Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

At around 7 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2020, three young adults and their teacher gathered for dinner at the restaurant of the swank 1880 club in Singapore. They ordered chicken and waffles and, on the side, chicken baos. History Made, proclaimed the menus, because those diners had eaten the worldsfirst portions of chicken meat manufactured from cells, rather than slain birds.

The location was unlikely, but no accident. After a California-based start-up, Eat Just, succeeded in cultivating chicken meat from cells, it chose Esco Aster, a Singapore-based synthetic biology (syn-bio) contract manufacturing company, to manufacture cultivated chicken nuggets andbreasts as well as shredded chicken. Then the Singapore Food Authority (SFA) gave Eat Justpermissiontoproduce small batches of cultured cells in Esco Asters food-safe bioreactors, and to sell the products locally once they had met its stringent food safety criteria. Thus, the SFAbecame theworlds first regulatory authorityto approve the sale of cultured chicken meat.

Unlikeother nations, Singapore is wooing syn-bio start-ups across the world to make the city their home base.In addition to cell-basedmeats, the government is catalyzing the manufacture of proteins from plants, algae, and fungi. Ithas set up aFuture Ready Food Safety Hubto help companies navigate its approvals process, and to speed up the launch of bio-engineered products.

Over two dozen syn-bio food companiessuch as Shiok Meats, which recently launchedthe worlds first lab-grown crab and shrimp meatshave set up shop in Singapore. Thus, the city-state, which has hardly any farmland or livestock, plans to scale new technologies tomeet its goal of producing30% of its food locally by 2030, and boost economic growth by turning intoone of the worlds firstand biggestcultivated meat exporters.

Singapore may be showing the way, but most countries, unaware of the potential of syn-bio, havent put the emergent industry at the top of their policy agendas. As a result, the syn-bio industrys growth may be getting stymied. For instance, several forecasts in 2020 suggested that cultivated meat was likely to grow into a$150 billion segmentby the end of this decade, and account for around 10% of the global meat market. Two years later, that seems unlikely, not because the technologys development has slowed but because governments have been slow to legislate, regulate, and foster the industry.

Its shocking because syn-bio products have several advantages over conventional ones. Theyre sustainable, using little, or no, water, land, or carbon-emitting materialsand much less that most traditional livestock. They promise to make humanhealth better, with new syn-bio therapies likely to vanquish many diseases. And novel products, such as soil-nourishing bacteria, will help boost agriculturalproduction manifold. In fact, the technology offers governments the ability todecouple economiesfrom global supply chains, andreduce their dependence on raw material imports.

Syn-bio is clearly the next growthfrontier, sodeveloping suitable policies will be critical to unlock its benefits. According to aBCG study,syn-bio technologiescould reshape industries that will account for nearly a third of global GDP by 2030 if governments develop the appropriate regulations and rules. Moreover, as Singapore has shown, creating the conditions in which syn-bio start-ups will flourish isnt solely the prerogative of large, industrialized countries.

Although eachnations starting point will differ, every government must tackle challenges on three fronts to benefit from syn-bio.

Governments must, first and foremost, invest in advancing nations and companies knowledge of synthetic biology, much of which is still uncharted territory. As theU.S. recently did, countries can orchestrate syn-bio research by announcing formal policies, creating budgets, and setting up national agencies to spearhead the process.

Policymakers should focus on gathering and synthesizing scientific and technical knowledge by funding basic research programs; creating R&D facilities; and catalyzing the creation of graduate and post-graduate education programs in universities and colleges. One key objective should be to create talent for applied areassuch as bioreactor builders and fermentation specialistsso that they develop efficient microorganisms that use second-generation feedstock, such as organic waste, rather than processed sugars. Another priority should be to create computing resources, in terms of people and processing power, because the amount of biological data available is fast outpacing countries processing capabilities.

Apart from creating national repositories of scientific knowledge that any individual or institution can access, governments must push for the development of open standards and protocols to facilitate knowledge dissemination. They must create trusted data-sharing platforms and partner with institutions such asiGEMandBioBricks, which have developed the Get & Give philosophy and established standards for syn-bio parts to ensure their interoperability. For instance, Googles DeepMind and its A.I.,Alpha Fold, in tandem with a European intergovernmental organization, recently made public the structures of nearly all the proteins known to science.

Nations that are starting out on syn-bio quests must harness international forums and open platforms to move up the learning curve. Syn-bio research is becoming global; in 2022, iGEMs well-known syn-bio competition saw46 countries participating, 50% of which were developing countriestwice as many as a decade ago.

Second, policymakers must support business scaling of syn-bio applications,stipulating design-to-cost milestones to ensure that the efforts develop applications that will make an impact. A recentBCG study, for instance, projected when different industries are likely to be affected by syn-bio technologies. Governments must monitor the maturity of these emerging technologies by tracking cost and scale tipping points, and develop funding roadmaps that will help grow them to commercial scale.

Co-ordination can maintain the design-to-cost focus from the get-go, and help overcome the hurdles in the way of the commercialization of syn-bio technologies. Dont forget, only a few microbes such asE. coliand common yeast have been produced at scale. Others, such as mammalian cells, havent reached that stageyet.

Because syn-bio technologies dont scale linearly, engineering and development will be crucial to make it possible. Governments must use multilateral forums to forge connections between local and global stakeholders, and use technical collaborations to reduce knowledge gaps.

Countries trying to catch up should nurture the capabilities to develop applications that have commercial precedents, such as bio-catalysts and bio-chemicals. They best ways of doing that are to both orchestrate cross-border joint ventures and technology transfers, and intensify research efforts at home. Governments would be wise to attract global investments in late-stage startups, so the latter can scale and wont need to be acquired by multinational giants.

In most countries, incubators and accelerators that have seed funds and innovative financing models will help translate research into commercial ventures, and plant the financial foundations of healthy syn-bio ecosystems. For instance, in 2014,Singapore piloted intellectual property valuations, which raised awareness about IPs use as collateral and helped create an effective syn-bio ecosystem in the city.

