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<td height="205" valign="top" width="478"><font color="#666666" size="1"><img src="http://www.bic.searca.org/e-news/images/inthenews.jpg" width="139" height="28"></font> <br><a class="date"><em><font color="#666666" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Posted 03 February 2009</font></em></a><br>
<br><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>PHILIPPINES</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <br>1-DETECTION KIT FOR FOOD CONTAMINANTS UP <br>
2-IRRI GETS $11M TO DEVELOP NEW RICE STRAIN, IMPROVE YIELDS BY 50% <br>3-RP-INDIA AGRICULTURE AGREEMENT PUSHED <br><br></font><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>INDIA</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <br>
4-GM CROPS MAY DOUBLE AGRI GROWTH RATE <br><br></font><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>EUROPE</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <br>
5-AGBIOTECH CAN HELP MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT WILL EUROPE BENEFIT <br><br></font><a class="country"><font color="#336600" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>GLOBAL</strong></font></a><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <br>
6-SEQUENCING OF SORGHUM GENOME SIGNIFICANT FOR FOOD, BIOFUELS <br><br></font></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr>
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<div align="left"><br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>1-DETECTION KIT FOR FOOD CONTAMINANTS UP</strong><br>by Melody M. Aguiba<br>01-February-2009 Manila Bulletin <br><br>The government is tapping the use of locally-developed detection systems for food contaminants like E. coli and salmonella as part of its effort to comply with international food safety standards. <br>
<br>The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is adopting the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based detection kit developed by the University of the Philippines-Los Baños National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB) which will substantially bring down cost of this function of food safety. <br>
<br>Ronnie Violanta, development manager/officer of the NIMBB, said that a substantially discounted price of only P180 per tube can be taken advantage of by DA institutions like NMIS and the Department of Health's Bureau of Food and Drug Industry when using these kits. Imported detection kits cost more than P1,200 per tube. <br>
<br>The detection kits involve a DNA amplification system that uses PCR, a technique that can enlarge the size of poisonous microorganisms that are not visible to the naked eye but whose presence can be detected with PCR. <br>
<br>It is concerned about detecting four bacteria that can be dangerous to the human health or even fatal. One of these is the E. coli which is a generally harmless group of bacteria found in the gastrointestinal strain tract of human and animal but which has a strain called E. coli 0157:H7 which causes diarrhea and infections of the urogenital tract. <br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br><strong>2-IRRI GETS $11M TO DEVELOP NEW RICE STRAIN, IMPROVE YIELDS BY 50%</strong><br>26-January-2009 BusinessMirror<br><br>THE International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) through a group of scientists has received an $11-million grant to develop a new rice strain that uses less water and fertilizer and yields up to 50 percent more in production terms.<br>
<br>Known as the "C4" rice project, the money for this ambitious task comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scientists are optimistic that boosting rice productivity is crucial to achieving long-term food security.<br>
<br>"This has not been attempted before, but we are optimistic that it will succeed because a lot of new knowledge has been gained in recent years," said Achim Dobermann, IRRI deputy director general for research.<br><br>
Dobermann told the BusinessMirror that various groups worldwide started research on this several years earlier. At present, he explained that the focus is to try to understand the genetic controls of C4-photosynthesis in plants and finding such characteristics in rice or species that are close to it.<br>
<br>"We hope to have a proof of concept after three 3 years, but the whole project has a roadmap of about 15 years. At the end of it we hope to have a functioning C4 rice, but it requires to make major anatomical and biochemical modifications in rice," Dobermann added.<br>
<br>IRRI scientists are experimenting with seed varieties that can withstand droughts and floods, and others are growing rice in dry soil—much like corn—rather than irrigated paddies. The latest of which is the strategy to alter how rice plants perform photosynthesis and concocting hybrid varieties that can boost yields by as much as 50 percent.<br>
<br>John Sheehy, a British physicist heading the research at IRRI, told the BusinessMirror that the basic idea is to make rice behave more like corn and other plants that perform a particularly efficient form of photosynthesis involving four-carbon atoms. Rice photosynthesis has only three-carbon atoms.<br>
