday.

The Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, is one of several
countries currently in field tests for GMO rice crops, Robert Zeigler,
director general of the Philippines-based International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI), said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit.

Golden Rice, a Vitamin A-enriched grain developed by the IRRI is being bred
into local varieties as well in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Vietnam as
part of testing to ensure safety, he said.

"There's some possibility that it would be the Philippines that will get
approval next, for Golden Rice. Probably late 2011 or early 2012," Zeigler
said.

"Bangladesh will follow very shortly thereafter and India, probably a year
or two later."

China approved the safety of a locally developed insect-resistant Bt strain
of rice last November, opening the door to widespread introduction of the
GMO crop within about three years.

With a gene bank of around 100,000 rice varieties, IRRI breeds high-yielding
strains of rice to meet growing demand.

The institute kickstarted the Green Revolution in the 1960s that boosted
harvests of the staple food for nearly half the world's 6.8 billion
population.

*VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY*
The availability of Golden Rice, which contains genes from maize and other
sources of beta-carotene, was expected to address the deficiency of the
micronutrient, Vitamin A, especially among the poor in Asia.

Over 90 million children in Southeast Asia suffer from Vitamin A deficiency,
more than in any other region, according to IRRI, and the introduction of
Golden Rice in the Philippines may be largely meant to benefit public health
instead of boosting yields to curb imports.

China's newly approved pest-resistant variety could be used for up to 40
percent of the rice crop in the country, the world's top producer and
consumer of the grain.

*PRESSURE ON RICE SUPPLY*
Zeigler said there is continuing pressure on global rice supply with a
reduced amount of both water and land available for rice production which
should prompt concern and study.

The El Nino weather anomaly, which can induce drier weather in Asia, is also
a threat to production, he said.

"We need to have a combination of sound government policies to develop rice
supplies and these policies need to be based on solid scientific research,"
said Zeigler.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*2-RP STILL A BIOTECH 'MEGA COUNTRY'*
by Rudy A. Fernandez
15-March-2010 The Philippine
Star<http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=558020&publicationSubCategoryId=66>

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines — Still a biotechnology “mega-country”.

The Philippines planted genetically modified (GM) corn in 450,00 hectares in
2009, sustaining its ranking in the league of the world’s biotech
“mega-countries”.

A mega-country is one that plants biotech or GM crops in 50,000 ha or more,
as qualified by the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

New York (USA)-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an
international network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation
of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology
applications. The network includes the Southeast Asian Center based in Los
Baños.

Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported that the
Philippines devoted 450,000 ha to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn last
year, up from 350,000 ha in 2008.

The Philippines initially planted Bt maize in 10,769 ha in 2003 when the
crop was approved by the government for commercialization.

Dr. James reported the big strides of GM crops at a recent science forum
billed “Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009: Current Status, Impact,
and Future Prospects” held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City.

Attended by scientists, researchers, academics, industry representatives,
and media people, the seminar was dedicated to the late Dr. Norman Borlaug,
1970 Nobel Peace Laureate who was considered the “Father of the Green
Revolution”. Dr. Borlaug, a regular visitor of the Philippines over the past
few decades, died last Sept. 12 at 95.

“The adoption of biotech maize in the Philippines has increased consistently
every year since it was first commercialized in 2003,” ISAAA noted.

It is the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) region to implement a biotechnology regulatory system for transgenic
crops. The system has also served as a model for other countries in
Southeast Asia.

The system was formulated in 1990 with the issuance of Executive Order No.
430 establishing the National Biosafety Committee of the Philippines (NCBP).

“Future prospects look encouraging, with several ‘homegrown’ biotech
products likely to be commercialized possibility that the Philippines might
be the first country to commercialize Golden Rice around 2012,” ISAAA said.

The United States still topped the list of biotech “mega-countries” in 2009.

It planted 64 million hectares of biotech maize, ecosystem, cotton, canola,
sugarbeat, alfalfa, papaya, and squash. Devoted for maize was 35.2 million
ha (more than the Philippine’s total land area of 30 million ha). Soybean
came in second with 31.4 million ha and upland cotton, 3.5 million ha.

Second to the US was Brazil, which planted 21.4 million ha to soybean, maize
and cotton. It was followed by Argentina with 21.3 million ha also planted
to maize, soybean and cotton.

