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SCIENTISTS UNRAVEL TOMATO'S GENES
(SRC:Vancouver Sun -- ATH:Sarah Staples)
An international consortium of public and private sector
scientists from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and China are
engaged in an effort to sequence the entire tomato
genome. The effort, called the International Solanaceae
Genome Project, began in 2003 and is headed by
scientists from Cornell University in the U.S. Jim
Giovannoni, a Cornell-based molecular biologist with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), told an
international meeting of food scientists in Las Vegas on
July 13 that the international sequencing consortium
aims to publish the tomato's full genetic sequence
within the coming two years. The tomato genome was
chosen for sequencing in part because of its relatively
simple genetic structure and also because of its
similarity to the genomes of other popular fruits and
vegetables, including bananas, melons, and coffee. The
article says that the sequencing project will aid
international efforts to develop a range of genetically
modified (GM) fruits and vegetables with heightened
levels of healthful vitamins and anti-oxidants. The
article can be viewed online at the link below.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=8191&start=1&control=215&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1
EU Funding for GM Plant Vaccines
(SRC:BBC News -- ATH:Jonathan Amos)
A consortium of European scientists have launched an
initiative to develop genetically modified (GM) crops
that produce vaccines and other treatments for major
diseases affecting developing countries, such as
HIV/AIDS, rabies, and TB. Thirty-nine academic research
laboratories in 11 European countries will work together
on the initiative, called the Pharma-Planta project,
with input from researchers in South Africa. The
project has received 12 million euros from the EU and
hopes to start clinical trials by 2009. Its first
product, possibly to be grown in maize, is likely to be
an antibody that can be used in a microbicidal cream to
block HIV transmission. The second product may be a
post-bite vaccine for rabies, which remains a
significant killer in Africa and Southeast Asia. The
Pharma-Planta project has yet to decide which plants to
use, but possibilities include tobacco, maize, potatoes,
and tomatoes. According to the project plan,
successfully developed plants will be freely licensed in
developing countries, where they will be cultivated and
where any necessary processing will be carried out.
Pharma-Planta Scientific Coordinator Julian Ma, with St.
George's Hospital Medical School in the U.K., says that
a major advantage to Pharma-Planta's drug production
strategy is its low cost. "Plants are inexpensive to
grow, and if we were to engineer them to contain a gene
for a pharmaceutical product, they could produce large
quantities of drugs or vaccines at low cost," Ma says.
He adds that it is difficult to make comparisons but
that the costs of producing plant-derived pharmaceutical
products could be 10 to 100 times lower than those
associated with conventional production. FOE Campaigner
Clare Oxborrow says: "A clear set of criteria must be
established to ensure that human health and the
environment are protected. Any benefits must genuinely
reach those that need them, rather than simply lining
the pockets of the biotech and pharmaceutical
industry." Pharma-Planta's biosafety coordinator,
Philip Dale from the John Innes Center in the U.K., says
that significant biosafety precautions will be taken on
the project. "The plants would be grown in
pharmaceutical production units on dedicated land,
isolated from food crops," Dale says, adding: "They
would be genetically isolated too [because only] new
male sterile lines that don't produce pollen [would be
used]. The crops would be harvested using dedicated
equipment – combine harvesters and storage. Even the
initial phases of the processing would be done on
site." The article reports that similar "pharma crop"
projects are underway in other parts of the world. One
such project is already being used in Cuba to create
human proteins in tobacco plants that allow the
purification of Hepatitis B vaccine. In general,
however, it says that many commercial companies have
withdrawn from vaccine development and production
because of low economic returns. The article can be
viewed online at the link below.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3887517.stm
Genetics Tackle the Vine
(SRC:The Sydney Morning Herald -- ATH:Amelia
Gentleman)
A lobby group representing French winemakers has
announced that it will oppose a government plan to
develop genetically modified (GM) grapes. Provisional
approval has been granted to allow France's National
Institute for Agricultural Research to restart field
studies on plants designed for resistance to one of the
most devastating diseases that affect grape harvests.
However, some of the country's most powerful winemakers
say that GM grape field tests would be "catastrophic"
for the French wine industry.The Terre et Vin du Monde
association, which brings together wine manufacturers
from Germany, Spain and the U.S., has also concluded
that the potential risks of GM technology outweigh its
potential benefits.The group was founded in 2000 to
study the question of whether GM technology could be
beneficial to the wine industry. The article can be
viewed online at the link below.
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=8148&start=1&control=215&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1
European Commission approves biotech maize
Brussels, 19th July 2004:Today,
the European Commission approved a genetically modified
maize (NK603) for import, feed use, and industrial
processing in the European Union. A submission to EU
authorities to authorize cultivation of NK603 in the EU
is not a part of this decision. NK603 maize is
genetically modified to make it tolerant to glyphosate
herbicide. “We welcome the Commission decision to
approve another plant biotech product in Europe, the
second since 1998,” says Johan Vanhemelrijck, Secretary
General of EuropaBio, the European association for
bioindustries. "We hope that further approvals will
follow." In December 2003, the EU's European Food Safety
Authority gave a positive scientific opinion on the
safety of genetically modified NK603 maize (2). This
reflects the earlier opinions of other regulatory
authorities worldwide, and the experience in countries
in which this maize is already approved, cultivated and
used. NK603 is field maize genetically modified to
tolerate glyphosate herbicide and provides farmers with
additional options of weed control management in this
crop. The GM field maize is approved for import and food
use in Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia,
Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, South
Africa , Taiwan and the United States and was first
approved in 2000. (1) NK603 is a genetically modified
maize developed by the Monsanto Company, a EuropaBio
member company. (2) Opinion of the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA)on NK603 maize. http://www.efsa.eu.int/pdf/pressrel_gmo_0203_final_en.pdf
Biotech Events
July 31 –
August 4
12th
International Conference on Intelligent Systems for
Molecular Biology and 3rd European Conference on
Computational Biology
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Contact:
Stephanie Hagstrom, Jane Hay, Tel: +44 (0)141 331 0123;
Email:
info04@ismbconf.org
URL:
http://www.iscb.org/ismbeccb2004/index.html
August 8 - 13
Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation,
Andover, NH, USA
Contact:
Gordon Research Conferences, 3071 Route 138, Kingston,
RI 02881, USA; Tel: +1 (401) 783 4011; Fax: +1 (401) 783
7644;
Email:
grc@grcmail.grc.uri.edu;
URL:
http://www.grc.org/programs/2004/posttran.htm |
