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India to protect traditional knowledge
-PLANT August 2000
17/7/00
9:01 am
Page 323
trends in plant science Headlines
Humanitarian and commercial deal in one The inventors of vitamin A-enriched rice (Golden Rice), Ingo Protrykus (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland) and Peter Beyer (University of Freiburg, Germany), have reached an agreement with Greenovation (Freiburg, Germany) and Zeneca (London, UK), and are working with agencies throughout the world to enable the delivery of this technology free-of-charge for humanitarian purposes in the developing world. Local farmers will each be allowed to earn an annual $10 000 without paying royalties. Zeneca has contributed to the European Union carotenoid research project since 1996 and will explore commercial opportunities for sales of Golden Rice in the growing health food market. Golden Rice contains the anti-oxidant b-carotene – anti-oxidants have been shown to play a role in the fight against cancer and coronary disease. At the same time, Zeneca will provide regulatory, advisory and research expertise to assist in making Golden Rice available in developing countries (http://www.zenecaagproducts.com/newinfo/newsrelease/ archive/goldenrice.htm; www.greenovation.com).
Super healthy broccoli Richard Mithen (John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK) reports on a super-broccoli that has not been genetically modified, which contains up to 100 times more sulphoraphane, a compound that helps to lower the risk of cancer. The breeding program was sped up by using a patented DNA fingerprinting technology.
New plant protection methodology Cowan et al. (Miami University of Ohio, USA) reported at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology on the use of polyphenol oxidase from potato in plant disease control. The methodology could work by preventing or disrupting the attachment of microorganisms to host tissue, instead of simply killing the causative organisms.
China to sequence Indica The Chinese Beijing Genomics Institute plans to sequence superhybrid rice that was cultivated from two rice varieties, Indica and Japonica. An international consortium of researchers is already sequencing Japonica, and a Chinese team led by Hong Guofan in Shanghai has taken on Indica. The new project could specifically help explain why hybrid varieties often outperform their parental strains in yield and resistance to disease.
India to protect traditional knowledge
Preventing blindness with sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes, a crop native to South America, are easy to grow and have become a staple food in many African countries. The orange-fleshed sweet potato variety is rich in b-carotene, a nutrient that the body uses to produce vitamin A. These new sweet potatoes, developed by the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP) and its partners, offer hope to women and children who are currently beyond the reach of vitamin A supplement programs (www.cipotato.org).
Andes potato gene research
The European Patent Office (EPO) withdrew a controversial patent previously granted to the US Dept of Agriculture and the biobusiness corporation W.R. Grace (Columbia, MD, USA) on the use of antifungal agents extracted from the neem (Azadirachta indica) tree. A. indica is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, where it has been used in agriculture, medicine and cosmetics for centuries. The EPO has received 51 patent applications for ‘inventions’ based on the neem tree, and has so far granted 11. Approximately 90 patents exploiting the tree have been granted worldwide. India has announced plans to create a digital database of its traditional knowledge. This will be included in the patent classification system of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization as a solution to prevent patents from being issued for non-original inventions in India’s traditional system.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists hope to improve the nutritional value of Andean potatoes by blocking natural but bitter compounds called glycoalkaloids. The ARS has a patent for the anti-glycoalkaloid techniques and has licensed the technology to Small Potatoes (Madison, WI, USA) on the condition that it provides the technology to developing countries in the Andean region. The program might enable the use of insect- or disease-resistant traits from wild tubers that would today be removed from breeding programs because of high glycoalkaloid levels ([email protected]).
Stem rust warning
A second appearance of the aphid-borne bunchy top virus on Kauai (HI, USA) has forced commercial growers to destroy their banana crop. Unless chemicals are used, the virus will remain in the roots and it will be impossible to grow bananas in that area again. Herbicide was used to eradicate the banana plants before, but only after state officials went to court against several organic growers who refused to allow chemicals on their land.
‘Stem rust’ is a devastating wheat disease that has been under control since the mid-1950s. A new stem rust biotype that has never before been identified has infected experimental wheat in the highlands of Uganda in East Africa, and potentially threatens wheat production elsewhere in the world. The region’s climate makes it a ‘hot spot’ for rust diseases, ideal for finding out which wheat variety will stand up to the disease and which will not. The resurgence of stem rust is alarming because it signals the breakdown of a resistance gene that protects current wheat varieties.
1360 - 1385/00/$ – see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Kauai hit by banana virus
Internet news media, edited by Gert E. de Vries.