<br>"This is a long-term project that will take about 12 years to 15 years to complete. The aim is to convert solar energy more efficiently in the rice plant to produce more grain," Sheehy said.<br><br>Sheehy explained that there would be approximately three direct strategic approaches aimed at understanding how evolution alters the gene to produce an improved photosynthesis in C4 plants, like maize, and apply the technology in C3 plants, like rice. Three other approaches to the problem would be used to build tools and knowledge to support the direct approaches. <br>
<br>"There are too many to simply list here, but we have to also begin to understand what effect a more efficient photosynthetic engine might have on the overall performance of the rice plant, e.g. rate of growth and size of the plant," the scientist said.<br>
<br>?Given the demand by an increasing population in Asia, combined with less available land and water, adequate future supplies of rice will need to come in large part through substantial yield boosts and more efficient use of crop inputs.<br>
<br>"The result of this strategic research has the potential to benefit billions of poor people," Sheehy said.<br><br>The C4 Rice Consortium project combines the strengths of a range of partners, including molecular biologists, geneticists, physiologists, biochemists, and mathematicians, representing leading research organizations worldwide.<br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br><strong>3-RP-INDIA AGRICULTURE AGREEMENT PUSHED</strong><br>by Melody M. Aguiba<br>26-January-2009 Manila Bulletin<br><br>The government should follow up on its bilateral agreement signed last year with India where the Philippines can find insights on dryland farming or satellite farm monitoring as it pursues farm modernization. <br>
<br>The Department of Agriculture (DA) signed a six-point farm cooperation agreement with India in August last year but should follow on these potentially free-of-charge technical assistance or grants on agriculture. <br>
<br>"The government should follow this up because India has expertise on dairy, dryland agriculture or research on drought, biotechnology, dairy, and biofuel (sweet sorghum)," said India-based International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Director General William D. Dar in an interview. <br>
<br>Aiming to be a technology superpower as it has already sent late last year its first mission to the moon with its spaceship Chandrayaan-1, India can help the Philippines in areas in agriculture where it is more advanced even if India itself is also in the process of modernizing its agriculture. <br>
<br>"This will really depend on the relations between the two countries. It has already been signed. And if we're able to demonstrate progress, you can go to an identification of second areas of collaborative projects," he said. <br>
<br>Among the technologies the Philippines can adopt from India is its expertise in drought that's enabling it to export some commodities like rice, wheat, and pepper. <br><br>Another cooperation may be on sweet sorghum biofuel where ICRISAT and Indian private firm Rusni Distillery are already extending technical assistance to African agencies which are putting up sweet sorghum biofuel plants with a daily capacity of one million liters. <br>
<br>Former Indian President Abdul Kalam has started launching a farm satellite system during his administration from 2002 to 2007. IN a related technology, ICRISAT will be extending a technical assistance to DA on data management as part of a more accurate farm monitoring system, Dar said. <br>
<br>"We need a business-based production system. We need data on market, production. We need remote sensing so we can plan out our cropping. Over the last five years, India has been enhancing this technology. They just started, but because they have a satellite system, they don't have much problems on its application in agriculture," he said. <br>
<br>The Philippines does have Mabuhay Satellite, a company owned by the PHilippine Long Distance Telephone Co., which has been in operation since 1994 when it established an international satellite facility. But subscription to its services for satellite use for monitoring agricultural production systems of course involves cost. <br>
<br>Dar said the Philippine Rice Research Institute has reportedly invested P6 million in a remote sensing capability to monitor agricultural production in Nueva Ecija. To apply this in all 80 Philippine provinces, there must be a budget of around P480 million. <br>
<br>"You need to put up good data information system so planning will be nearer the target. <br><br>ACEF (Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund) has lots of money, why not spend half a billion for this (remote sensing facility)?" he said. <br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br></font></font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>INDIA<br>4-GM CROPS MAY DOUBLE AGRI GROWTH RATE<br></strong>by Virendra Singh Rawat<br>
31-January-2009 </font></font><a target="_blank" href="http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/gm-crops-may-double-agri-growth-rate/01/07/347539/"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Business Standard</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">India can replicate the success of BT cotton in other agricultural produce, including vegetables and food grain for sustaining the country's future food and nutritional security, as the genetically modified (GM) crops have the capacity to double agriculture growth rate to 4 per cent per annum from the present rate which is around 2 per cent.<br>
