In This Issue:

NEWS

GM Post Market Monitoring Scheme Proposed

Philippines Gains from Rice Hybrid Program

NCFAP: US Farmers experience year-on-year improvements from biotech crops

Pakistan moving forward towards adopting Bt cotton

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CBT NEWS FEATURE

RESEARCH

Risk Assessed Among Wheat Production Systems

Techniques to Detect GM Cotton Documented

Vitamin E Found to Protect Plants

Gene Reported to Confer Drought Tolerance

DOCUMENT REMINDER

N E W S

GM POST MARKET MONITORING SCHEME PROPOSED

The European Union, while now open to commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops, still requires legally binding post-market monitoring (PMM) activities. There is still no Union-wide consensus on such programs. With this in mind, Olivier Sanvido of the Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture proposes “A Conceptual Framework for the Design of Environmental Post-Market Monitoring of Genetically Modified Plants.” His paper appears in the latest issue of the Information Systems for Biotechnology news report.

Sanvido recounts PMM according to EU legislation, where the program is composed mainly of case-specific monitoring (CSM) and general surveillance (GS). CSM is intended to assess whether GM crops will have any adverse affects on the environment, while GS is designed to “detect unanticipated adverse environmental effects that were not identified and considered during pre-market risk assessment.”

He further recommends that differences in crop management techniques for GM and conventional plants be taken into account, and that both CSM and GS should be “designed and implemented according to a pragmatic and realistic approach in order to be feasible.”

For more information, contact Olivier Sanvido at olivier.sanvido@fal.admin.ch. Read the complete article at http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.Dec.htm.

PHILIPPINES GAINS FROM RICE HYBRID PROGRAM

Investment in the hybrid rice commercialization program has benefited the Philippine government through savings of US $23.23 M that would have been spent for rice importation. A study of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) showed that government investments on hybrid rice commercialization incurred financial and economic benefit-cost ratios of 1.56 and 1.13, respectively.

A research team led by Flordeliza H. Bordey found out that hybrid rice production:

* Is one of the best options to increase farm productivity and income among the technologies available today. On-farm data show that it can increase yield by 8 to 14 percent, as more hybrid rice farmers harvest 5 tons a hectare (t/ha) and above than inbred rice farmers.

* Is generally superior over inbred rice in terms of yield but performance is affected by location.

* Has a price advantage of around 25 centavos per kilogram over inbred rice, indicating a good market acceptability of milled hybrid rice due to its good eating quality.

* Entails higher production cost due to higher seed, fertilizer, pesticide and labor costs but the difference in production cost decreases as hybrid farmers become more familiar with the technology.

For more information, visit http://www.philrice.gov.ph or email webteam@philrice.gov.ph.

NCFAP: US FARMERS EXPERIENCE YEAR-ON-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS FROM BIOTECH CROPS

According to a new study update released by the National Center of Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP), in 2004, biotech varieties, compared to conventional crops, increased food production by 6.6 billion pounds, a 24% improvement from 2003, and provided $2.3 billion in additional net returns for U.S. growers, a 21% increase from the previous year. U.S. farmers planted biotech crops on 118 million acres, an increase of 11% over the previous year. Biotech crops also reduced pesticide use by an additional 34%, or 15.6 million pounds. Pesticide use dropped by 15.6 million from 2003 to 2004.

The study examined 11 case studies of six biotech crops (corn, soybean, cotton, papaya, canola and squash) planted in the US in 2004 and is based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and surveys of crop specialists from various universities. Insect resistant crops again produced the greatest yield increase among the crops studied, improving food and fiber production by 6.5 billion pounds. While insect resistant traits increased production, herbicide tolerant varieties generated the greatest reduction in production costs by reducing the amount of pesticide needed and lowering costs associated with hand weeding and mechanical cultivation. Herbicide tolerant varieties cut costs by $1.8 billion and reduced pesticide use by 55.5 million pounds.

To read the NCFAP press release, visit http://www.ncfap.org/
whatwedo/biotech-us.php. The complete study, “Biotechnology-Derived Crops Planted in 2004 — Impacts on U.S. Agriculture,” is available on the Internet at http://www.ncfap.org.

PAKISTAN MOVING FORWARD TOWARDS ADOPTING BT COTTON

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was quoted as saying that the government would allow farmers to grow Bt cotton in 2006. Speaking in front of a farmers’ delegation, he also assured them that he would protect their interests first and foremost. This would make Bt cotton the first GM crop to be approved for commercial cultivation in the country. The development of Bt cotton has been identified as a priority area in their Cotton Vision 2010, which is being formulated by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Pakistan's National Biosafety Committee is in charge of ensuring that risk assessment is carried out in accordance with the biosafety guidelines for all activities that alter plants to produce novel products, solve environmental problems and treat genetic disorders.

The article is available at http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/
index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=11801&start=
1&control=205&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1

R E S E A R C H

RISK ASSESSED AMONG WHEAT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Wheat varieties grown all over the world may be classified as conventional, produced by genetic engineering, or generated by mutagenic techniques. With three such methods in place, Robert K.D. Peterson and Leslie M. Shama of Montana State University carry out “A comparative risk assessment of genetically engineered, mutagenic, and conventional wheat production systems” using the risk assessment paradigm. Their paper appears in the current issue of Transgenic Research.

