GM Stories from SAAFoST Snippets

Three Biotechnology Scientists Awarded 2013 World Food Prize
Three distinguished  biotechnology researchers  ̶  Marc Van Montagu of Belgium, Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert T. Fraley of the USA  ̶  were named the winners of the 2013 World Food Prize during a 19 June 2013 ceremony at the US State Department, where Secretary of State John Kerry delivered the keynote address. John Ruan III, Chairman of the World Food Prize, also participated in the ceremony.

 “These three scientists are being recognised for their independent, individual breakthrough achievements in founding, developing, and applying modern agricultural biotechnology,” said Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, President of the World Food Prize. “Their research is making it possible for farmers to grow crops with improved yields, resistance to insects and disease, and the ability to tolerate extreme variations in climate.”

In a written statement, Prof M.S. Swaminathan, the renowned Indian scientist and Chairman of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, said the award is especially fitting this year. Building upon the scientific discovery of the double helix structure of DNA in the 1950s, Van Montagu, Chilton, and Fraley each conducted groundbreaking molecular research on how a plant bacterium could be adapted as a tool to insert genes from another organism into plant cells, which could produce new genetic lines with highly favorable traits.

The revolutionary biotechnology discoveries of these three individuals  ̶  each working in separate facilities on two continents  ̶  unlocked the key to plant cell transformation using recombinant DNA. Their work led to the development of a host of genetically enhanced crops, which, by 2012, were grown on more than 170 MHa around the globe by 17.3 M farmers, over 90% of whom were small resource-poor farmers in developing countries.

From their work in the laboratory to applying biotechnology innovations in farmers’ fields, the combined achievements of the 2013 World Food Prize Laureates have contributed significantly to increasing the quantity and availability of food. From IFT Weekly 19 June 2013 [see also the Food Security Update section of this issue of The World of Food Science]

  
US Senate Rejects GM Food Labeling Measure

The Senate of the USA has rejected an amendment to the 2013 US Farm Bill that would allow states to require genetically modified (GM) foods to be labeled as such on their packaging. The senate vote with the amendment ultimately failed, 71-27. Senators from states that produce an abundance of GM crops opposed the amendment in fear that the labels would scare off consumers and raise the cost of packaging. From Crop Biotech Update 29 May 2013.

For more information, visit http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/15873/20130524/us-farm-bill-amendment-genetically-modified-food-labels-engineered-food.htm. 

Scientists Develop CMV Resistant Potato Lines through Gene Silencing

Scientists Valentine Otang Ntui from Chiba University and colleagues reported the successful development of genetically engineered potato lines with absolute resistance to certain strains of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) through gene silencing.

The team used two constructs in the study both containing a fragment of a gene coding for a defective CMV enzyme. The constructs were used to produce GE potato lines out of cultivar 'Danshaku', which is susceptible to CMV. The resulting lines exhibited 100 percent resistance to CMV-O and CMV-Y strains. No significant differences in the resistance levels of the lines derived from the two different constructs. Further analysis confirmed that the resistance exhibited by the GE plants were acquired through RNA silencing. From Crop Biotech Update 20 June 2013.

Read more details about the study at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11248-013-9721-8.  

Orange Maize Improves Yields and Nutrition for Families in Zambia

A Feed the Future-supported program implemented by HarvestPlus has been demonstrating the benefits of orange maize ever since three new varieties that provide higher levels of vitamin A were released in 2012 by the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute. The promising varieties were bred in Mexico at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the HarvestPlus program and then extensively tested in Zambia. In addition to providing more vitamin A than white maize, the new varieties are also high-yielding, disease resistant, and drought tolerant, thereby reducing farmers' vulnerability to threats like reduced rainfall. Vitamin A deficiency, which can lead to loss of vision, impaired immune function, and other ailments, is a public health threat in Zambia that affects more than 50 % of children under five years of age. While vitamin A is available from a variety of foods, such as fruit, green leafy vegetables, and animal products, these are often too expensive or simply unavailable in Zambia's rural areas.

According to Emerson Banji, one of the more than 1,000 "lead" farmers who are testing the new varieties of orange maize this season, the variety has surpassed expectations. "What I have now proved is that it can give someone a better harvest…and I will continue growing this kind of maize because it can even help me and my family have a better life. I would prefer to grow orange maize than white maize" he says. From Crop Biotech Update May 29, 2013.

Read full story at http://1.usa.gov/10R6TaL

Wild Relatives of Crops Discovered in the USA

Researchers have discovered nearly 4,600 wild relatives of crop plants in the USA, including close relatives of globally important food crops such as sunflower, bean, sweet potato, and strawberry. These findings, which were published in the journal Crop Science may help plant breeders who have increasingly relied in recent years on wild kinds of domesticated crops as new sources of disease resistance, drought tolerance, and other traits. Over the past four years, a team led by Colin Khoury of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia, and Stephanie Greene of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service has been collecting as much information on US crop wild relatives as it can. This includes the species' names, which crop plants they have been used to improve (if any), how closely related they are to their respective crops, and whether any of the genetic resources found in crop wild relatives are already conserved in gene banks. From Crop Biotech Update. May 15, 2013.

BASF Drops GM Potato Projects

BASF has announced that it is no longer seeking EU marketing approval for its controversial genetically modified (GM) potatoes. The company already has approval for one type of GM potato. In 2010, the European commission granted approval for Amflora potatoes, which are used for industrial production of starch, a biopolymer of two monomers: amylose and amylopectin. The latter is the important monomer for industrial purposes. Potatoes typically produce starch that is 20% amylose and 80% amylopectin, but – thanks to genetic modification – Amflora potatoes produce only amylopectin. BASF had been planning more approvals. But it says that continued investment in Fortuna, Amadea, and Modena potatoes cannot be justified because of ‘uncertainty in the regulatory environment and threats of field destructions’. From RSC www.Chemistryworld.org 17 Feb. 2013.

Early Maturing Maize Lines Hold Drought Tolerance that could Save African Farmers

Researchers have identified maize parental lines and hybrids with high levels of drought tolerance among the early and the extra-early maturing maize genotypes developed and conserved in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) . This successful identification has led to the availability and the possibility of sustainable development of more resilient maize varieties with dual characteristics of escaping and tolerating drought in the near future.

Delivering a presentation on the topic Genetic Analysis and Molecular Characterisation of Early Maturing Maize Inbred Lines for Drought Tolerance as part of the IITA Western Africa Hub monthly seminar series, Muhyideen Oyekunle said that 48 % of the early maturing lines under study from IITA were drought tolerant with tolerance indices ranging from 0.17 (low) to 15.31 (high). The study involved screening of over 150 early maturing maize inbred lines and hybrids for drought tolerance over a period of two years across six agroecological zones of Nigeria. From Crop Biotech Update April 24, 2013.

For more information, go to http://www.iita.org/2013-press-releases/-/asset_publisher/CxA7/content/early-maturing-maize-lines-at-iita-hold-drought-tolerance-that-could-save-farmers-in-africa?redirect=%2F2013-press-releases&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#.UW5qCqJGC8A. 

From SAAFoST Snippets - contributions are welcome. Edited and produced by Dr B Cole; email: drcole@cybersmart.co.za with the help of the [SAAFoST] Northern Branch Committee. Reproduced with permission and thanks.