India ranked fourth with 8.4 million ha planted to cotton. Canada devoted
8.2 million ha to canola, maize, soybean and sugarbeat.

Completing the top 10 biotech crop producers are China, 3.7 million ha;
Paraguay, 2.2 million ha; South Africa, 2.1 million ha; Uruguay, 800,000 ha;
and Bolivia, 800,000 ha.

The Philippines ranked 11th. The other biotech “mega-countries” are
Australia, Burkina Faso, Spain, and Mexico.

The other nations that planted biotech crops in 2009 in lesser areas were
Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Costa Rica,
Egypt, and Slovakia.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*3-FILIPINA IS FIRST ASEAN WINNER OF L’ORÉAL-UNESCO SCIENCE AWARD
*by Rowena C. Burgos
14-March-2010 Philippine Daly
Inquirer<http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/sundaylifestyle/sundaylifestyle/view/20100314-258476/Filipina-is-first-Asean-winner-of-LOral-Unesco-Science-Award>

Biochemist Lourdes Jansuy Cruz’s study on snail toxin has led to the
development of non-addictive morphine

PROF. LOURDES JANSUY Cruz was sleeping soundly when the call came at
midnight. After she hung up the phone, she tried to sleep again but could
not.

“I got the call from the L’Oréal Foundation program secretariat in Paris. I
was informed that the jury for the selection of the award just finished
their deliberation and that the jury chairman wanted to talk to me. I was
very happy after that talk [that I couldn’t go back to sleep],” Cruz said.

Before she was chosen as one of the five laureates for the 2010
L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Awards, many would have described Cruz
as a typical working woman. A biochemist at Marine Science Institute of the
University of the Philippines, she split her time between teaching and
laboratory work before she retired last year.

But “typical” no longer applies. Cruz, 67, is the first Filipino recipient
of the L’Oréal-Unesco award and the first awardee from the Asean region.

Recognized for her role in discovering Conotoxins (toxins from marine
snails) during the 1970s to the ’80s, Cruz was directly involved in
isolating peptides (a chain of amino acids which are the building blocks of
proteins) from the venom of Conus snails found in the Philippines.

One of these peptides was developed by the US biotechnology firm Cognetix
Corp. (later bought by Elan Pharmaceuticals) to produce the non-addictive
drug Prialt Ziconotodine (primary alternative to morphine).

“It’s very potent, and it does not have the side effects of morphine like
drowsiness, light-headedness, euphoria, dry mouth and fatigue,” Cruz said.

*Five laureates*
Cruz is one of the five laureates this year, chosen from nearly 1,000
nominees all over the world, selected by a jury led by Nobel Prize winner
Gunter Blobel. The awards, launched in 1998, aim to encourage scientific
research among women scientists.

This year’s other four laureates are: Rashika El Ridi (Africa and the Arab
States), professor at Cairo University in Egypt, for paving the way towards
the development of a vaccine against the tropical disease
Schistomiasis/Bilharzia; Elaine Fuchs (North America), professor at
Rockefeller University in the US, for her contributions to skin biology and
skin stem cells; Anne Dejean-Assémat (Europe), professor at Pasteur
Institute in France, for her contributions to our understanding of leukemia
and liver cancers; and Alejandra Bravo (Latin America), professor at the
Institute of Molecular Microbiology of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma in
Mexico, for her work on a bacterial toxin that acts as powerful insecticide.

The laureates each received $100,000 (P4.6 million) in prize money and were
honored at an awards ceremony last March 4 at the Unesco headquarters in
Paris. The prestigious award is given to one exceptional female scientist
per continent every year. In 12 years, the program has recognized 62
laureates, 150 international fellows, 700 national fellows.

*Passion for science*
Born to a family of scientists—her father Ramon Cruz was research director
for the Philippine Sugar Institute and Canlubang Sugar Estate, and sister
Teresita is a chemist—Cruz knew her passion was in the lab.

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to get into science. My first science
course in college was really very interesting for me,” she said.

After taking up Chemistry at UP, Cruz worked as research aide at the
International Rice Research Institute in Ilocos Norte where she studied rice
quality with Dr. Bienvenido Juliana.

Though she had officially retired from the academe, she stayed on to handle
classes at the UP Marine Science Institute and continues to advise students
on their scientific dissertations.

Cruz wants to work as long as she can, just like her father, who worked into
his 80s.