Finally, governments must balance the need to create a friendly regulatory environment for syn-bio ventures with the need to win a social license.People have deep suspicions about syn-bio applications, just as they have about organismswhose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology (GMOs).Policy-makersmust keep educating society about syn-bio technologys potential and risks, and gauge perceptions and acceptance of its applications, so they can make course corrections.

Stakeholders must be involved at every stage of the value chain, from lab to market, to ensure that consumers buy syn-bio products. Its smart to proactively discuss the intent of the new technology. For instance, DARPA quietly launchedInsect Allies, a $45 million project to test the ability of engineered virus-carrying insects to protect crops from pestilence, in 2016. After manyU.S. scientists criticizedthe projects intent, DARPA was forced todefend itselfby highlighting its benefits and describing the safeguards it had deployed.

Syn-bio ventures must ensure the equitable use of shared resources, such as water, if they are to retain the social license from stakeholders such as farmers and indigenous populations. When Amyris set up afermentation facility in Brazilrecently, for example, it sourced feedstock from local sugarcane farms that didnt contribute to deforestation; required minimal irrigation; and didnt suck up drinking water. Local regulators must ensure syn-bio firms adhere to rules and laws even as they engage with local communities to identify all their concerns.

Finally, governments must keep in mind that the same syn-bio products can be created in different ways, and so, the regulatory regimes will need to vary. For instance, startups such as Impossible Foods, Mosa Meat, and Meati all compete in the cultured meats market, but, because they use microbes, cells, and fungi, respectively, to develop products, they must be subject to different legal frameworks. That could create entry barriers if policy-makers dont streamline the regulatory landscape.

Just as the 1990s belonged to the Internet, the 2020s mark syn-bios coming of age. As the worlds knowledge and use of syn-bio technologies grow, governments have no choice but to develop policies that will allow the industry to flourish. Because the technology creates novel and sustainable offerings, policy-makers must come to grips with syn-bio if they wish to boost economic growth even as they safeguard the environment. Only policy-makers that seize this dual opportunity by enacting supportive policies will be able to build their nations competitive advantage for the Bio Age.

ReadotherFortunecolumns by Franois Candelon.

Franois Candelonisa managing director and senior partner at BCG and global director of the BCG Henderson Institute.

Maxime Courtauxis a project leader at BCG and ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Vinit Patelis a project leader at BCG and ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Some companies featured in this column are past or current clients of BCG.

See more here:
Cultured meat could help solve the climate crisis. Heres what it will take to move it from the lab to the dinner table - Fortune

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Phosphoramidite Market - A Global and Country Level Analysis: Focus on Type, End User, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2022-2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global phosphoramidite market is projected to reach $2,062.9 million by 2032 from $900.3 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 7.78% during the forecast period 2022-2032. The market growth can be ascribed to the rising demand for oligonucleotides, growing synthetic biology market, increasing partnerships and collaborations, continuous investment for research and development activities by private and public firms, and growing prevalence of several diseases creating an urgent need for novel therapeutic treatments.

Market Lifecycle Stage

The global phosphoramidite market is in the rapidly evolving and dynamic stage, which opens ample opportunities for life sciences companies. Also, companies that are already in the development phase for phosphoramidite are trying to bring diverse manufacturing options to the market to improve the quality of oligonucleotides. The companies operating in the global phosphoramidite market are now focusing more on high-quality and customized options. Also, major players such as Merck KGaA, Maravai LifeSciences Holdings, Inc, LGC Science Group Holdings Limited, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. are investing heavily in research and development for their respective phosphoramidite products.

Impact

Before the discovery of phosphoramidites in 1981, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis techniques were restricted in the quality of DNA produced. Inefficient reactions generated truncated oligonucleotide sequences. Additionally, intermediates utilized in the synthesis process were highly unstable, predisposing the growing oligonucleotide sequence to damage. Together, several characteristics of phosphoramidites have enabled the chemistry to work well for a long time.

Phosphoramidite chemistry is of fundamental importance for producing synthetic oligonucleotides that can be further utilized in a range of different areas, for instance, as primers for a polymerase chain reaction, oligonucleotide-based therapies, and genetic engineering. Millions of synthetic oligonucleotides are employed in research laboratories, pharmaceutical industries, and hospitals.

The phosphoramidite chemistry is unlikely to be replaced by emerging technologies, as the demand for primers and short-length DNA sequences is burgeoning within pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology, and molecular diagnostic industries. Essentially, synthetic DNA is applied for the discovery and engineering of biological pathways, making DNA synthesis a breakthrough of the last century. Thus, the market is anticipated to grow significantly during the forecast period 2022-2032.

Market Segmentation

Segmentation 1: by Type

Segmentation 2: by End User

Segmentation 3: by Region

How can this report add value to an organization?

Innovation Strategy: The global phosphoramidite report can help the reader gain a holistic view of the current and future global phosphoramidite market, including the competitive landscape, market size, and factors impacting the industry.

Growth/Marketing Strategy: The global phosphoramidite market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as acquisitions, business expansion and funding, and other developments. The favored strategy for the companies has been business expansion activities along with acquisitions to strengthen their position in the market.

Competitive Strategy: Key players in the global phosphoramidite market have been analyzed and profiled in the study. Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of players operating in the global phosphoramidite market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as partnerships, agreements, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market.

Key Market Players

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Market Restraints

Market Opportunities

Key Topics Covered:

1 Market

2 Market Scope

3 Research Methodology

4 Market Overview

5 Industry Insights

6 Market Dynamics

7 Global Phosphoramidite Market, by Type, $Million, 2021-2032

8 Global Phosphoramidite Market, by End Users, $Million, 2021-2032

9 Global Phosphoramidite Market, by Region, $Million, 2021-2032

10 Competitive Insights

11 Market - Competitive Benchmarking & Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ylrmt2

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Global Phosphoramidite Market Report 2022: Increasing Synthetic Nucleotide Applications in Therapeutics Drives Growth - ResearchAndMarkets.com -...