<br>"Until 2001, our cotton production was largely stagnant. However, post BT cotton's launch in 2002, the output has doubled and on Friday India is the second largest producer and exporter of cotton," All India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA) director Sajiv Anand told Business Standard on Friday.<br>
<br>BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) cotton is a GM crop, which gives superior yield and almost 80 per cent of the Indian farmers on Friday grow this variety. He maintained it would become imperative to use GM technology in other crops to feed the population in future.<br>
<br>"Not only GM varieties give more yield, they are disease-resistant, have more nutritional value and shelf-life and are eco-friendly as they need less pesticide," Anand underlined.<br><br>AICBA is an industry association of major Indian companies engaged in agriculture biotechnology. It was formed in 2003 to promote the benefits of agri-biotechnology for modernising Indian agriculture.<br>
<br>The Association actively works with all stakeholders including the regulators, farmers, scientists and media for advocating the cause of GM technology. Commenting on the growing debate in India over the safety and sustainability of GM food, the crop scientist said the fears were unfounded and lacked any scientific base.<br>
<br>"Any GM technology is introduced after a thorough research of seven years and after getting the go-ahead from several departments, including health, environment and forest. Besides, these technologies have been successfully adopted in several developed economies with encouraging results," Anand added.<br>
<br>The GM technology only needs to be adapted to suit India conditions and requirements, he said informing that GM brinjal, tomato, cauliflower, mustard, maize, rice and wheat varieties could soon be launched in India as research was on.<br>
<br><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong><br></font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>EUROPE<br>5-AGBIOTECH CAN HELP MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT WILL EUROPE BENEFIT<br>
</strong>Press Release by EuropaBio<br>27-January-2009 </font></font><a target="_blank" href="http://www.europabio.org/PressReleases/green/PR_climate_change270109.pdf"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">EuropaBio</font></a><br>
<br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">BRUSSELS – Agricultural biotechnology has a key role to play in helping Europe reach its ambitious carbon reduction targets and assisting farmers to better adapt to a shifting climate, according to a briefing (1) released today by the European Association for BioIndustries during a round table on climate change at the European Parliament.<br>
<br>Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Member of the European Parliament, and one of the speakers at the roundtable, said, "Agriculture biotech definitely has a role to play in Europe's fight against climate change. With over ten years experience of commercial biotech planting, it is very important to have an open and balanced debate in Europe on the contribution that modern agriculture technologies could make to help European farmers face today's challenges."<br>
<br>"Farmers must respond to increased demand for food. We need access to modern technologies that help us to remain competitive. At the same time we have to protect our fragile environment" said Pekka Pesonen, Secretary General of COPA-COGECA and a speaker at the roundtable.<br>
<br>Europe wants and needs to meet the ever increasing demand for food while mitigating the effects of agriculture on climate change. Ag biotech can contribute to meeting these goals by reducing the production of greenhouse gases, helping crops adapt to varied and often adverse environments and by helping to increase yields while using fewer hectares of land and other inputs.<br>
<br>"If we want to feed people and create a viable bio-based economy without destroying our resources, we must use science and technology to support agriculture" said Willy De Greef, Secretary General of EuropaBio. "European farmers must be given the right to choose to grow GM crops. The benefits from ag biotech will only be seen in Europe as GM crops are more widely adopted and farmers are given the right to choose to grow them" he concluded.<br>
<br></font><em><br><font size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">For further information about EuropaBio please contact:<br>Nathalie Moll<br>Tel: +32 2 739 1185<br>Mobile: +32 473 88 4578<br>Email: <a href="mailto:n.moll@europabio.org">n.moll@europabio.org</a><br>
Rebecca Weaver<br>Tel: +32 2 735 0313<br>Direct: +32 2 739 1184<br>Email: <a href="mailto:r.weaver@europabio.org">r.weaver@europabio.org</a><br><br>About EuropaBio<br>EuropaBio is the European Association for BioIndustries, solely and uniquely bringing together bioscience companies from all fields of research and development, testing, manufacturing and distribution of biotechnology products. It has 79 corporate members operating worldwide, 5 associate members, 5 BioRegions and 25 national biotechnology associations representing some 1800 small and medium sized enterprises involved in research. Its mission is to promote an innovative and<br>