*Snail toxins*
Cruz has written over 130 scientific papers on various topics, including
rice grains, amino acids and proteins, and prawns. She is also part of a
team studying harmful algal blooms in the Philippines that involve paralytic
shellfish poisoning or “red tide.”

But her most famous discovery is the marine snail toxin that garnered
numerous awards for Cruz and her partner in the project, Dr. Baldomero
Olivera.

The scientists thought they would be done with the research in two years,
expecting that the snails would yield only one or two active components—just
like snake venom.

“But it turns out that the snail venom contains many, many other components
that affect nerves and muscles. So the study branched off and got extended
until 1985 and onwards,” she said.

Research on Conotoxins is ongoing, with collaborations among Cruz’s graduate
students and foreign universities.

*Rural Linc*
In addition to her devotion to lab work, Cruz is also committed to helping
society.

In 2001, she started the Rural Livelihood Incubator (Rural Linc) with the
help of volunteers and private funding. Rural Linc strives to create jobs
and fight poverty and sociopolitical instability over the long term in rural
Philippines.

“As a citizen of the Philippines, I am very concerned about the persistent
high poverty level in rural areas, particularly among disadvantaged
communities such as the indigenous tribes, women farmers and fisher folks.”

Cruz’s vision has been to use science and technology as tool to alleviate
poverty among communities where scientists usually work.

Under the project, a team of scientists—from anthropologists to
taxonomists—work with Aetas to develop the tribe’s history, genealogy, area
maps of their ancestral domains, and studies on the medicinal plants that
Aetas have been using to cure diseases (like rattan that is used for
diarrhea).

“These are untapped wealth. I think one of the tricks of conservation is to
try to find uses for them. For example, wild trees like bugnay (wild berry
trees) and duhat (black plum) used to be chopped down for charcoal so they
would die off. Now, they saw they could earn money from them,” Cruz said.

Rural Linc also teaches Aetas skills like commercial bee-keeping and makes
indigenous people aware of their rights over natural resources in their area
by translating the Indigenous People’s Rights Act to the Aetas’ dialect.

Determined to improve the lives of individuals in her community, Cruz plans
to use the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award money to buy a piece of land to serve as new
base for Rural Linc, and site for the women’s fruit processing facility that
will preserve local heritage. “This project involves building a fruit
processing facility run by women farmers, where the indigenous tribes can
sell fruits from the orchards and forest trees.”

A woman and a scientist who never loses sight of the need to solve practical
problems to improve people’s lives, Cruz is very active in addressing
poverty in the Philippines: “After devoting all my time to a relatively
productive scientific career, I asked myself what have I really done to help
my country and my countrymen, particularly the poor communities?”

To those who want to be successful in their scientific careers, Cruz advises
to learn how to get funds. “You need this for your research, so it’s a must
to earn writing grants and getting your works published.”

Cruz tells the young, who have an aptitude in science, never to give up. “In
addition to the salary, there are so many intangible benefits that go with
it.”

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*CHINA
4-GM GRAIN STILL 'LONG DISTANCE AWAY'
*by Shan Juan and Wu Jiao (China Daily)
11-March-2010 China
Daily<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010npc/2010-03/11/content_9570242.htm>

*Rice strains still require certification from health, quality inspection
departments*

BEIJING: Genetically modified (GM) foods still have a long way to go before
they reach the Chinese market even though the Ministry of Agriculture has
certificated two strains of GM rice, a senior rural affairs official said on
Wednesday.

Before reaching the shelves, the products need to be certified by government
agencies from the health and quality inspection sectors, Chen Xiwen, a
member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and
deputy director of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, said during a panel
discussion in Beijing.

Any of these agencies might stop the GM rice from entering the market, he
said.

"As a country with a huge population to feed, China should maintain its
leading role in the research of advanced agricultural technology," Chen
said, adding that the country needs to be prudent in GM production.

GM safety is a hot issue at the NPC and CPPCC sessions, under way in the
capital.

In November, the Ministry of Agriculture granted bio-safety certificates to
two pest-resistant GM rice varieties and corn - a major step in promoting
the research and planting of GM crops. It has became major news given the
sensitivity of the issue, coupled with the fact that China is a major rice
producer.

China is also the first country in the world that has given a nod to GM
staple food, which experts say will pave the way for large-scale commercial
cultivation of GM crops.