The scariest time of the year is almost upon us.

By the time Election Day passes the amount of doomsday banter about how everything is in the toilet uttered by those trying to gain election or to pass or block propositions will be enough to turn the most hardcore Pollyanna into a pessimist.

Contrary to the sound bit drivel that passes as a serious conservation about politics and the state of the world today we are not about to enter the Dark Ages.

Take Americas main mode of transportation.

We are told it is driving us to a climate Armageddon, causing gridlock, sending food prices up by consuming crops that should feed people, and making life in cities dangerous and unpleasant.

Cars are evil, arent they? Our cities were much better off before the automobile, right?

Before you start getting nostalgic about the good old days consider this: The day when horses where the main source of transportation were no bed of roses. They were worse than anything you can possibly imagine today.

If you think that is a big pile of manure, youre right.

There were 100,000 horses in New York City alone at the dawn of the 20th century or one horse for every 34 humans. Horses on average produce 25 pounds of manure each day. In 1900 that meant New York City had to contend with close to 2.5 million pounds of manure.

The Currier & Ives style images of that era dont show horse manure piled along streets much like snow drifts. It doesnt show empty parcels being stacked dozens of feet high with manure.

Manure smells. Manure breeds flies. Flies spread diseases. When it rained the manure problem got even worse.

Lets not forget that horses are a big source of methane that just like the dairy cows in the San Joaquin Valley being vilified by environmental perfectionists contribute to the greenhouse gas effect that some believe will end civilization.

Statistically, you were more likely to get killed by a horse in New York City in 1900 than by an automobile in the Big Apple in 2022.

And lets not forget horse urine splashing the streets 24/7.

There are issues with gas powered vehicles. No doubt about it. But were not going to hell in a hand basket.

Everything about a modern city helps most of us live longer and healthier: Wastewater treatment systems, storm drainage, closed treated water systems, and garbage collection are things we all take for granted but they play key roles in average longevity.

People born in the United States in 1900 could expect to live an average of 46.3 years. People born in 2022 can expect to live 76.1 years.

Another biggie is safer and healthier food.

If youre an environmental perfectionist make sure you have a defibrillator handy before you continue reading: An adequate food supply that is safer and affordable as whole is thanks in a large part to genetic engineering and chemicals.

The list is endless. The things that we are being told we should loathe today would have been the envy of Americans a century ago.

So why do we bellyache so much?

The answer will flood the airwaves non-stop for the next 32 days.

We are pounded 24/7 not by political messages about what good someone is going to do but why their opponents are evil reincarnated.

And if the ad takes an aim at the incumbent, you are left believing we are teetering on the edge of widespread collapse of everything from our financial system, cities, safety net, schools, and military to our quality of life.

If youre the incumbent youre casting your opposition as a power crazed lunatic who makes Mr. Scrooge at the onset of A Christmas Carol look like Mother Teresa in comparison.

None of this implies that we dont have problems.

We do.

But from the perspective of the last 2,000 plus years of civilization not even a hiccup in the passage of time on a planet that is 4.543 billion years old it clearly isnt that bad.

Speaking of planets, exactly what corner of the world can 329.5 million of us or even the residents of the Westside flee to where it is nirvana?

Mexico, where they just had 18 people slaughtered at a city hall?

Europe, where energy prices make it seem like theyre giving electricity, natural gas and gasoline away in the United States?

Africa, where genocide and famine routinely plague the continent?

China, where the government would have interceded long ago to re-educate social media posters in local and national elections and would have pulled the plug on anything they viewed as decadent on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok?

Even searching out corners of the United States to escape California because people are fed up with the Golden State can backfire spectacularly

The rush to Idaho, Texas, and other places has driven housing prices upward faster than in California and has amplified problems to the point escape states from California and its 39.7 million residents are causing long-time residents to bemoan their world is going to hell.

Years ago, several people escaped the Central Valley to move to Montana citing the then once-a-week bust of meth labs as one of the prime reasons. Today, Montana is more of a hotbed of meth production than California.

The dirty little secret from all of this is that we make panic decisions spending money and resources on cures for our ills that arent either needed or are remedies that are excessive given how overstated our problems are in reality.

Weve never had it so good.

And thats not manure.

Continued here:
Ignore scary messages: We've never had it so good & that's not manure - West Side Index & Gustine Press-Standard

CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The Enzymes Market is projected to reach USD 16.9 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2022 to 2027, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.

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The exploitation of new types of enzymes, improvement of enzyme properties, and the production of enzymes are the overall goals of innovations in the enzyme manufacturing industry. The significant progress in genetics and processing technology enables the enzyme industry to offer products with improved properties, often at reduced costs. Genetic engineering opens new paths for enzymes, with improved stability, activity or specificity, and productivity.

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Systematic methods in the field of enzymes and engineering have allowed access to achieve ends, such as screening novel enzymes from natural sources, thus making them safe and secure for manufacturing specialty products, such as pharmaceuticals, as well as for use in biocatalytic processes. According to a study by researchers of University of Notre Dame, USA in January 2022, biocatalytic depolymerization intermediated through enzymes are emerging as a sustainable and efficient alternative for treating plastic treatment recycling it to mitigate the environmental concerns and recapture the components from plastic waste. A new enzyme engineering platform has been developed by researchers from Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) to enhance the plastic degrading of enzymes through directed evolution. The rapid development in the genetic engineering processes of enzymes and growing research studies on enzyme engineering to use them as sustainable alternatives and safeguard the environment is anticipated to propel the growth of the enzymes market during the forecast period.

Proteases segment is identified to be the fastest growing among the various types of enzymes during the forecast period

Proteases are the enzymes essential for the digestion of protein. They are used to hydrolyze all types of proteins until they become components of the living cells. These enzymes can be obtained from plants, animals, and microorganisms in several conditions, such as high salt concentrations. Proteases have been offered by major key players such as BASF (Germany) and DuPont (US) for industrial applications such as food & beverages, biofuel, textiles & leather, and paper & pulp. The industrial manufacturers are preferring the enzymes over other products as they aid in reducing costs and environmental pollution. For instance, proteases have been used to remove hair from hides, which helps in mitigating the usage of hazardous chemicals. This resulted in mitigating the usage of hazardous chemicals in the leather industry, thereby decreasing the environmental pollution. The usage of enzymes in the pulp & paper industry helps in biofilm removal with less cost involved and lower chemical discharge in the water.

