Applications of Biotechnology on Food, Agriculture

1
Applications of Biotechnology on Food,
Agriculture Energy

• Assist. Prof. Dr. Jessada
• Denduangboripant
• Chulalongkorn University

2
Biotechnology in Agriculture

• There are many important applications of
  biotechnology that have made a tremendous impact
  on agricultural productivity.
• Conventional plant breeding
• Tissue culture micropropagation
• Molecular breeding or marker assisted selection
• Genetic engineering GM crops
• The Omics - Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics
• Plant disease diagnostics
• Microbial fermentation.

3
Biotechnology in Agriculture
GE of animals
GE of plants
GE to improve microorganisms
GE to develop animal vaccines
Recombinant DNA for disease diagnostics
GE of biocontrol agents against plant pest
diseases
Monoclonal anti body production
Plant protoplast fusion
Plant tissue culture
Embryo transfer
Fermentation, Biofertilizers
4
What is GMO?

• An organism whose genetic material has been
  altered using genetic engineering techniques (
  recombinant DNA technology).
• DNA molecules from different sources are combined
  into one molecule to create a new set of genes.
• This DNA is then transferred into an organism,
  giving it modified or novel genes.

5
How to make GMOs
6
History of Usages of GMOs

• GMOs have widespread applications.
• They are used in biological medical research,
  production of pharmaceutical drugs, experimental
  medicine (e.g. gene therapy), and agriculture
  (e.g. golden rice).
• In 1978, Genentech, the first company to use
  recombinant DNA technology, announced the
  creation of an E. coli strain producing the human
  protein insulin.

7
History of Usages of GMOs

• In 1987, the ice-minus strain of P. syringae
  (bacteria genetically engineered to protect
  plants from frost damage ) became the first GMO
  to be released into the environment.
• Monsanto scientists became the first to
  genetically modify a plant cell in 1982.
• Five years later (1987), Monsanto conducted the
  first field tests of genetically engineered crops.

8
Transgenic Microbes

• Bacteria were the first organisms to be modified
  due to their simple genetics.
• Genetically modified bacteria are now used in a
  variety of tasks, particularly important in
  producing pure human proteins for use in
  medicine.
• GM bacteria are also used in some soils to
  facilitate crop growth and can also produce
  chemicals which are toxic to crop pests.

9
Transgenic Animals

• Transgenic animals are used as experimental
  models to perform phenotypic tests with genes
  whose function is unknown.
• Other applications include the production of
  human hormones like insulin.
• GM fishes, including salmonids, carps tilapias,
  have been created for aquaculture industry to
  increase meat production with promotors driving
  an over-production of growth hormone (GH).

10
Transgenic Plants

• GM plants have been engineered to possess several
  desirable traits, including resistance to pests,
  herbicides or harsh environmental conditions,
  improved product shelflife, and increased
  nutritional value.
• Since the first commercial cultivation of GM
  plants in 1996, they have been modified to be
  tolerant to the herbicides glufosinate
  glyphosate, and to produce the Bt toxin, a potent
  insecticide.

11
GM Crops Agriculture

• Over the past decade, many commercially
  transgenic crops have been developed to meet the
  worlds growing needs of food, feed, fuel and
  fiber.
• Primary research development of GM crops
  include
• Grain yield quality, environmental stress
  tolerance, pest control, herbicide tolerance,
  disease resistance, lipid enhancements (increased
  oil, improved fatty-acid composition), protein
  enhancements and bioactive compounds.

12
Global Status of GM Crops
13
Research Aims of GM Crops

• Corn - increase enhance yield, disease insect
  tolerance, stalk root strength, and kernel
  qualities such as oil protein.
• Cotton - develop yield fiber quality, and
  tolerance to environmental stress.
• Soybeans - improve yield, yield stability,
  disease tolerance, and improved oil protein
  composition.
• Vegetables - improve products by combating
  environmental factors that limit the plants
  output, and by enhancing the products end-market
  features - including appearance and quality.

14
Research Aims of GM Crops
15
RD Pipelines of GM Crops

• The product pipeline tracks through 5 phases
  (2-year stage each). The early phases abound with
  testing activity for products whose commercial
  introduction may be a decade away.

16
RD Pipelines of GM Crops
17
GM Crop Updates for 2009
18
Drought-tolerant Corn

• Corn Yield Drought 1 Tolerant
• Phase 4 (prelaunch)
• The first-ever biotech crop with drought tolerant
  trait has moved into Phase 4 development and
  testing of best trait germplasm combinations
  for commercial launch.
• Targeting 6-10 yield improvement in water-stress
  environments

19
Drought-tolerant Corn
20
SmartStax Corn

• Phase 4 (2010 commercial launch)
• SmartStax corn is the first, most durable and
  highest-yielding package for total weed and bug
  control in corn.
• It combines the following herbicide-tolerant
  insect-protection traits YieldGard VT Rootworm/
  Roundup Ready 2 Technology YieldGard VT PPO
  Herculex I Herculex RW Liberty Link.

21
SmartStax Corn

• 5-10 whole-farm yield improvement estates
  improved consistency for primary secondary
  pests, and reduced refuge.

22
Higher-yielding Soybean

• Soy Yield Intrinsic Development
• Phase 3 (advanced dev.)
• Higher-yielding soybeans have moved into Phase 3
  closer to farmers fields regulatory trials
  are planned.
• Targeting 6-10 yield improvement through
  insertion of key genes.

