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Gene technology in agriculture, environment and biopharming: beyond Bt-rice and building better breeding budgets for crops

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Abstract

Applications of gene technology in agriculture, the environment and human health fields are reviewed. This case study of the intricate historical details of the development of Bt crops like cotton and rice unveils essential elements of productive funding schemes and effective multinational collaborations. Gene technology applied to pest resistance traits in global cotton is analyzed using nation-specific data from India to demonstrate ‘ricochet’ results: Regulatory approval for one crop catalyzes an ‘Enhancer Effect’ for promoting more research funding and more competitive results for other crops-in-waiting, namely rice. Just as cotton commerce promoted philanthropy in unpredictable situations like the Kreenholm dynasty of Ludwig Knoop, research budgets for pesticide and biocide technology have yielded intended effects, but several surprising unintended effects as well. Finally, the case is made for greater control of gene flow and identity preserve issues in plant biotechnology research by invoking Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for Bt genes.

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Abbreviations

BMTA:

Biological materials transfer agreement

Bt:

Bacillus thuringiensis

COST:

European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research

ECB:

European corn borer

ENDURE:

European Network for Durable Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies

GEAC:

Genetic Engineering Approval Committee

GM:

Genetically modified

GMT:

Genetically modified tree

ICP:

Insecticidal crystal protein

IP:

Intellectual property

IP:

Identity preserve

IPRB:

International Program on Rice Biotechnology

ISI:

Institute for Scientific Information

MTA:

Material transfer agreement

RF:

The Rockefeller Foundation

SCI:

Science Citation Index

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Acknowledgments

The research productivity of The Altosaar Laboratory would not have been possible without the generous support of several funding agencies: Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, The Rockefeller Foundation, Rasi Seeds (P) Ltd. (Attur, Tamil Nadu, India), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Institute of Nutrition Metabolism and Diabetes Grant 82816), Monsanto Canada Inc., and Intellectual Ventures Canada (IV). IT is the grateful recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from L’Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), MAZ of an UNESCO Biotech Fellowship, HHS is an uOttawa Undergraduate Research Scholar, WMF and JTEB were UROP awardees, and TLW is an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada

    Mohsin Abbas Zaidi, Jason El Bilali, Adam Gregory Koziol, Tonya L. Ward, George Styles, Trevor J. Greenham, Whitney Michelle Faiella, Hwan Hee Son, Shen Wan, Ibrahim Taga & Illimar Altosaar

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  1. Mohsin Abbas Zaidi
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  2. Jason El Bilali
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  3. Adam Gregory Koziol
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  4. Tonya L. Ward
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  5. George Styles
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  6. Trevor J. Greenham
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  9. Shen Wan
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  10. Ibrahim Taga
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  11. Illimar Altosaar
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Correspondence to Illimar Altosaar.

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Zaidi, M.A., El Bilali, J., Koziol, A.G. et al. Gene technology in agriculture, environment and biopharming: beyond Bt-rice and building better breeding budgets for crops. J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. 21 (Suppl 1), 2–9 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-012-0128-z

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