At the height of the debate on human and bioenvironmental safety of GM
farming, a senior official spoke out in favor of the biotechnology.

"The application and research on GM agriculture is definitely the future
trend in China and is among strategic measures to strive for more
competitive agriculture through technology," Wei Chaoan, vice-minister of
agriculture, said at a press conference.

*Worries over biosafety*
There has been widespread speculation on when GM staples, particularly rice,
would be available on the menu, as worries over consumer safety continue to
grow.

"The certificates, based on fair safety evaluation, won't mean GM rice would
be commercially planted immediately. It will require production trials and
registration," he said.

Wei revealed that the applications for the two rice strains were filed 11
and six years ago respectively.

"The process will be handled according to law in a careful and transparent
manner," he pledged, adding that China has so far neither approved
commercial cultivation nor imports of GM grain.

Besides, China has never approved GM seed imports, he stressed, despite the
fact that the country's traditional soybean industry is getting seriously
damaged due to huge GM soybean imports.

"Other farm produce like GM papaya, soybean oil, tomatoes and potatoes,
however, began to hit the market around 2000 after government approval, many
without proper labeling, which is required by the law," said Fang Lifeng,
spokesman for Greenpeace China's GM program.

The debate on GM foods began back then, but peaked in late 2009, when the GM
rice and corn bio-safety certificates were issued.

*Opposing opinions*
Yuan Longping, a leading agricultural scientist, warned last week that
health implications of some GM crops, especially the anti-pest strains,
remain unclear. He said such crops need to undergo human trials for at least
one or two generations.

However, Huang Dafang, a member of the bio-safety committee affiliated to
the ministry, responded that GM crops need no human trial at all.

"Previous animal testing has already showed that the crops are as safe to
grow and eat as non-GM ones," he said.

"In three to five years, the homegrown GM rice will hit the market. The
project will not be affected by unsubstantiated safety criticism, largely
based on emotion and fuelled by media hype," he asserted.

China now yields around 500 million tons of grain annually. With the
population expected to increase to 1.6 billion by 2020, 630 million tons of
grain will be needed, experts said.

"The approved GM rice, which could reduce current pesticide use by 80
percent while increasing present yields by 6 percent, would greatly help
meet the demand," Huang said.

Besides scientific value, developing GM agriculture is also of great
economic and political importance, said Chen Wenfu, director of the rice
research institute of Shenyang Agricultural University.

"All countries, including China, are doing research on the high-end
technology, which might lead to a new agricultural landscape worldwide,"
Chen, a CPPCC member, told China Daily.

In mid-2008, China approved a 4-billion-yuan ($586 million) budget for GM
crop research in the coming years to produce high-quality, high-yield and
pest-resistant GM crop species, Xinhua reported.

On March 2, the European Commission, which boasts the strictest laws on GM
application, approved a GM potato to be grown, though not for human
consumption. It was only the second GM product to be given a green light in
Europe.

"The commercial cultivation and release of GM crops should be done extremely
carefully," Chen said.

"Given unknown health impacts from GM food, it's good for China to take the
lead in GM research rather than in eating GM food," he said.

Besides, due to a lack of a sound food safety supervision network and
limited capacity in GM food examination, China is not ready to commercialize
GM crops, experts said.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*EUROPE
5-SCIENTISTS FIND NEW WAY TO HELP CROPS FIGHT PESTS
*by Kate Kelland
14-March-2010 ABC News<http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10097962>

LONDON (Reuters) - An international team of scientists has managed to
transfer disease resistance from one plant family to another, offering
broader protection from potentially costly and destructive pests.

A team led by Cyril Zipfel at Britain's Sainsbury Laboratory found that
transferring a single gene from a wild plant to disease-susceptible crop
plants made them more robust against infections like bacterial wilt and
other diseases.

If the results can be duplicated more widely, they could help prevent
massive crop losses and avoid environmental, health and financial costs
associated with using pesticides, the researchers wrote in the Nature
Biotechnology journal on Sunday.

"The implications for engineering crop plants with enhanced resistance to
infectious diseases are very promising," Sophien Kamoun, head of the
Sainsbury Laboratory, said in a commentary.