Story continues

The manufacturers of cosmetics have also been benefited by the anti-microbial functions of the proteases. In the feed industry proteases are used to decrease the share of amino acids which are indigestible in feed stuffs leading to an increase in the share of digestible amino acids, thereby enhancing the digestibility of the feed in the animals. With the growing demand for meat, the livestock farmers are looking for improved feed products. Therefore, the players in the market are involved in strategic partnerships and research and development to launch new products to increase their market share. For instance, in June 2021, DSM-Novozymes alliance has launched a protease named ProAct 360 for poultry. This product aids in increasing feed efficiency, sustainability, and affordability. Another company, Biocatalysts, in November 2021, has launched a preparation of protease for valorizing the animal protein.

In the enzymes market, microorganism-based enzymes segment is registering the highest growth during the forecast period

Enzymes are biocatalysts that play an important role in metabolic and biochemical reactions. Microorganisms are the primary source of industrial enzymes, as they are cultured in large quantities in a short span of time and genetic manipulations can be done on bacterial cells to enhance enzyme production for usage in various industrial applications such as food & beverages, biofuel, pulp & paper, textiles & leather, and wastewater treatment. The major factor which resulted in manufacturers' preferences for enzymes from microbial sources is their active and stable nature as compared to enzymes from plant and animal. Additionally, microbial enzymes are capable of degrading a wide range of complex substrates, including carbohydrases, into more useful energy sources.

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Asia Pacific region to witness the highest growth rate in the enzymes market during the forecast period

The Asia Pacific region is projected to witness the fastest growth rate of 7.85% during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is the leading region in terms of sugar production and is projected to expand its production share by 2027 (OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 20182027). Owing to the large production of sugar, enzymes are often used to hydrolyze starch so as to enhance the sugar production process and improve the overall performance. Furthermore, the use of enzymes in the biofuel industry is expected to grow at a higher rate owing to the increase in bioethanol production and its usage in fueling automobiles and electricity and government support. The enzymes market in China is projected to grow at a higher rate as China has advanced in adapting various new technologies for biotechnology and pharmaceutical-based research & developments. The usage of enzymes in specialty applications has been augmenting in China due to its versatile nature utilized in cell replacements and therapeutic treatments for various medical disorders & diseases. Thus, the expanding production facilities in the region and advancements in adopting technologies for biotech and pharmaceutical industry is boosting the growth of the market in the region.

The key players in this market include Novozymes (Denmark), BASF (Germany), DuPont (US), DSM (Netherlands), Associated British Foods (UK), Merck (Germany), Chr. Hansen (Denmark), Kerry Group (Ireland), Roche Holding (Switzerland), Dyadic International (US), Codexis (US), Sanofi (France), Creative Enzymes (US), Advanced Enzymes Technologies (India), and Biocatalysts (UK).

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Browse Adjacent Reports: Food and Beverage Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Specialty Enzymes Marketby Type (Carbohydrases, Proteases, Lipases, Polymerases & Nucleases, and Other enzymes), Source, Application (pharmaceuticals, Research & Biotechnology, Diagnostics, and Biocatalysts), Form, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

Agricultural Enzymes Marketby Type (Phosphatases, Dehydrogenases, Sulfatases), Product Type (Fertility Products, Growth Enhancing Products), Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds & Pulses, Turf & Ornamentals), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

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Enzymes Market worth $16.9 billion by 2027 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets - Yahoo Finance

Scientists say they have managed to genetically modify mosquitoes so that they are unable to spread malaria, a disease that kills well over half a million people each year.

The changes cause mosquitoes to live shorter lives, while the parasites inside them, which cause the fatal infection, develop more slowly.

This slashes the chances of mosquitoes living long enough to carry fully grown parasites and transmit the disease to the humans they bite.

Malaria is spread by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which grows and reaches maturation inside the female Anopheles mosquito. The average mosquito survives on average seven to 10 days in the wild.

"Most mosquitoes never have the chance to transmit the parasite. It's only 10 per cent of the mosquitoes out there that live long enough to be able to transmit the parasite," said Professor George Christophides, of Imperial College London.

"By prolonging the developmental time that the parasite needs inside the mosquito to become infectious, this 10 per cent becomes now much smaller".

"At the same time, we managed to cut the mosquito's life a bit short. So the two things combined together now can lead to blocking malaria transmission in the field," he added.

However, the fight against malaria is far from over.

In order for the mosquitoes with modified DNA to survive and propagate widely in nature, they need to defy natural selection.

"These modifications make them weaker because they live shorter. So they will be eliminated naturally by natural selection after a few generations... unless you combine it with what we call the 'gene drive,' which will take this modification and spread it quickly through the populations," Christophides said.

Gene drive is a type of genetic engineering which favours specific hereditary characteristics to increase the likelihood that these are quickly spread through the population and passed on to the next generation, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The researchers believe that such a "gene drive" will allow all mosquitoes to eventually carry the same modification of their DNA within a few generations.

However, it raises questions about whether massively releasing GM mosquitoes is safe for people, animals, or the environment.

For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.

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Scientists are manipulating the DNA of mosquitoes to fight the spread of malaria - Euronews

A report published Wednesday exposes the "growing threat" of genetically engineered tree development around the world, with researchers urging a leading forest product certification body to maintain its longstanding ban on genetic modification.

"The convenience of trees that can survive glyphosate will likely result in the use of more glyphosate, more often."

"The global release of genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) trees is closer than it has ever been," states the report, assembled by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) and the Campaign to STOP GE Trees. "This advancement is a significant concern because the release of GE trees would pose serious threats to forests and other ecosystems, as well as to many local communities and Indigenous peoples. The environmental impacts could be irreversible."

