Rome, Italy
June, 2008
FAO-BiotechNews, Updage 3-2008
Excerpts relevant to seed professionals
1) Global assessment of plant
breeding capacity
Since 2002, FAO and its partners have been carrying out a survey
to assess national plant breeding and related biotechnology
capacity worldwide. The survey is currently concluded in 62
countries and is still ongoing in 30 countries through the
support of FAO and the Global Partnership Initiative for Plant
Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB). The Plant Breeding and
related Biotechnology Capacity assessment (PBBC) database is now
available on the web, providing information from the survey in
an easily searchable format.
See
http://km.fao.org/gipb/pbbc/ or contact
elcio.guimaraes@fao.org for more information or with
suggestions/comments.
2)
Micropropagation for sugarcane seed production
A new
report on "Micropropagation for quality seed production in
sugarcane in Asia and the Pacific", by N.C. Jalaja, D.
Neelamathi and T.V. Sreenivasan, is now available on the web.
Published by FAO, the Asia-Pacific Consortium on Agricultural
Biotechnology (APCoAB) and the Asia-Pacific Association of
Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), the 46-page report
gives a step-by-step protocol for the production of disease-free
planting material in sugarcane using the meristem tip culture
method. Field multiplication of in-vitro raised plantlets aimed
at reducing the farmer-level cost of seedlings is also detailed.
Success stories of sugarcane micropropagation for seed
production in India, Australia and the Philippines are also
described.
See
http://www.apcoab.org/documents/sugar_pub.pdf (2.2 MB) or
contact
kakoli.ghosh@fao.org for more information.
3)
Agricultural biotechnology network - Near East and North Africa
On 15-16
December 2007, an expert consultation meeting for the
establishment of a regional network for agricultural
biotechnology in the Near East and North Africa was held in
Cairo, Egypt. The meeting was sponsored by the Association of
Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North
Africa (AARINENA), the Global Forum on Agricultural Research
(GFAR), FAO and the International Center for Agricultural
Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and hosted by the Egypt
Agricultural Research Center. At the meeting, the proposal to
establish the network was adopted unanimously and decisions were
taken regarding location of the network secretariat, election of
officers, selection of technical working groups and a program of
activities. See
http://www.aarinena.org/rais/documents/newsletter/vol15no2/5-6E.pdf
(568 KB) or contact
i.hamdan@cgiar.org for more information.
4)
Consultation on jatropha development
On 10-11
April 2008, the "International consultation on pro-poor Jatropha
development" was held in Rome, Italy, jointly organised by the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the
United Nations Foundation, FAO and the Prince Albert II of
Monaco Foundation. The consultation was designed to support the
recently-approved research grant financed by IFAD, which, inter
alia, aims to develop appropriate technologies to intensify
biofuel feedstock production, study the economics of rural
electrification and assess its impact on poverty. The
consultation was organised in 11 sessions, one of which was
dedicated to breeding, where applications of molecular markers
were also discussed. Presentations from the consultation are now
available on the web. See
http://www.ifad.org/events/jatropha/index.htm or contact
v.raswant@ifad.org for more information.
~~~
6)
Codex Committee on Food Labelling - 36th session report
The report
of the 36th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling
(CCFL), that took place from 28 April to 2 May 2008 in Ottawa,
Canada, is now available. Agenda Item 5, on "Labelling of foods
and food ingredients obtained through certain techniques of
genetic modification/genetic engineering", is covered in
paragraphs 75-93 of the report. See
http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/archives.jsp?lang=en
(document ALINORM 08/31/22) or contact
codex@fao.org for further information.
7) IPPC
diagnostic protocols meeting report
Five
technical panels have been set up under the International Plant
Protection Convention (IPPC). One of these, the Technical Panel
on Diagnostic Protocols (TPDP), produces diagnostic protocols
for specific pests, often involving use of morphological and
molecular/biochemical diagnostic techniques. The report of the
TPDP meeting held on 24-28 September 2007 in Buenos Aires,
Argentina is now available. See
https://www.ippc.int/id/59235?language=en or contact
ippc@fao.org for more information. The IPPC is an
international treaty relating to plant health, to which 169
governments currently adhere, and its Secretariat is based at
FAO Headquarters, Rome.
8)
Advance version of COP-MOP 4 report (Cartagena Protocol)
An advance
version of the report of the 4th meeting of the Parties to the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP 4), that took place on
12-16 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany, is now available on the web.
This 105-page document is subject to final clearance. See
http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/bs/mop-04/official/mop-04-18-en.pdf
or contact
secretariat@cbd.int for more information. Documents, press
releases and webcasts from the meeting are also available at
http://www.cbd.int/mop4/.