The team is already extending its work to several crop plants, including
potato, apple, cassava and banana -- all of which suffer from damaging
bacterial diseases, particularly in the developing world.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) said
last year that bacterial wilt disease had been found in bananas in Ethiopia,
Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Uganda, Africa's leading banana grower and consumer, has suffered with the
disease since 2001 and it causes losses of between $70 million and $200
million annually, according to CGIAR.

Zipfel's team, which included Dutch, French and American researchers,
explained in the study that breeding programs for plant disease resistance
usually focus on single genes in crop plants that could fight a particular
strain of bug.

This resistance usually breaks down in field-grown crops as the pest finds
ways to outwit the plant.

The new study focused on an immune receptor gene called a pattern
recognition receptor (PRR) which is activated by many bacterial bugs but is
not normally found in potato or tomato plant families.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*GLOBAL
6-BIOTECH CROPS' GLOBAL VALUE HITS $10.5 BILLION IN 2009
*by Rudy Fernandez
08-March-2010 The Philippine
Star<http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=555836>

MANILA, Philippines - The global market value of biotechnology or
genetically modified (GM) crops hit the $10 billion mark in 2009, up from $9
billion in 2008.

Last year’s $10.5 billion represented 20 percent of the $52.2 billion global
crop protection market in 2009 and 30 percent of the about $34 billion
commercial seed market.

The value of the biotech crop market for 2010 is projected at more than $11
billion.

The accumulated global value for the 12-year period since biotech crops were
first commercialized in 1996 is estimated at $62.3 billion, reported the
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
(ISAAA).

New York-based ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization with an international
network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and
poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications. The
network includes the Southeast Asian Center based in Los Baños, Laguna.

Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and current board chairman, reported the
significant strides of biotechnology or GM crops at a recent seminar billed
“Global Overview of Biotech/GM Crops 2009; Current Status, Impact, and
Future Prospect” hold at the Dusit Thani, Manila Hotel in Makati City.

Attended by scientists, academics, the biotechnology sector, and members of
the print and broadcast media, the seminar was dedicated to the late Dr.
Norman Borlaug, 1970 Nobel Peace Laureate who was acclaimed as the “Father
of the Green Revolution.” Borlaug, a regular visitor to the Philippines over
the past three decades and a friend of the late Philippine STAR founding
publisher Max V. Soliven, died last September at age 95.

Others who spoke at the seminar were National Scientist Dr. Gelia T.
Castrillo; Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former Science Minister and University of the
Philippines System president and now president of the National Academy of
Science and Technology (NAST); and Dr. Randy Hautea, ISAAA global
coordinator.

Dr. James reported that the $10.5 billion biotechnology crop market in 2009
comprised $5.2 billion for biotech maize equivalent to 50 percent of the
global biotech crop market; $3.9 billion for biotech soybean (37.2 percent);
$1.1 billion for biotech cotton; and $300,000 for biotech canola.

A big chunk ($8.2 billion or 78 percent) of the 2009 $10.5 billion biotech
crop market was dominated by industrial countries while $2.3 billion was
accounted by developing countries.

“The market value of the global biotech crop market is based on the sale
price of biotech seed plus any technology fees that apply,” stated the ISAAA
report.

The ISAAA estimates do not include the market for biotech crops, which have
greater market value and are difficult to assess directly. However, the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service
reports that 80 to 90 percent of all corn, soy and cotton grown in the US is
biotech transgenic.

As in the previous years, the US topped the 25 countries that planted
biotech crops in 2009.

Last year, the US devoted 64 million hectares (acre than twice the
Philippine land area of 30 million ha) to biotech maize, soybean, cotton,
wheat, sugarcane, sugarbeat, alfalfa, canola, papaya and squash.

Brazil, for the first time, overtook Argentina in area planted to GM crops –
21.4 million ha as against Argentina’s 21.3 million ha.

The other top 10 biotech crop producers in 2009 were India, 8.4 million ha;
Canada, 8.2 million ha; China, 3.7 ha; Paraguay, 2.2 million ha; South
Africa, 2.1 million ha, Uruguay, 800,000 ha; and Bolivia, 800,000.

The Philippines ranked 11th, with 490,000 ha planted to Bt (Bacillus
thuringiensis) corn; followed by Australia, which devoted 230,000 ha to
biotech cotton and biotech canola.

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*Asia Pacific Conference on Insect Resistance Management for Bt
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*AIM Conference Center, Makati City, Manila, Philippines
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