The report documents the status of GE tree development worldwide to identify where the risk of GE tree use on plantations or release into the wild is most immediate. It comes ahead of the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) general assembly from October 9-14 in Bali, Indonesia.

The FSCa nonprofit headquartered in Germany that operates a global market-based certification program for forest productsis currently reconsidering its 27-year ban on GE trees, much to the chagrin of civil society groups around the globe.

As the report notes, the FSC and other so-called "sustainable forest management" organizations that certify products according to their own social and environmental standards are facing pressure from major corporations and university biotechnology researchers to allow GE trees in their certification programs.

Next month in Bali, FSC members will vote on two motions that, if approved, would help preserve the group's prohibition on genetic modification.

However, "if the Forest Stewardship Council decides to embrace genetic engineering, it will free the Brazilian pulp and paper company Suzano to begin planting its eucalyptus trees that are genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate herbicides," warned Lizzie Daz of the World Rainforest Movement.

To date, the only genetically modified forest tree released commercially was a GE poplar tree in 2002 in China.

Despite opposition from nearly three dozen environmental and social justice groups in Brazil and several others across the world, the Brazilian government approved Suzano's application for a GE glyphosate-tolerant eucalyptus tree last November. As an FSC-certified company, Suzano cannot start commercial planting of its GE tree unless the FSC drops its ban on genetic modification or Suzano leaves the organization.

According to the report:

Suzano claims that this GE eucalyptus "will allow more efficient weed control with lowered chemical load and improved worker conditions." However, this promise was also made by the biotechnology industry for the use of GE herbicide-tolerant crops and it proved false. Herbicide use increased significantly with the use of GE herbicide-tolerant crops in North America and South America. Pesticide use in soybean production in Brazil increased three-fold between 2000 and 2012 after the introduction of GE (Roundup Ready) soy. Official statistics show rates of glyphosate use increased significantly in both Brazil and Argentina where glyphosate-tolerant soy is 85% and 100% of all soy grown respectively.

Glyphosate is used to clear the land of other plants in order to prepare tree plantation sites and it is also applied to new plantations in the first few years of growth. As observed with GE crops, the convenience of trees that can survive glyphosate will likely result in the use of more glyphosate, more often. In the case of eucalyptus plantations, it may also encourage ariel spraying of new plantations where direct spraying of plants on the ground is the current norm.

[...]

Glyphosate is now the most widely used herbicide ingredient in the world. Brazil's health agency, Anvisa, concluded that there are health risks for people exposed to glyphosate when it is applied to crops and stipulated a safe distance be kept from populated areas when using it. This is important because many small communities are surrounded by eucalyptus plantations, just as others are surrounded by GE glyphosate-tolerant soy monocultures. Pesticide use in Brazil with GE soy causes injury to thousands of people each year.

Contrary to claims made by agro-chemical giants, the report finds no evidence that the introduction of genetically modified trees designed to be more productive will lead to land conservation. The further expansion of tree plantationsalong with increased social conflictis the more likely outcome, the authors warn.

"Tree plantations are not forests: they do not support the same biodiversity as forest ecosystems," the report stresses. "They often deplete water resources, degrade and erode soil, and make extensive use of chemical pesticides. The ecological impacts of plantations are felt by local communities, who are often left without livelihoods, food, or water, with little recourse."

"In 2018, more than one thousand women from the rural Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil took over a mill owned by the pulp and paper company Suzano," the report notes. "The women's key grievances included the depletion of critical freshwater resources and the contamination of water by aerial spraying of pesticides on eucalyptus plantations."

Other key findings include:

"Development of genetically engineered trees is advancing despite the serious risks to our forests and continued opposition around the world," lead author Lucy Sharratt of CBAN said in a statement. "Our report shows that genetically engineered trees are closer than ever to being released even though interest is limited to just a handful of companies and university researchers."

Nevertheless, "genetically engineered trees are not inevitable," Sharratt continued. "Even if the research is very far advanced, or even approved for planting, GE trees still might never make it to market. Genetic engineering in trees is technically challenging, extremely risky for the environment, and globally, it's very controversial."

The report also points out, however, that "just as the development of GE trees is advancing, government regulation is retreating," thereby increasing the risks that such trees will be released.

"Many national governments are reducing or removing their oversight of the field testing and commercial release of new genetically modified organisms," the authors write. "This report may be the last opportunity to get a snapshot of GE tree field testing around the world."

"The gaps in our understanding of genetic engineering, tree biology, and forest ecology conspire to build a profile of tremendous uncertainty," the report adds. "At the same time, the enormous ability of trees to spread pollen and seeds increases the reach of potential environmental and social impacts across national borders and in violation of Indigenous sovereignty."

"Genetically engineered trees would also perpetuate environmentally and socially destructive industrial plantation production that contributes to the climate crisis," the authors conclude. "Instead of moving towards a climate solution, genetically engineered trees would add unnecessary risks to forests, with possible irreversible impacts."

Originally posted here:
Experts Sound Alarm Over 'Growing Threat' of Genetically Engineered Trees - Common Dreams

Smile Coffee Werksannounced it upgraded its coffee beans toFair TradeandUSDA Organic a compliment to its plant-based, carbon neutral, and USDA-Biobased pods that are certified commercially compostable by both BPI and CMA.

The Fair Trade seal symbolizes to consumers that Smile's coffee was sourced and sold ethically, ensuring adequate working conditions and a fair deal for farmers and workers in developing countries. Fair Trade is a component of the quality of life and social justice aspects of agricultural sustainability.

The USDA Organic certification verifies the quality and production of the product itself. Organic operations must maintain or enhance soil and water quality while also conserving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used. All organic products are protected from prohibited substances and methods from the field to the point of final sale.

"Smile's committed to sustainability and convenience by finally bringing consumers what they want: a guilt-free sustainable coffee pod matched with great sustainable coffee," CEO and co-founderMichael Sands, said in the announcement.

