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The study also noted that more than 210 eld trials of genetically modified (GM) trees are currently under way in 16 countries. Most of the trials which are largely on Populus, Pinus, Liquidambar and Eucalyptus, are being conducted in the US. Only China has reported the commercial release of GM trees: around 1.4 million plants on 300-500 hectares in 2002.

with somfiA new global study of biotechnology in forestry conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed that about 70 percent of forest biotechnology activities is taking place in developing countries. India and China are the most active players in the developing world.

Of the over 2700 biotechnology activities reported worldwide over the past 10 years, genetic modification accounts for around 19 percent only. FAO reported that overall, genetic modification activities in forestry are taking place in at least 35 countries, with

Mike Johanns, Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, announced that China has approved NK603, a variety

of Round Up Ready corn, bringing the total Chinese biotech approvals to eight varieties of corn, two of cotton, seven of canola and one variety of soybeans. Johanns also said that the US will work with China to promote a regulatory system based on

sound science to expedite future approvals. Secretary Johanns and Minister Li Changjiang of China's General Administration

of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to improve bilateral cooperation on animal and plant health and food safety. This will enable the US to address the sanitary, phytosanitary,

and food safety issues that have hindered its agricultural access to China. The MOU also provides for the exchanges of information on relevant laws; regulations and standards; inspection and quarantine procedures; methodology and technology; pests and disease; toxic and harmful residues; food certification and establishment registration.

For more of Johanns’ first visit to China, visit http://www.usda.gov.

July 5th, 2005 will mark the first day that Imidazolinone-Resistant maize (IR-maize), or the Clearfield system, will be used. Eight years of research will culminate in a launch in Kisumu, Kenya, and in a ceremony to be presided over by Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Director Dr. Romano Kiome.

IR-maize, developed by breeding, protects the crop from Striga, a parasitic weed that has caused major problems for Sub-Saharan African farmers for over 70 years. Various control methods have been exercised over the years, but none have been effective in attacking the weed before its emergence. The new technology does exactly that: germinating Striga is killed before it can infect maize roots, and remaining seeds of the weed are destroyed, reducing weed numbers dramatically.

Jianhua Zhu of Purdue University, USA found out that “HOS10 encodes an R2R3-type MYB transcription factor essential for cold acclimation in plants.” The research reports the identification and characterization of an Arabidopsis mutant extremely sensitive to freezing temperatures and sodium chloride levels due to the mutation of a gene, and is published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online. Plant metabolism is highly complex, and still not completely understood. For instance, evidence indicates that metabolic pathways can cross each other and affect one another when pathways controlling drought, salinity, and cold tolerance are concerned. Through RNA gel analysis, cloning of the HOS10 gene, mutation of the gene, and identification of the HOS10 locus, among other things, researchers produced plants which were reduced in size, flowered early, and yet had reduced fertility. These HOS10mutants, moreover, could not survive in cold and high salt conditions, and could not synthesize an important hormone. This mutation, researchers said, could prove useful in further studies involving connections between cold or salt tolerance, and plant metabolism.