Information Systems for Biotechnology (ISB) News Report
September 2004

Full report in HTML format: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2004/news04.Sep.html  
Full report in PDF format: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2004/sep04.pdf

TABLE OF CONTENTS (links are to the ISB News Report website)

• Improved Nitrogen Assimilation using Transcription Factors
  by Shuichi Yanagisawa
   
• Transgenic Plants with No Foreign DNA
  by Tawanda Zidenga
  A recent paper published in the Plant Physiology journal by researchers at the J.R. Simplot Company, Simplot Plant Sciences in Idaho, reports the first example of genetically engineered plants that contain only native DNA¹. The reported methods were used to produce hundreds of marker-free and backbone-free potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants displaying reduced expression of a tuber-specific polyphenol oxidase gene in potato. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is responsible for post-harvest enzymatic discoloration in many fruit and vegetables.
   
• A New Strategy for Glyphosate Tolerant Crop Plants
  by Linda A. Castle and Michael W. Lassner
   
• Determining the Safety of Transgenic Insects
  by Mark S. Hoddle