dynamic biotechnology-based industry in Europe. </font><a target="_blank" href="http://www.europabio.org/"><font color="#0000ff" size="2" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">http://www.europabio.org/</font></a><br></em><br>
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><strong>------------------------------------------------------------<br>6-SEQUENCING OF SORGHUM GENOME SIGNIFICANT FOR FOOD, BIOFUELS<br></strong>by Lyn Resurreccion / Science Editor<br>
02-February-2009 BusinessMirror<br><br>'HAVING the genome sequence of sorghum is a significant landmark of genomics research for sorghum community, in particular, and biofuel community, in general."<br><br>This was the reaction of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) to the completion of the sequencing of sorghum genome—that includes 34,496 genes—by scientists at the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute and several partner-institutions. The analysis on the genome project initiated in 2005 was published in the journal Nature on January 29.<br>
<br>Icrisat considers the sequencing of the sorghum genome very important because sorghum—one of the mandate crops of the international research agency—is the fifth most important and relatively drought-tolerant cereal crop that is the dietary staple of more than 500 million people in more than 30 countries of semiarid tropics. It is grown in 42 million hectares in 98 countries of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, Icrisat said in a statement sent to the BusinessMirror.<br>
<br>In addition, the sweet sorghum variety has emerged as a feedstock for ethanol production, in which Icrisat has pioneered, and also in its commercialization.<br><br>"[Sweet sorghum] gives food/feed, fodder and fuel, without significant tradeoffs in any of these uses in a production cycle," said Icrisat, led by Filipino scientist Dr. William Dar, a former Department of Agriculture secretary.<br>
<br>"This is an important step on the road to the development of cost-effective biofuels made from nonfood plant fiber," said Anna Palmisano, DOE associate director of Science for Biological and Environmental Research, as quoted by SeedQuest, a web site for the seed industry. <br>
<br>"Sorghum is an excellent candidate for biofuels production, with its ability to withstand drought and prosper on more marginal land. The fully sequenced genome will be an indispensable tool for researchers seeking to develop plant variants that maximize these benefits," Palmisano said.<br>
<br>Prized for its drought resistance and high productivity, SeedQuest said, sorghum is currently the second most prevalent biofuels crop in the United States, behind corn. Sorghum grain produces the same amount of ethanol per bushel as corn while utilizing one-third less water.<br>
<br>The India-based research agency said having an inventory of sorghum genes identified "is of great use, though a bit challenging task, to the community for applying/manipulating them for crop improvement."<br><br>"We anticipate to use a variety of approaches for harnessing this genome sequence in our applied crop-improvement programs," it said. <br>
<br>It said candidate genes predicted or identified for drought tolerance or fuel quality, for example, "can be used in marker-assisted breeding and genetic- engineering approaches to develop the varieties with enhanced drought tolerance or with better fuel quality." <br>
<br>Besides, the sorghum genome will help in the analysis and understanding of other cereal genomes, Icrisat said. It explained that the different cereal genomes (e.g., rice, wheat, barley, maize, sorghum and pearl millet), in general, show that conservation of gene number and gene order, as major cereal lineages, was derived from a common ancestor at about the same time. <br>
<br>The published paper, written by scientists, led by Andrew Paterson of the Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory of University of Georgia, provides insights on comparative genome conservation/evolution of some cereals, Icrisat said. <br>
<br>"On one hand, these comparative genomics approaches provide a better understanding of different cereal genomes. On the other hand, they provide the possibility of using genomic resources from one cereal species to other cereal species," Icrisat said.<br>
<br>It noted that based on the sequence data of sorghum and rice, several thousands of conserved-intron scanning primers (CISP) markers have been developed and are being used in pearl millet, another important mandate cereal crop of Icrisat, but they are deficient in genomic resources. <br>
<br>"Therefore, [the] sorghum genome sequence provides avenues to enhance the genomic resources and molecular breeding strategies in other cereal crops as well," it said.<br><br>The significant new insight from the project is that since this is the first sequence of any C4 plant species, it provides several new findings on differences in C3 and C4 plant species, Icrisat said. <br>