Among others, researchers found that the herbicides glyphosate and imazamox, which are used to protect wheat, actually “present lower human health and ecological risks than many other herbicides associated with conventional wheat production systems.” The researchers acknowledge that their assessment is not comprehensive, but state that the approach they presented “demonstrates the potential risk trade-offs (especially for herbicides) when implementing the newer biotechnologies.”

To access the abstract, go to http://springerlink.metapress.com/
(pvgxbze4drwvkzr4wm53hfzo)/app/home/contribution.asp?
referrer=parent&backto=issue,8,16;journal,1,53;
linkingpublicationresults,1:100225,1. Subscribers to Transgenic Research can read the full article through the same link.

TECHNIQUES TO DETECT GM COTTON DOCUMENTED

In the latest issue of Transgenic Research, scientists from Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University design “Qualitative and quantitative PCR methods for event-specific detection of genetically modified cotton Mon1445 and Mon531.” Their work utilizes molecular biology techniques to detect the GM cotton, whether on its own, or mixed with conventional samples.

By designing primers and probes specific for each event, and by using these probes in PCR-based detection methods, researchers found that they could detect the GM cotton even at small concentrations. They were also able to design detection systems to identify the events from other GM cotton and crops.

To access the abstract, go to http://springerlink.metapress.com/
(pvgxbze4drwvkzr4wm53hfzo)/app/home/contribution.asp?
referrer=parent&backto=issue,5,16;journal,1,53
;linkingpublicationresults,1:100225,1. Subscribers to Transgenic Research can read the full article through the same link.

VITAMIN E FOUND TO PROTECT PLANTS

Vitamin E has found much use as a nutritional supplement and therapeutic drug in humans. Some forms of it may be isolated from plants, where it is a major antioxidant, but scientists still know little of what its function might be if plants are placed under photo-oxidative stress.

In the latest issue of Plant Cell, Michel Havaux and colleagues find that “Vitamin E Protects against Photoinhibition and Photooxidative Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana.” Using the weed, researchers were able to determine how Vitamin E could protect the plant from destruction by light exposure.

Researchers studied Vitamin E mutants, named vte1 and vte2, which lack the genes to synthesize the vitamin. When exposed to intense light conditions, they found that the leaves of the mutants bleached, while whole, non-mutant plants exposed to the same stress remained healthy. In extreme temperatures and very high light conditions, however, both mutants and conventional Arabidopsis plants were destroyed.

Through more experiments, researchers also found that Vitamin E preserves plant photosystems from light inactivation, and protects cell membrane lipids from light oxidation.

Subscribers to Plant Cell may read the complete article at http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/full/17/12/3451. Other readers may access the abstract at http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/12/3451.

Abscisic acid is a plant hormone that regulates growth, and transcription factors associated with a plant’s response to it play a key role in allowing plants to survive under drought stress. One such transcription factor is AREB1, and Yasunari Fujita and colleagues from Tsukuba, Japan find, from their research, that “AREB1 Is a Transcription Activator of Novel ABRE-Dependent ABA Signaling That Enhances Drought Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis.”

In their paper, which appears in the latest issue of Plant Cell, researchers report that under normal growth conditions, the intact AREB1 gene is insufficient to induce the expression of genes. They thus created an activated form of the gene, called AREB1 QT, and over expressed it in Arabidopsis in the laboratory. Researchers found that the plants were hypersensitive to abscisic acid, and showed enhanced tolerance to drought. Plants without the gene were insensitive to abscisic acid, and displayed reduced survival under dehydration.

Subscribers to Plant Cell may read the complete article at
http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/full/17/12/3470.

Other readers may access the abstract at http://www.plantcell.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/12/3470.

A N N O U N C E M E N T

APEC DIALOGUE ON AGRI-BIOTECH

The High Level Policy Dialog in Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) of APEC will hold a conference/seminar on “Biosafety Policy Options” on January 16-18, 2006 in Manila, Philippines. This conference, sponsored by the economies of Canada, Peru, Philippines, the U.S.A. and Vietnam, will focus on creating a positive investment environment for agricultural biotechnology. Among the topics to be discussed include economies’ obligations under the WTO and the Cartagena Protocol, impact of regulation on trade flow in the APEC region, and biosafety regulation and socioeconomic considerations. For further information, email Elzette VanRooyen at vanrooy1@msu.edu.

LEADERSHIP COURSE FOR LIFE SCIENCE EXECS OPEN

The University Basel announces the first Leadership Course called "European Course for Life Sciences Executives", ECLE, to be held in two parts on March 2-4 and 23-25, 2006 at Bad Schauenburg near Basel. The course has been created to provide a focused leadership course for executives in the European Life Sciences Industry The comprehensive program is available on the EuropaBio website at: http://www.europabio.org/ECLE_Programme.pdf. You may also contact Dr. Susanne Daniel at info@ecle.ch.