Keurig-compatible pods are available in three flavors: Werkday (Light / Medium Roast), Woke Up (Dark Roast) and Laugh to Decaf. The pods can be bought online at Walmart, Amazon, andwww.smilecoffeewerks.com.

Read the original here:
Smile Coffee Werks upgraded its coffee beans to Fair Trade and USDA Organic - Vending Market Watch

As we know, there are three major categories of medicines according to their sources, including natural medicines, chemically synthesized drugs, and biological therapeutics.

Among them, biological therapeutics (aka. biologics) are drugs developed and manufactured through biotechnology, such genetic engineering, cell engineering, and protein engineering. Two major categories of biopharmaceuticals have been small molecule- and protein/antibody-based biologics.

Recently, fueled by the global use of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and nucleic acid-based testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the new wave of nucleic acid-based medicine development and production has started taking off (pdf). Furthermore, the increasing number of nucleic acid drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demonstrates the potential to treat diseases by targeting the genes responsible for them.

Nucleic acid therapeutics are based on nucleic acids or closely related chemical compounds, and they are completely different from small molecule drugs and antibody drugs.

Instead of targeting protein causes of diseases, they target disease on a genetic level.

Nucleic acid drugs are currently classified into four categories, including medicines based on antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), small interfering nucleic acids (siRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and nucleic acid aptamers (aptamers).

siRNA and miRNA drugs are called RNA interference (RNAi) medicines.

ASO and siRNA drugs have been approved, and both mainly act on cytoplasmic messenger RNAs (mRNA) to achieve regulation of protein expression through base complementary recognition and inhibition of target mRNAs for the purpose of treating unmet medical needs.

According to the central dogma of molecular biology, DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is then translated into proteins. In some specific cases, RNA can be reverse transcribed into DNA. So, we can see that RNA is critical, because it determines what proteins can be expressed.

Therefore, scientists are trying to see if the process of gene expression can be regulated. That is, instead of interfering at the DNA level, scientists try to regulate the RNA, which is produced in the nucleus and then moves to the cytoplasm. The production of proteins is also carried out in the cytoplasm. If drugs can be absorbed by cells, enter the cytoplasm, and influence the process of translating RNA into proteins, then these drugs can also treat related diseases.

Nucleic acid drugs are designed around this rationale to interfere with the synthesis of disease-causing proteins to treat certain diseases.

ASO is a single-stranded oligonucleotide molecule that enters the cell and binds to the target mRNA through sequence complementation. Then, under the action of ribonuclease H1 (RNase H1), this piece of RNA will be degraded and the expression of the disease-causing proteins will be inhibited consequently.

Both siRNA and miRNAtreat diseases through RNA interference, but their molecules have different properties.

siRNAs are encoded by transposons, viruses, and heterochromatin; whereas miRNAs are encoded by their own genes.

miRNAs can regulate different genes, while siRNAs are called the silencing RNAs, as they mediate the silencing of the same or similar genes from which they originate.

miRNAs are single RNAs and have an imperfect stem-loop secondary structure.

siRNA is a class of double-stranded short RNA molecules that bind to specific Dicer enzymes to degrade one strand. Then the other strand will bind to other enzymes including Argonaute Proteins (AGO) to assemble into a RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).

In the RISC, the single strand RNA will bind to a target mRNA through the principle of base complementary pairing. Subsequently, the target mRNA will be degraded in the RISC complex, thus blocking the expression of the target protein for the purpose of treating a disease.

This mechanism of inhibiting protein expression via siRNA is called RNA interference. The scientists that had discovered RNA interferencegene silencing by double-stranded RNAwere awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006.

In terms of therapeutic areas, ASO drugs are mostly developed to cure cancers, infections, as well as neurological, musculoskeletal, ocular, and endocrine diseases.

For instance, fomivirsen, manufactured by Ionis/Novartis, was the first FDA-approved ASO drug, and it is currently used as a second-line treatment for cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis. Second-line treatment is used after the first-line (initial) treatment for a disease or condition fails or has intolerable side effects.

Several ASO drugs are also used for treatment of certain rare diseases, including Kynamro (phosphorothioate oligonucleotide drug for the treatment of the rare disease of Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia [HoFH]), Exondys 51 (for the treatment of a rare disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy [DMD]), and Spinraza (for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy [SMA], a rare inherited disease).

Prior to the development of these medicines, these rare diseases didnt have any effective drugs for treatment.

siRNA drugs therapeutic areas include cancers, infections, as well as neurological, ocular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, dermatologic, and respiratory diseases.

For instance, patisiran, produced by Alnylam/Genzyme, is the first siRNA drug, and it is used for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (haTTR). And the worlds second siRNA drug, Givlaari, produced also by Alnylam, was designed and developed for the treatment of acute hepatic porphyria (AHP), which is a family of ultra-rare disease in adults.

The main manufacturer of ASO drugs is the California-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals. The other major ones include ProQR, Sarepta, WAVELife Sciences, Biogen, and Exicure.

The largest manufacturer of siRNA drugs is Alnylam, a Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development and manufacturing of RNA interference therapeutics. The other major producers of these medicines include Dicerna, Quark, and Arrowhead.

In terms of the current status of ASO drug development, most of the therapeutics are in the preclinical stage, with their therapeutic areas mainly focused on oncological, neurological, and muscular diseases. The second largest group of ASO drugs are still in their discovery stage, during which medicines are being designed and undergoing preliminary experiments.

The situation with siRNA drugs (pdf) is similar to that of ASO medicines, with the largest group of medicines being in the preclinical stage, and the second largest group in the discovery stage. Currently, five siRNA drugs have been approved, including patisiran, givosiran, inclisiran, lumasiran, and vutrisiran. In addition, around a dozen other drugs are in late stages of phase III clinical trials.

Therefore, in both categories, only a small percentage of drugs have already been launched.

Nucleic acid drugs are considered novel therapeutic modalities, as they have great potential to treat diseases that cannot be treated effectively in the past, such as certain cancers, and some rare diseases for which no small molecule or protein/antibody-based biologics were developed.

