Rome, Italy
May, 2007
FAO-BiotechNews - May 2007
(Excerpts of relevance to seed professionals)
Source:
http://www.fao.org/biotech
FAO Biotechnology Glossary on
CD-ROM
The FAO Working Group on
Biotechnology has just published a CD-ROM containing the Arabic,
English, French and Spanish versions of the FAO Glossary of
Biotechnology for Food and Agriculture. The glossary, available
on the web at
http://www.fao.org/biotech/index_glossary.asp, is a
convenient reference source for researchers, students,
technicians and translators. It provides consolidated,
comprehensive and accessible definitions of over 3,000 terms and
acronyms that are used regularly in biotechnology, including
genetic engineering, and closely allied fields. The CD-ROM is
equipped with user-friendly searching facilities that allow easy
cross-referencing among the four languages. Contact
sandra.tardioli@fao.org to request a copy, providing your
full postal address.
Biopesticides in Desert
Locust management
On 12-15 February 2007, FAO
organised an international workshop on "The future of
biopesticides in Desert Locust management" in Saly, Senegal,
with support from the International Fund for Agricultural
Development, the International Organization of the Francophonie
and the World Bank. Its goal was to determine: i) what role
Metarhizium (a pathogenic fungus) and PAN (the hormone
phenylacetonitrile) should play in Desert Locust management and
ii) key actions required to integrate biopesticides into
operational campaigns. Workshop documents are now available on a
CD-ROM and the workshop report is available on the web in
English and French. See the
report or contact
james.everts@fao.org to request the CD-ROM and/or a copy of
the report.
OIE Scientific and
Technical Review
The Scientific and Technical
Review is a peer-reviewed journal published by the World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) three times a year which
contains in-depth studies devoted to current scientific and
technical developments in animal health and veterinary public
health world-wide. The latest issue, volume 25 (3), is now
available on the web, containing a range of
biotechnology-related papers, including "Aspects of kit
validation for tests used for the diagnosis and surveillance of
livestock diseases: producer and end-user responsibilities" by
J.R. Crowther, H. Unger and G.J. Viljoen from the Joint FAO/IAEA
Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. See
http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/rt/A_RT25_3.htm or contact
oie@oie.int for more
information.
New OECD consensus
documents on larches, mushrooms and sunflowers
A major output of the work of
the OECD’s Working Group on Harmonisation of Regulatory
Oversight in Biotechnology is the publication of consensus
documents, which typically compile information on the biology of
specific crop plant species which is for use in environmental
risk/ safety assessment. The "Consensus document on the biology
of the Native North American Larches: Subalpine larch (Larix
lyallii), Western larch (Larix occidentalis), and tamarack
(Larix laricina)" is now available on the web, at
http://appli1.oecd.org/olis/2007doc.nsf/linkto/env-jm-mono(2007)7.
The OECD’s Task Force for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds
also publishes consensus documents, dealing with issues related
to human foods and animal feeds. It has recently published the
"Consensus document on compositional considerations for new
varieties of the cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus: Key food
and feed nutrients, anti-nutrients and toxicants" and the
"Consensus document on compositional considerations for new
varieties of sunflower: Key food and feed nutrients,
anti-nutrients and toxicants". See
http://appli1.oecd.org/olis/2007doc.nsf/linkto/env-jm-mono(2007)5
and
http://appli1.oecd.org/olis/2007doc.nsf/linkto/env-jm-mono(2007)6
respectively, or contact
ehscont@oecd.org for more information about any of these
three publications.
Resistance to Fusarium
diseases in wheat and barley
Fusarium head blight and
Fusarium crown rot are important threats to sustainable wheat
and barley production worldwide. Efforts to combat these
diseases have been increasing around the world throughout
numerous countries and research communities. On 14-17 March
2006, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT), with support from the Government of Japan, organised a
strategic planning workshop in El Batán, Mexico, to highlight
the importance of diseases caused by the Fusarium fungus; the
status of collaborative efforts to address these diseases; and
future prospects for international collaboration. Proceedings of
the meeting, edited by T. Ban, J.M. Lewis and E.E. Phipps,
include several research papers on the use of molecular markers
in breeding for disease resistance and are now available on the
web. See
http://www.cimmyt.org/english/docs/proceedings/fusarium06.pdf
(2.1 MB) or contact
lvillasenor@cgiar.org for more information.
Biosafety and biotechnology
regulations in India
On 24-25 August 2006, the
International Food Policy Research Institute, under the South
Asia Biosafety Program, organised a conference in New Delhi,
India on "Economic considerations of biosafety and biotechnology
regulations in India", in collaboration with the Research and
Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India. The
meeting was designed to provide a platform for national and
international economic experts and important Indian stakeholders
to discuss economic considerations related to biosafety and
biotechnology in India. The 64-page proceedings, providing a
summary of presentations and discussions from the conference,
are now available on the web. See
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/indiaproc.asp or contact
ifpri@cgiar.org for more
information. |
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