9)
Aarhus Convention - GMOs workshop
On 19-20
May 2008, an international workshop on "Good practices regarding
access to information, public participation and access to
justice with respect to GMOs" was held in Cologne, Germany, with
a particular focus on the needs and challenges facing countries
in transition (especially those from Eastern Europe, the
Caucasus and Central Asia) and developing countries. It was held
under the auspices of the Aarhus Convention (i.e. the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on
Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making
and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters). See the
workshop documents (in English, some also in French and Russian)
at
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/gmo.htm#gmoworkshop or contact
public.participation@unece.org for more information.
10)
Assessment of internationally funded biosafety and biotechnology
training
The United
Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) has
recently published "Internationally funded training in biosafety
and biotechnology - Is it bridging the biotech divide", by S.
Johnston, C. Monagle, J. Green and R. Mackenzie. The 233-page
report marks the conclusion of a global assessment, undertaken
by UNU-IAS from 2004 to 2007, aiming to provide a neutral,
independent and objective assessment of the various
internationally funded training programmes for biosafety and
biotechnology, especially to the extent that it is necessary for
biosafety, in the developing world. See
http://www.ias.unu.edu/sub_page.aspx?catID=111&ddlID=673 or
contact
johnston@ias.unu.edu for further information or to request a
printed copy of the report.
11) OIE
ad hoc Group on Biotechnology - 4th meeting report
The 4th
meeting of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) ad hoc
Group on Biotechnology was held on 28-30 November 2007 in Paris,
France. The ad hoc Group discussed a range of issues, including
position papers prepared on RNA-based biotechnologies and on
nanotechnologies; the follow-up to an international symposium on
animal genomics for animal health; and timetables for
preparation of background papers on topics such as RNA-based
technologies for the treatment and control of animal diseases or
transgenic animal technology for livestock. See
http://www.oie.int/downld/SC/2008/A_BSC_Jan2008.pdf (report
included as Appendix III, pages 13-26, 619 KB) or contact
scientific.dept@oie.int for more information.
12) OIE
Scientific and Technical Review issue 26 (3)
All 21
articles from the December 2007 issue of the OIE Scientific and
Technical Review are now available on the web. Submitted by
experts from around the world, they describe different animal
disease surveillance strategies and the control and elimination
of important animal diseases. The organisation of veterinary
services is also discussed, as are diagnosis and vaccines. See
http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/RT/A_RT26_3.htm or contact
publications.dept@oie.int for more information. 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.
13)
OECD Biotechnology Update 19
Issue
number 19 (April 2008) of the OECD Biotechnology Update is now
available. Presented by OECD's Internal Co-ordination Group for
Biotechnology, the 25-page newsletter aims to provide updated
information on activities at the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development related to biotechnology. See
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/1/40628456.pdf
(382 KB)
or contact
icgb@oecd.org for more information.
14)
Plant breeding capacity - Cameroon, Kenya, the Philippines and
Venezuela
As part of
its IFPRI Discussion Papers series, the International Food
Policy Research Institute has just published "Plant genetic
resources for agriculture, plant breeding, and biotechnology:
Experiences from Cameroon, Kenya, the Philippines, and
Venezuela" by J. Falck-Zepeda and co-authors.
Using data
from a global survey that FAO and its partners have been
carrying out on national plant breeding and related
biotechnology capacity, the 48-page study examines investments
in human and financial resources and the distribution of
resources among the different programs, as well as the capacity
and policy development for agricultural research in the four
selected countries. See
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/dp/ifpridp00762.asp or contact
ifpri@cgiar.org for more information.
~~~~
16)
Quality Protein Maize manual
The
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has
just published "Breeding Quality Protein Maize (QPM): Protocols
for developing QPM cultivars" by B.S. Vivek and co-authors. The
50-page manual is intended for maize breeders who would like to
start developing QPM cultivars. It is a compilation and
consolidation of several breeding protocols successfully used at
CIMMYT over two decades of QPM development and breeding. A brief
background and the basic theory of QPM genetics are explained,
leading up to detailed methods and procedures of QPM
development. A chapter is dedicated to marker-assisted
selection. QPM grain contains enhanced levels of the essential
amino acids lysine and tryptophan, along with other
characteristics that make more of its protein useful to humans
or farm animals. See
http://www.cimmyt.org/english/docs/manual/protocols/qpm_protocols.pdf
(1.7 MB) or contact
lvillasenor@cgiar.org for more information.
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