In comparison with small molecule drugs and antibody-based biologics, nucleic acid-based therapeutics have high specificity towards RNAs.

Furthermore, they have simple designs and rapid and cost-effective development cycles (which would later translate into lower costs for patients), as their preclinical research and development starts with gene sequence determination and reasonable designs for disease genes, the genes can be targeted and silenced, thus avoiding unnecessary development and greatly saving research and development time.

They can also quickly alter the sequence of the mRNA construct for personalized treatments or to adapt to an evolving pathogen.In addition, they have abundant targets, so they can potentially make a breakthrough for some special targets that were previously undruggable, to treat certain genetic diseases. And the RNA interference technology has already matured in terms of target selection and small RNA segment synthesis.

However, getting the small RNA segment generated is only the initial step of drug development. In order for nucleic acid drugs to be applied clinically, the next important issue is delivering the nucleic acids to target tissues and cells. Since nucleic acids are highly hydrophilic and polyvalent anionic, it is not easy for cell uptake.

The selection of different delivery mechanisms of genes or RNA agents can impact the increase or decrease the expression of proteins in a cell.

The commonly used (pdf) nucleic acid drug delivery systems include drug conjugates (such as antibody-siRNA conjugates and cholesterol-siRNA conjugates), lipid-based nanocarriers (such as stealth liposomes and lipid nanoparticles), polymeric nanocarriers (such as nanoparticles base on degradable or non-degradable polymers and dendrimers), inorganic nanocarriers (such as silica nanoparticles and metal nanoparticles), carbon-based nanoparticles, quantum dots, and natural extracellular vesicles (ECVs).

Just like almost all drugs, nucleic acid therapeutics also have side effects and risks, some of which stem from their delivery methods.

The common adverse drug reactions (ADRs) of FDA-approved ASO drugs include injection site reactions (e.g. swelling), headache, pyrexia, fever, respiratory infection, cough, vomiting, and nausea (pdf). Individual ASO drugs have their own respective side effects. For instance, fomivirsen can potentially increase intraocular pressure and ocular infection. Pegaptanib can cause conjunctival hemorrhage, corneal edema, visual disturbance, and vitreous floaters. The ADRs of mipomersen (Kynamro) resemble flu symptoms. Nusinersen can cause fatigue and thrombocytopenia. And inotersen can also cause contact dermatitis.

Users of ASO drugs should also be aware of hepatotoxicity, kidney toxicity, and hypersensitive reactions (pdf).

Inotersen (Tegsedi) even carries black box warnings, which are required by the FDA for medications that carry serious safety risks, against its severe side effects, including thrombocytopenia, glomerulonephritis, and renal toxicity. Furthermore, users of inotersen are warned against possible reduced serum vitamin A, stroke, and cervicocephalic arterial dissection.

Side effects of siRNA drugs are similar to those of ASO drugs, including nausea, injection site reactions, heart block, vertigo, blurred vision, liver failure, kidney dysfunction, muscle spasms, fatigue, abdominal pain, and the potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis.

Specifically, during clinical trials of givosiran, one siRNA drug, 15 percent of subjects reported alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevations three times above the normal range, and 15 percent reported elevated serum creatinine levels and reductions in estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), both signs of poor kidney function. Therefore, liver and kidney toxicity was reported during these clinical trials.

The use of siRNA drugs by pregnant mothers may entail risks for their unborn children. So far, although data on using givosiran, patisiran, and lumasiran have not been reported, certain ADRs of these drugs can serve as warning signs for use during pregnancy. For instance, patients using patisiran (Onpattro) will experience a reduction in their vitamin A levels. Vitamin A is essential for the unborn babys developing organs such as eyes and bones, as well asits circulatory, respiratory, and central nervous systems. Also, givosiran is shown to cause unfavorable developmental effects on animals. Furthermore, inclisiran therapy is not recommended for pregnant mothers, as it may harm the fetus.

In order for nucleic acid drugs to be effective, their design and development need to overcome a number of challenges, such as nuclease degradation, short half-life, immune recognition in circulation, accumulation in target tissues, transmembrane transport, and endosomal escape. Although nuclease stability and avoidance of immune recognition can be greatly reduced by combining chemical modifications, other problems remain to be solved.

Since carrier systems can greatly solve the problems that cannot be solved by chemical modifications and enhance the effectiveness and safety of nucleic acid drug therapeutics, these carrier systems are considered by many as the most important for development and overcoming the aforementioned challenges.

Currently, siRNA drug development faces several challenges (pdf), such as efficacy in siRNA delivery, safety, biocompatibility/biodegradability, and issues of their production, standardization, and approval as multi-component systems.

For example, in the case of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs; one type of lipid-based nanocarriers), only 1 to 2 percent of the internalized siRNAs are released into the cytoplasm. Therefore, research should be focusing on making nanoparticles capable of increasing the release of siRNAs.

However, it should also be noted that the safety, biodistribution, biokinetics, clearance or accumulation of LNPs in different tissues and organs are not well characterized for different types of LNPs. Therefore, the side effects or adverse reactions triggered by this delivery system should also be carefully studied.

The unprecedented global usage of mRNA vaccines under the context of pandemic has given a very unusual momentum to drive more RNA-based therapeutic development. However, clear and calm minds are still needed to see the challenges and explore the safety and risks issues comprehensively and longitudinally for any newly designed RNA-based therapeutic drugs.

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COVID mRNA Jabs and Testing Kicked Off This Industry of Drug Development: Here's What You Need to Know - The Epoch Times

BUFFALO, N.Y., Oct. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. XXII, a leading agricultural biotechnology company dedicated to improving health with reduced nicotine tobacco, hemp/cannabis, and hops advanced plant technologies, today announced that the Company has added Creager Mercantile as a distribution partner to expand availability and support for its VLN reduced nicotine content cigarette products in the state of Colorado.