<br>Dr. Dar told the BusinessMirror that a C4 plant is one in which the carbon dioxide (CO2) is first fixed into a compound containing four carbon atoms before entering the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis. <br><br>"They are better adapted than any C3 plant in an environment with high daytime temperatures, intense sunlight, drought and nitrogen limitation. In short, a C4 plant is more efficient in photosynthesis," he said.<br>
<br>Examples of C4 plants include sorghum, corn and amaranth. Within C4 plants, they vary in their degree of resilience. Sorghum is more resilient than corn, he further explained.<br><br>Dr. Dar noted that with climate change occurring with intense heat and drought, C4 plants are more resilient than C3 plants like rice.<br>
<br>The comparison of sequence data of sorghum and maize (members of Panicoideae subfamily) with rice (member of Oryzoideae subfamily), Icrisat said, has suggested the duplication and recruitment of the C4 pathway after the Panicoideae-Oryzoideae divergence. <br>
<br>"Identification and understanding of genes involved in C4 pathways should be useful to manipulate the fuel-production quality of sorghum," Icrisat said.<br><br>Since this is also the first sequence of a dry-land agricultural crop that is adapted to drought, "we should have better understanding on genes that make sorghum, as compared to other cereals, more drought-tolerant." <br>
<br>How will the sequencing of sorghum genome help agriculture and biofuel production? Icrisat said the availability of genome-sequence data should enhance genomics-assisted breeding in sorghum. <br><br>It explained: "[A] few hundred molecular markers were available in sorghum until two or three years ago; [the] genome-sequence data has now provided >71,000 microsatellite markers."<br>
<br>"We believe that availability of genome sequence, combined with modern genomics approaches, should boost our breeding activities to develop the desirable breeding lines. Genes identified in sorghum would not be useful only for sorghum but other cereal/plant species as well, especially for enhancing drought tolerance," it said.<br>
<br>Furthermore, Icrisat said the sorghum genome-sequence data should provide candidate genes involved in nutritional quality, as well, which can be manipulated in sorghum and other cereals to reduce micronutrient malnutrition globally. It noted that sorghum grain has high levels of iron (>70 ppm) and zinc (> 50 ppm). <br>
<br>"Icrisat, in collaboration with advanced research institutions, has been working to harness the genome sequence in applied breeding program so that knowledge-based breeding can speed up sorghum breeding and improved lines/varieties/ hybrids can be developed by our NARS [national agricultural research system] partners and poor farmers of semi-arid tropic regions can be benefited," it said.<br>
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<td bgcolor="#eeffa8" valign="top" width="183"><br><a class="events" target="_blank" href=""><font color="#ff6600" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>IRRI Seminar Series: Genetic diversity for sustainable rice blast management in China: adoption and impact</strong></font></a><br>
<a class="events_details"><font color="#666666" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>by Dr. Imelda Revilla-Molina,Associate Scientist,Social Sciences Division, IRRI<br>Havener Auditorium, IRRI, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines<br>
05 February 2009, 1:15 - 2:15 PM</strong></font></a><br><br><a class="events" target="_blank" href="http://www.searca.org/web/training/courses/2009/environmental_economics/"><font color="#336600" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>5th Executive Forum on NRM: Environmental Economics for Decision-making</strong></font></a><br>
<a class="events_details" target="_blank" href="http://www.searca.org/web/training/courses/2009/environmental_economics/"><font color="#666666" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>SEARCA, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines<br>
23 - 27 March 2009<br>Course Brochure | Flyer | Registration Form | Expression of Interest | Special Rates</strong></font></a><br><br><a class="events" target="_blank" href="http://www.searca.org/web/news/2008/dec/web/08.html"><font color="#ff6600" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Measures of Hope and Promises Delivered: An International Conference on Socioeconomic and Environmental Impact Assessment of Genetically Modified (GM) Crops</strong></font></a><br>
<a class="events_details"><font color="#666666" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Bangkok, Thailand<br>21 - 22 April 2009</strong></font></a><br><br><font color="#336600" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>------------------------------------------------------------</strong></font><font size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
</font><a class="events" target="_blank" href="http://www.biotec.or.th/biotechnology-en/newsdetail.asp?id=4709"><font color="#336600" size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>CALL FOR APPLICATION <br><br>BIOTEC, Thailand: Human Resource Development Program in Biotechnology 2009<br>
Deadline for application: 15 March 2009</strong></font></a><font size="1" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <br></font></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr>
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