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Project: EAST AFRICAN HIGHLAND (EAH) BANANA RESISTANT TO BLACK SIGATOKA AND NEMATODES
   
Project Manager: Frank Shotkoski, Director, ABSPII
   
Participating Countries: Uganda
   
Term: 2005-2008
   
Partners:
   
Technology: The antifungal chitinase RCG3 gene is reported to provide protection against black sigatoka fungus. The maize cystatin protein has been shown to effectively control nematodes in bioengineered potatoes and transgenic banana roots expressing the gene under laboratory conditions support substantially reduced numbers of nematodes compared to control tissues. For this project, research is being conducted to assess whether these technologies can be successfully implemented in bioengineered bananas.
   
Project Status:
    For the nematode project, the primary objective is to test whether bananas bioengineered to produce the cystatin protein and other complimentary nemadicidal proteins can effectively minimize nematode infestation. Studies will also be conducted to assess the safety and sustainability of these strategies.

    In the long term, efforts will be made to combine these two technologies to develop banana varieties with durable resistance to both black sigatoka and nematodes.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Professional development opportunities for Ugandan scientists at NARO so they can utilize advanced technology to fight plant diseases.
  • Increase banana production at a reduced cost for regional, small-scale farmers.

 

Project: FRUIT AND SHOOT BORER RESISTANT (FSBR) EGGPLANT
   
Project Manager: K Vijayraghavan, Regional Coordinator, South Asia
   
Participating Countries: Bangladesh, India, Philippines
   
Term: 2004-2008
   
Partners:
   
Technology: Cry 1Ac, a gene from the naturally occurring bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis, produces a protein that protects plants from some caterpillars, including the eggplant fruit and shoot borer.
   
Project Status:
  • Partnerships between private seed companies and leading research institutions in participating countries allowed promising resources to be efficiently applied to the production of FSBR Eggplant.
  • A gene (Cry1Ac) that renders eggplant resistant to the fruit and shoot borer, was transformed into Mahyco's most popular and regionally relevant eggplant varieties.
  • Data from field trials show that the bioengineered Cry1Ac technology effectively protects eggplant from fruit and shoot borer infestation.
  • In India, experiments are being conducted to confirm that the transformed eggplant is safe to eat and is environmentally sound.
  • In 2004 and 2005, our partners in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines started introducing this technology to their locally adapted varieties. The resulting varieties are undergoing biosafety and biodiversity review so they may be commercialized and made available to farmers.
  • Outreach material and other educational resources have been developed to help farmers and consumers understand the new FSBR eggplant technology.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Resource-limited farmers stand to benefit economically from: - High quality eggplant seeds available from public-sector sources at affordable prices. - Reduced production losses from the eggplant fruit and shoot borer. - Increase in clean, marketable fruit. - Reduced production costs due to less frequent use of pesticide sprays.
  • Improved human and animal health, and less damage to the environment, as a result of less exposure to chemical pesticide sprays.
  • Improved capacity in the areas of research, licensing and communication through hands-on training, partnerships, exchange visits and workshop participation.

 

Project: TOBACCO STREAK VIRUS RESISTANT (TSVR) GROUNDNUT
   
Project Manager: K Vijayraghavan, Regional Coordinator, South Asia
   
Participating Countries: India
   
Term: 2004-2008
   
Partners:
   
Technology: Viruses are encapsulated by a coat protein (CP) that acts as a protective cage for the virus. It has been well documented in many plants that introduction of a specific viral coat protein can render plant resistant to the target virus. The TSV coat protein gene from the virus that occurs in India was transformed into a local variety of groundnut, essentially vaccinating it against the virus, through its own defense mechanism.
   
Project Status:
    The TSV coat protein gene was isolated and prepared for transfer into groundnut at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. The TSV coat protein was transferred into groundnut and now those plants are being propagated and analyzed in greenhouses at ICRISAT.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • High quality groundnut seed available on the market at affordable prices.
  • Reduction of crop loss due to tobacco streak virus.
  • Savings in crop protection costs that might otherwise be incurred to protect from tobacco streak virus.
  • Increased income and food security for small scale farmers.
  • Increased ability to continue research on groundnut at ICRISAT.

 

Project: PAPAYA RINGSPOT VIRUS RESISTANT (PRSVR) PAPAYA
   
Project Manager: Desiree Hautea, Regional Coordinator, Southeast Asia
   
Participating Countries: Philippines
   
Term: 2004-2008
   
Partners:
   
Technology: Viruses are encapsulated by a coat protein (CP) that acts as a protective cage for the virus. The PRSV coat protein gene from the virus that occurs in the Philippines, was transformed into the plant essentially vaccinating the plant against the virus, as it triggers a defense response within the plant. This coat protein gene was cloned into papaya using a construct from Monsanto which shuttles the new gene into the plant.
   
Project Status:
  • The PRSV coat protein gene was isolated from a mild form of PRSV from the Philippines and introduced into the Monsanto vector.
  • To serve the best interests of local farmers, varieties preferred in the Philippines were used to produce a PRSV resistant variety that is now undergoing further testing.
  • Promising resistant bioengineered papaya lines have been identified.
  • Contained and multi-location field trials will be performed to assess safety and success of the new variety.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Support the field testing of the first locally developed public sector biotech crop for small-scale farmers to be developed by a Philippine research and development (R&D) institution. This will serve as a precedent for future projects in the country that apply similar technology to producing new food crops, particularly crops for small-scale and resource-limited farmers.
  • Rehabilitate the papaya industry in Luzon in order to increase supply and availability of high quality papaya in the domestic market at a lower cost to the consumer.
  • Help to increase supply of papaya to meet demand for papain for the cosmetic industry and elsewhere.