Operating since 1958, Creager is a well-known wholesale supplier fora wide array of cigarette retailers including hospital gift shops, gas stations, and tobacco shops across the state. The company supports more than1,000stores across numerous specialty and retail store brands. Combined with 22nd Century's previously announced partnership with Eagle Rock Distributing Company, the Company now has access to thousands of potential retail sites across the state that could be serviced by its VLN distribution partners.

22nd Century Group's proprietary VLN cigarettes smoke, smell, and taste like a cigarette but contain approximately 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes, a level shown to be non-addictive. As noted on the packaging, VLN is the only cigarette in the world purposefully designed to "Help You Smoke Less."

"We are excited to work with 22nd Century Group to make VLN available to adult smokers in Colorado who are looking for a new way to cut their ties to nicotine," said Chip Creager, President of Creager Mercantile. "Creager supports a diverse array of specialty stores, often advising retailers on the best new products to add to their shelves. We believe that VLN's uniqueness as the first and only cigarette designed specifically to help smokers smoke less makes it an important and attractive product for adult smokers, and we will be actively working with our retail partners to launch VLN to their stores in the coming months."

"Creager opens up an entire additional channel of specialty retail and tobacco suppliers across the state of Colorado, and its direct role in product recommendations and store support make it an ideal partner for 22nd Century's VLN rollout," said John J. Miller, president of 22nd Century's Tobacco Business. "We look forward to working directly with Creager to place VLN on as many shelves as possible, making our important new product broadly available in as many locations as possible where traditional combustible cigarettes are sold."

More information about Creager can be found online at https://creagermerc.com/.

22nd Century Group's decision to launch in Colorado follows the exceptional pilot results in Chicago and the Company's plans to have distribution and retail partnerships in place to support the expanding availability of VLN to adult smokers across the country. The Chicago pilot demonstrated that in-store outreach was highly effective, and once adult smokers had tried VLN, the vast majority were quick to recommend VLN to other adult smokers. Specialty distribution such as Creager, which supports additional functions such as merchandising and product advice, expands the awareness of VLN's highly differentiated value proposition in key retail channels.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:XXII) is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco and improving health and wellness through plant science. With dozens of patents allowing it to control nicotine biosynthesis in the tobacco plant, the Company has developed proprietary reduced nicotine content (RNC) tobacco plants and cigarettes, which have become the cornerstone of theFDA's Comprehensive Planto address the widespread death and disease caused by smoking. The Company received the first and only FDA MRTP authorization of a combustible cigarette in December 2021. In tobacco, hemp/cannabis, and hop plants, 22nd Century uses modern plant breeding technologies, including genetic engineering, gene-editing, and molecular breeding to deliver solutions for the life science and consumer products industries by creating new, proprietary plants with optimized alkaloid and flavonoid profiles as well as improved yields and valuable agronomic traits.

Learn more atxxiicentury.com, on Twitter, onLinkedIn, and on YouTube.

Learn more about VLNattryvln.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsExcept for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements typically contain terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "consider," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "explore," "foresee," "goal," "guidance," "intend," "likely," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "preliminary," "probable," "project," "promising," "seek," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Actual results might differ materially from those explicit or implicit in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth in "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2022, and in the Company's Quarterly Report filed on August 9, 2022. All information provided in this release is as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Investor Relations & Media ContactMei Kuo22nd Century Group, Inc.Director, Communications & Investor Relationsmkuo@xxiicentury.com

Darrow Associates Investor RelationsMatt KrepsT: 214-597-8200mkreps@darrowir.com

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22nd Century Group (Nasdaq: XXII) Expands VLN Distributor Network with the Addition of Specialty Distrib - Benzinga

University of Idaho researchers are introducing genes from a plant in the nightshade family into potatoes, seeking to develop spuds that resist harmful nematodes. The plant, called litchi tomato, has natural resistance to several species of cyst and root-knot nematodes.

Thats an unusual trait to have such broad resistance, said Allan Caplan, associate professor in U of Is Department of Plant Sciences who is involved in the project.

Nematode cysts can remain viable in fields for more than a decade, and they can be found down to 3 feet deep in soil.U of I researchers led by nematologist and plant pathologist Louise-Marie Dandurand have worked for several years studying a range of possibilities for using litchi tomato as a tool to avert nematode-related yield losses in potatoes. Litchi tomato has been planted as a trap crop in the program to eradicate pale cyst nematode (PCN), which is quarantined in a small area of eastern Idaho. When planted in fields infested with PCN, litchi tomato stimulates cysts to hatch in the absence of a viable host, causing them to starve.

Dandurand also has a post-doctoral researcher seeking to identify chemicals in litchi tomato that harm or kill nematodes. Thechemicals that prove effectivecould be refined and applied directly to fields as a pesticide.

Caplan and Fangming Xiao, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, have been working to identify the genes in litchi tomato that are specifically expressed when nematodes attack the plant.

We found at least 277 genes that got turned on, Caplan said. We think not all of them are necessary. We have to make educated guesses of which to try first, and its really a matter of trial and error. Were pretty certain some of these are going to have a big effect but we cant say with certainty which ones theyre going to be.

They turned over some of the genes they suspect may be directly involved in killing nematodes to Joseph Kuhl, associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, who used biotechnology to introduce them into a red-skinned potato variety, Desiree, last summer. Desiree was chosen because its relatively easy to transform through genetic modification.

If we see resistance in Desiree then well make the effort to put it in russets, Caplan said.

Xiao created some biotech potatoes using litchi tomato genes last fall, and Caplan is set to introduce additional litchi tomato genes into potatoes this summer. All their growing, infecting and analysis is taking place in closed growth chambers.

Byfirst using genetic engineering to find the pathway through which litchi tomato protects itself, Caplan believes researchers may later be able to change gene expression to protect potatoes from nematodes through laboratory methods that arent considered to be genetic modifications.

For more information:Louise-Marie DandurandUniversity of Idaho Tel.: +1 208-885-6080lmd@uidaho.edu

See original here:
Researchers are seeking to develop spuds that resist harmful nematodes - FreshPlaza.com