23
Higher-yielding Soybean
24
Dicamba-tolerant Cotton

• Dicamba Glufosinate-Tolerant (DGT) Cotton
• Phase 2 (early dev.)
• Dicamba-resistant cotton has moved to Phase 2
  lab field testing to select commercial product
  candidates .
• Improved weed control options with 3 modes of
  action for herbicide tolerance Roundup Ready
  Flex plus Dicamba Glufosinate-torelance

25
Dicamba-tolerant Cotton
26
Higher-yielding Corn

• Phase 2. Targeting 6-10 yield improvement.

27
Nitrogen-utilization Corn

• Phase 1. Improving yield in normal or low
  nitrogen environments.

28
New GM Crop Projects

• Roundup Ready insect-protected sugar cane.
• Potential to reduce insecticide uses through
  insertion of key genes for in-plant insect
  control.
• Potential to improve yield with improved insect
  control, specifically of the sugar cane borer,
  from insertion of key genes and improved weed
  control with Roundup Ready gene conveying
  herbicide tolerance.

29
New GM Crop Projects

• Roundup Ready insect-protected soybeans.
• Second-generation insect-protected product
  wider spectrum of insect protection. Effective on
  Spodoptera, a pest prevalent in Brazil.
• Potential to improve yield with improved insect
  control, specifically of the sugar cane borer,
  from insertion of key genes and improved weed
  control with Roundup Ready gene conveying
  herbicide tolerance.

30
GM Crop Updates for 2009
31
GM Crops in the Philippines

• Commercialized corn resistant to Asiatic corn
  borer.
• Field Tested rice resistant to bacterial
  blight, corn resistant to Asiatic corn borer.
• Greenhouse papaya with delayed ripening trait,
  papaya resistant to ringspot virus.
• Lab mango with delayed ripening trait, rice
  resistant to tungro virus, vitamin A-enriched
  rice, banana resistant to bunchy top disease,
  coconut with higher amount of MCTs, sweet potato
  resistant to feathery mottle virus.

32
Transgenic Rice

• Virus Resistant Rice
• Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is of major
  concern especially among African rice farmers.
• Researchers in U.K. are enhancing the plants
  antiviral defense system by incorporating mRNA
  sequences of the virus into rice plants,
  consequently make them immune to the pathogenic
  RYMV.

33
Transgenic Rice

• Nematode Resistant Rice
• There is a great need to develop nematode
  (economically important pest) -resistant rice
  since chemical nematocides considered
  ecologically destructive.
• The GM rice has been developed based on an
  anti-feedant approach. It can produce cystatin
  (natural proteinase inhibitor) in the roots and
  prevent the nematode from feeding efficiently.

34
Transgenic Rice

• Herbicide Tolerant Rice
• Using herbicide resistant rice is advantageous.
  Lesser inputs are required from the farmers (e.g.
  soil tilling herbicide application) and lesser
  competition for soil nutrients could greatly
  encourage the growth of rice.
• These rice varieties work in a similar manner to
  herbicide-tolerant soybean. They contain a gene
  that provides resistance to 1 of 2 broad
  spectrum, environmentally benign herbicides.

35
Transgenic Rice

• Iron-Rich Rice
• Iron deficiency is considered to be one of the
  most widespread micronutrient deficiency
  worldwide resulting to illnesses like anemia,
  heart problems, and neurological disorders.
• Researchers have incorporated the ferritin gene
  from Phaseolus vulgaris into rice plant which
  increased the iron content in the rice endosperm
  by two-fold.

36
Fear for GM Food Crops

• Although growth for GM crops is expected to be
  driven by China, India, the Philippines, Vietnam
  Pakistan, much of Eastern Europe, Russia,
  France, and Ireland have still bans against GM
  foods.
• Most protests against GM crops have focused on
  those grown for human consumption.
• While support for GM foods has remained
  consistent over the past 10 years, the opposition
  has shrunk but not disappeared.

37
Energy
38
Biofuels from GM Crops

• However, the increasing interest in crops being
  harvested for biofuels is likely to reignite
  discussions concerning GM crops.
• The agobiotech companies could use their GM
  technology to make the plants easier to be
  converted into energy or more efficiently
  processed.
• GM energy plants will help solve the problems of
  food shortage caused by using conventional crop
  for the biofuel purpose.

39
Biofuels from GM Crops

• GM corn modified to increase drought resistance
  yield can reduce the cost and increase production
  efficiency of ethanol.
• The plants can be made to minimize the amount of
  lingin which interferes with the cellulose to
  ethanol process.
• Genetic modifications can also help creation of
  powerful enzymes which will convert crop wastes
  such as corn husks.

40
Biofuels from GM Crops

• The fuel plants can be engineered to produce
  their own cellulose digesting enzymes and store
  them in a compartment inside a cell.
• Plant growth can be genetically boosted by
  increasing a hormone that regulates plant height.
  
• The cellulose content can also be boosted by
  adding additional copies of the genes that
  catalyze its synthesis.

41
Biofuels from GM Crops

• Most energy crops in Europe are in the form of
  non-GM sugarbeet, rapeseed corn.
• However, GM maize is importing to Europe which
  can express an enzyme in bio-ethanol production,
  shortening the time to be fermented into alcohol.
• In US Brazil, research on GM sugarcane sugar
  beets is in an advanced stage.
• Brazil has recently decided to use GM Soya for
  bio-fuels, while food soya will be kept for
  human consumption.

42
END