August 2000, Vol. 5, No. 8
323
17/7/00
9:01 am
Page 323
trends in plant science Headlines
Humanitarian and commercial deal in one The inventors of vitamin A-enriched rice (Golden Rice), Ingo Protrykus (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland) and Peter Beyer (University of Freiburg, Germany), have reached an agreement with Greenovation (Freiburg, Germany) and Zeneca (London, UK), and are working with agencies throughout the world to enable the delivery of this technology free-of-charge for humanitarian purposes in the developing world. Local farmers will each be allowed to earn an annual $10 000 without paying royalties. Zeneca has contributed to the European Union carotenoid research project since 1996 and will explore commercial opportunities for sales of Golden Rice in the growing health food market. Golden Rice contains the anti-oxidant b-carotene – anti-oxidants have been shown to play a role in the fight against cancer and coronary disease. At the same time, Zeneca will provide regulatory, advisory and research expertise to assist in making Golden Rice available in developing countries (http://www.zenecaagproducts.com/newinfo/newsrelease/ archive/goldenrice.htm; www.greenovation.com).
Super healthy broccoli Richard Mithen (John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK) reports on a super-broccoli that has not been genetically modified, which contains up to 100 times more sulphoraphane, a compound that helps to lower the risk of cancer. The breeding program was sped up by using a patented DNA fingerprinting technology.
New plant protection methodology Cowan et al. (Miami University of Ohio, USA) reported at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology on the use of polyphenol oxidase from potato in plant disease control. The methodology could work by preventing or disrupting the attachment of microorganisms to host tissue, instead of simply killing the causative organisms.
China to sequence Indica The Chinese Beijing Genomics Institute plans to sequence superhybrid rice that was cultivated from two rice varieties, Indica and Japonica. An international consortium of researchers is already sequencing Japonica, and a Chinese team led by Hong Guofan in Shanghai has taken on Indica. The new project could specifically help explain why hybrid varieties often outperform their parental strains in yield and resistance to disease.
India to protect traditional knowledge
Preventing blindness with sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes, a crop native to South America, are easy to grow and have become a staple food in many African countries. The orange-fleshed sweet potato variety is rich in b-carotene, a nutrient that the body uses to produce vitamin A. These new sweet potatoes, developed by the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP) and its partners, offer hope to women and children who are currently beyond the reach of vitamin A supplement programs (www.cipotato.org).
Andes potato gene research
The European Patent Office (EPO) withdrew a controversial patent previously granted to the US Dept of Agriculture and the biobusiness corporation W.R. Grace (Columbia, MD, USA) on the use of antifungal agents extracted from the neem (Azadirachta indica) tree. A. indica is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, where it has been used in agriculture, medicine and cosmetics for centuries. The EPO has received 51 patent applications for ‘inventions’ based on the neem tree, and has so far granted 11. Approximately 90 patents exploiting the tree have been granted worldwide. India has announced plans to create a digital database of its traditional knowledge. This will be included in the patent classification system of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization as a solution to prevent patents from being issued for non-original inventions in India’s traditional system.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists hope to improve the nutritional value of Andean potatoes by blocking natural but bitter compounds called glycoalkaloids. The ARS has a patent for the anti-glycoalkaloid techniques and has licensed the technology to Small Potatoes (Madison, WI, USA) on the condition that it provides the technology to developing countries in the Andean region. The program might enable the use of insect- or disease-resistant traits from wild tubers that would today be removed from breeding programs because of high glycoalkaloid levels ([email protected]).
Stem rust warning
A second appearance of the aphid-borne bunchy top virus on Kauai (HI, USA) has forced commercial growers to destroy their banana crop. Unless chemicals are used, the virus will remain in the roots and it will be impossible to grow bananas in that area again. Herbicide was used to eradicate the banana plants before, but only after state officials went to court against several organic growers who refused to allow chemicals on their land.
‘Stem rust’ is a devastating wheat disease that has been under control since the mid-1950s. A new stem rust biotype that has never before been identified has infected experimental wheat in the highlands of Uganda in East Africa, and potentially threatens wheat production elsewhere in the world. The region’s climate makes it a ‘hot spot’ for rust diseases, ideal for finding out which wheat variety will stand up to the disease and which will not. The resurgence of stem rust is alarming because it signals the breakdown of a resistance gene that protects current wheat varieties.
1360 - 1385/00/$ – see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Kauai hit by banana virus
Internet news media, edited by Gert E. de Vries.
August 2000, Vol. 5, No. 8
323