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Bio-tech & Genetics Agri-Biz & Commodities - Agricultural Policy Proposed ban on GM food crops not desirable: Expert “Transgenic technologies are not a substitute for conventional methods of plant breeding. At the same time, ruling out this option or saying it is okay for cotton and not so for mustard or rice does not make sense for a country like India”. 
GM option may be ruled out: A view of bright yellow mustard flowers in full bloom. Harish Damodaran New Delhi, June 22 The Centre’s reported move, to restrict genetic modification (GM) technologies to non-food crops and not permitting them in food crops, has drawn flak from a leading plant biotechnologist. According to Dr Deepak Pental, Professor of Genetics and Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, the new policy, apparently under consideration, is not in the interest of the country’s long-term food security. “Transgenic technologies are not a substitute for conventional methods of plant breeding. At the same time, ruling out this option or saying it is okay for cotton and not so for mustard or rice does not make sense for a country like India”, he pointed out. Mustard hybridDr Pental’s team at the Delhi University has bred DMH-11, a GM mustard hybrid currently awaiting regulatory approval for open field trials. Mustard – unlike maize, cotton or tomato – is a self-pollinating plant in which the individual flowers contain both the female and male reproductive organs. The absence of a natural hybridisation system (allowing the egg cells of one plant to be fertilised by the pollen discharged from the male stamen of another plant) restricts the scope for developing hybrids in mustard. Hybrids, i.e. the first-generation progeny resulting from crossing two genetically diverse plant varieties, usually yield more than what either of the parents is individually capable of giving. GM technologyDr Pental’s team has basically deployed GM technology to create a viable hybridisation system in mustard, for which they have even obtained a patent (No. 6,833,494) from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Their process has involved inducing male sterility in mustard plants through introduction of a ‘barnase’ gene (from a bacterium, cillus amyloliquefaciens) that produces toxic proteins impairing pollen production. The male sterile plant is crossed with a (fertile) parental line, containing, in turn, another bacterial gene called ‘barstar’ that blocks the action of the ‘barnase’ gene. The resulting progeny, having both these foreign genes, is a hybrid mustard plant that is not only high yielding, but also fertile and capable of producing seed (courtesy the ‘barstar’ gene in the second fertile line). The DMH-11 hybrid bred at the Delhi University has already undergone contained multi-location field trials under the aegis of the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM). TrialsThe trials, conducted during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 rabi planting seasons, showed the GM mustard to yield around 30 per cent more than the best national check variety, ‘Varuna’. “We have not been able to take our trials to the open field stage. This is mainly because of a Supreme Court ruling that makes completion of bio-safety studies a pre-requisite for carrying out any such trials in farmers’ fields. And being a public sector institution, we do not have the kind of resources to do these safety analyses, which cost lot of money”, Dr Pental noted. Compounding these problems are recent statements from top Government officials hinting at a ban on use of GM technologies in food crops. “Our country is spending precious foreign exchange in importing edible oils, pulses and many other food crops. How can we have a policy that rules out GM technologies as an option, particularly in crops where there are no hybridisation systems existing in nature or where the germplasm pool is rather limited for pure line breeding? On the contrary, we must encourage more public-funded research in this area”, Dr Pental added. Biotech sector turnover tops Rs 12,000 cr in 2009 More Stories on : Bio-tech & Genetics | Agricultural Policy
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