 

Project: LATE BLIGHT RESISTANT (LBR) POTATO
   
Project Manager: K. Raman, Associate Director, South Asia
   
Participating Countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia
   
Term: 2004-2007
   
Partners:
   
Technology: A resistance gene (called Rb) was isolated from a wild relative of potato (Solanum. bulbocastanum). When this gene is transferred to popular varieties normally affected by late blight they become resistant to the disease.
   
Project Status:
  • Scientists in partnering countries have received the Rb gene from UW and are transforming it into selected potato varieties.
  • Scientists in partnering countries have received potatoes bioengineered with the Rb gene and are crossing selected Indian varieties with these potatoes.
  • Indonesian and Indian partners are testing to determine whether the Rb gene is effective against local strains of late blight.
  • If the Rb technology is shown to be effective, efforts to develop this technology will be accelerated in each partner country.
  • Conduct preliminary socio-economic impact study.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Small scale farmers could benefit economically from increased yields, improved potato quality and savings from reduced fungicide sprays.
  • Environmentally, soil conditions could improve from a decline in the use of fungicide sprays.
  • Countries gain access to advanced biotechnology.
  • Collaboration among potato scientists in South and South East Asia to exchange research data, field testing and commercialization of new potato varieties.

 

Project: DROUGHT AND SALINITY TOLERANT (DST) RICE
   
Project Manager: K Vijayraghavan, Regional Coordinator, South Asia
   
Participating Countries: Bangladesh, India
   
Term: 2004-2008
   
Partners:
   
Technology: The technology, developed by Prof. Ray Wu at Cornell University, involves manipulating the genes required for synthesis of the naturally occurring sugar trehalose. This system is designed such that the bioengineered genes are specifically “turned on” when the plant is under drought or salt stress.
   
Project Status:
    Five generations of transgenic rice plants have been tested under greenhouse conditions at Cornell University.
    Field trials will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of this system under conventional agricultural conditions.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Introducing advanced technology developed in the public domain will supplement the efforts of national governments to meet the challenges of food and nutritional security.
  • Increased income for marginal farmers through improved crop production.
  • A single technology will be applicable to address two individual constraints: drought and salinity.

 

Project: MULTIPLE VIRUS RESISTANT (MVR) TOMATO
   
Project Manager: Desiree Hautea, Regional Coordinator, Southeast Asia
   
Participating Countries: Indonesia, Philippines
   
Term: 2003-2008
   
Partners:
   
Technology: Viruses are encapsulated by a coat protein (CP) that acts as a protective cage for the virus. It has been well documented in many plants that introduction of a specific viral coat protein can render plant resistant to the target virus. The CMV coat protein gene from Taiwan has been tested and is effective when transferred into tomato. When the CP is transferred to the crop of interest, it triggers a defense response within the plant. A two-gene version of the CP technology is available and included in the planned strategy. The coat protein gene(s) and naturally occurring resistance genes will be transferred to varieties grown in Indonesia and the Philippines and combined with the non-bioengineered resistance to whitefly-transmitted tomato leaf curl viruses to confer multiple resistance against these damaging viruses.
   
Project Status:
  • Available technologies have been assessed.
    Negotiations have been initiated to access the different technologies.
  • Initial work has shown to be successful in Taiwan, where virus resistance was transferred to tomato and has undergone greenhouse and field testing for safety and efficacy in collaboration with the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC).
  • CMV-CP and tomato leaf curl virus resistance technologies from AVRDC have been initially incorporated by crossing to selected Indonesian and Philippine genotypes.
  • Breeding work continues in both countries.
  • Diversity studies of the two target viruses are nearly complete.
  • MTAs have been signed between AVRDC and partner institutions.
  • Bioengineered and non-bioengineered materials have been transferred from AVRDC to Indonesia; non-bioengineered materials have been transferred to the Philippines;
  • Ex-ante impact studies in both countries have been completed. Results point to affirmation of stakeholders’ benefits.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Significant increase in knowledge and information about the diversity of CMV and tomato leaf curl viruses in Indonesia and the Philippines for better virus control.
  • Access to advanced plant biotechnology.
  • Improved capacity of national breeding institutions to integrate genetic engineering technology into their breeding programs.
  • Strengthen partnerships between international and national research centers.
  • Facilitation of public-private partnerships and South-South partnership.
  • Less pesticide use to control whiteflies and aphid vectors.
  • Increased yield due to decrease damage by the virus. This should result in increased income to farmers, increased supply of tomato, and lower costs to the consumers.

 

Project: TOMATO VIRUS RESISTANCE FOR WEST AFRICA
   
Project Manager: Frank Shotkoski, Director, ABSPII
   
Participating Countries: Mali
   
Term: 2005-2009
   
Partners:
   
Technology: Currently screening to identify viruses. The pepper Pvr1 gene will be tested for its resistance to local viruses.
   
Project Status:
    The resistance gene Pvr1 was transferred into experimental tomato lines at Cornell University. A breeding program will now take place to transfer this gene into tomato varieties grown in Mali. Once this is completed, the material will be sent to Mali for continued breeding. The goal of the project is to produce a Roma-type tomato with conventional resistance to TYLCV and bioengineered for resistance to potyvirus.
   
Expected Benefits :
  • Train scientists from Mali and other African countries in advanced tomato breeding techniques.
  • Increased tomato production at a much reduced cost for regional farmers.

 

  
 
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