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50 Biotech Bites Published by: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri- biotech Applications (ISAAA) Citation: ISAAA. 2015. 50 Biotech Bites. ISAAA: Ithaca, New York, USA. ISBN: 978-1-892456-62-1 This publication is also available at http://www.isaaa.org/. Table of Contents Table of Contents i Preface iii Biotechnology Tools Conventional Plant Breeding ................................................. 2 Tissue Culture Technology ...................................................... 6 Plant Disease Diagnostics ........................................................ 10 Microbial Fermentation ............................................................ 14 Genetic Engineering and GM Crops ....................................... 18 Molecular Breeding and Marker-Assisted Selection ............ 22 Gene Switching and GURTs: What, How, and Why? ............. 26 Marker-Free GM Plants ............................................................ 30 RNAi for Crop Improvement ................................................... 34 Bioinformatics for Plant Biotechnology ................................. 38 Nanotechnology in Agriculture .............................................. 42 ‘Omics’ Sciences: Genomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics 46 GMO Facts Q&A about Genetically Modified Crops ................................ 52 Plant Products of Biotechnology ............................................. 56 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops .......... 60 Documented Benefits of GM Crops ...................................... 64 Adoption and Uptake Pathways of Biotech Crops by Small-Scale Farmers in China, India, and the Philippines .......................................................................... 68 Are Foods Derived from GM Crops Safe? ............................. 72 GM Crops and the Environment ........................................... 76 Biotechnology and Climate Change ...................................... 80 GM Crop Traits Bt Insect Resistance Technology ............................................ 86 Herbicide Tolerance Technology: Glyphosate and Glufosinate .......................................................................... 90 Delayed Ripening Technology ................................................ 94 Stacked Traits in Biotech Crops .............................................. 98 i Biotechnology for the Development of Drought Tolerant Crops .................................................................................. 102 Coping with Salt Stress through Biotechnology ................... 106 Biotechnology and Biofortification ........................................ 110 Applications/Products Contributions of Agricultural Biotechnology in Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger .................................................... 116 Biotech Rice ............................................................................... 120 Biotech Wheat ........................................................................... 124 Biotechnology for Sugarcane .................................................. 128 Bt Eggplant ................................................................................ 132 Bt Brinjal in India ..................................................................... 136 Biotechnology in Ornamental Plants ....................................... 140 Nitrogen Use Efficient Biotech Crops...................................... 144 Functional Foods and Biotechnology ..................................... 148 Nutritionally-Enhanced GM Feed Crops .................................. 152 Molecular Pharming and Biopharmaceuticals ..................... 156 Biotechnology for the Livestock Industry .............................. 160 Contribution of GM Technology to the Livestock Sector ....... 164 Biotechnology for Green Energy: Biofuels ............................. 168 Biotechnology for Biodiversity ................................................ 172 Biotech Plants for Bioremediation ........................................... 176 Biotech/GM Trees ..................................................................... 180 Issues and Concerns Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety ........................................... 186 Intellectual Property Rights and Agricultural Biotechnology ..................................................................... 190 Labeling GM Foods .................................................................... 194 Ethics and Agricultural Biotechnology ................................... 198 Kenya National Biotechnology Development Policy Highlights ........................................ 202 Communicating Crop Biotechnology ....................................... 206 ii Preface Biotechnology is a set of tools that uses living organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or modify a product, improve plants, trees or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific uses. A variety of biotechnology tools is available that includes conventional plant breeding, tissue culture technology, plant disease diagnostics to more modern techniques such as genetic engineering, molecular breeding and marker-assisted selection, and nanotechnology. Scientists continue to develop several applications and products that are contributing to alleviation of poverty and hunger. For the last 15 years, ISAAA has been releasing a series of short publications on biotechnology packaged in a form called Pocket Ks (Pocket of Knowledge). Its format initially conceptualized as short, concise information fit to put into a pocket has since been reformatted to optimize reading on PC or mobile devices. These PKs, as they are also referred to, have been translated into other languages such as Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Thai, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Their translations have enabled a wider reach for these materials targeting students, teachers, policy makers, media practitioners, and practically anyone who wants more details and reference-based information. Organizations reprint selected issues and disseminate these during biotech events, seminars, and workshops. They have also been used as references for articles and media-based projects such as essay writing, video and cartoon projects on biotech. These PKs are also among the most downloaded materials on www.isaaa.org attesting to their usability and relevance at a time that readers are looking for authoritative, easy to ‘bite’ chunks of information. iii 50 Biotech Bites is a consolidation of 50 topics, now made available in a single, ready to use publication and categorized into themes. Majority of the series have been peer-reviewed, provided references for further reading, and updated when possible. Former and present staff of ISAAA, particularly the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology (KC), did the literature review, wrote the articles, and coordinated with experts. May this publication ‘feed’ those eager to know more about biotech so that they can engage with others on the technology and make informed decisions about its adoption and use. Writers: Rhodora Aldemita John Philip Magbanua Noel Amano Joan Narciso Claudia Canales Mariechel Navarro Bhagirath Choudhary Jenny Panopio Reynaldo Ebora Inez Ponce de Leon Margarita Escaler Ian Mari Reaño Kadambini Gaur Renando Solis Panfilo de Guzman Kristine Grace Tome Clive James Ma. Monina Cecilia Villena Margaret Karembu David Wafula Layout Artist: Clement Dionglay Cover Design: Eric John Azucena Photos: ISAAA photos on file, Thinkstockphotos.com, USDA ARS Image Gallery, USDA APHIS Image Gallery iv Biotechnology Tools 1 Conventional Plant Breeding Conventional plant breeding has been around for hundreds of years and is still used today. Since agriculture began, farmers have been altering the genetic makeup of the crops they grow through selection of the best plants and seeds and saving them for the next season. Early farmers also discovered how some plants can be cross- pollinated to combine the desirable characteristics of the parent plants in their offspring. Recognizing desirable traits is vital in plant breeding. Breeders scrutinize their fields in search of individual plants with desirable traits. As plant breeding is further developed, breeders understand better the selection of superior plants and use them to create new and improved varieties. These activities have dramatically changed the productivity and quality of domesticated plants. Hybrid seed technology Plant breeding can result in either an open-pollinated (OP) variety or an F1 (first filial generation) hybrid variety. OP varieties, when maintained and produced properly, retain the same characteristics when multiplied. The only technique used with OP varieties is the selection of the seed- bearing plants. Hybrid seeds have improved qualities, such as good vigor, trueness to type, heavy yields and high uniformity, compared to open pollinated varieties. Other characteristics such as earliness, disease and insect resistance and good water holding ability have also been incorporated into most F1 hybrids. Hybrids are developed through hybridization or crossing of ‘pure lines’ — plants which, when self-pollinated, produce offspring that closely resemble the parents. By crossing pure lines, a uniform population of F1 hybrid seeds can be produced with predictable characteristics. 2 Conventional Plant Breeding For example, a plant breeder picks a plant with good traits but needs improvement on a certain trait. The breeder then picks another plant with not necessarily good overall traits but has the desirable trait to be improved. Each plant will be self-pollinated
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