Transcript What is Biotechnology - NDSU

What is Biotechnology?
Unit 4
Biotechnology Meeting
Grand Forks, ND
March 6, 2003
Phil McClean
Department of Plant Science
North Dakota State University
NDSU
Extension
What is Biotechnology?
How about some definitions
General Definition
The application of technology to improve
a biological organism
Detailed Definition
The application of the technology to modify
the biological function of an organism
by adding genes from another organisms
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Extension
What is the Result of Biotechnology?
• An organism showing a novel trait not normally found
in the species
Extended shelf-life tomato
(FlavrSavr Tomato)
Herbicide resistant soybean
(Roundup Ready Soybean)
NDSU
Extension
Biotechnology Terms You Probably Heard
Transgene – the foreign gene added to a species
Ex. – modified EPSP synthase gene (encodes a protein that
functions even when plant treated with Roundup)
Transgenic – an organism containing a transgene introduced
by technological (not breeding) methods
Ex. – Roundup Ready Crops
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Extension
Biotechnology Develops
GMOs - Genetically modified organisms
• GMO - an organism that expresses traits that result
from the introduction of foreign DNA
• Also called transgenic organism
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Extension
Important Terms
• Breeding
 Beneficial gene added from the same species
 Gene delivered by mating within the species
Source: USDA
• Transformation
 Beneficial gene added from another species
 Gene delivered by plant genetic engineering
Source: USDA
NDSU
Extension
Let’s Be Up Front
• Breeding  Biotechnology
 Breeding only exchanges genes found in the species
 Breeding can transfer the transgene to other breeding materials
 BUT it is not the same as biotechnology
• Biotechnology adds traits not available in the species
 Soybean does not have a gene to breakdown Roundup
 The gene comes from bacteria
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Extension
Interspecific Cross
Wheat
Rye
X
Triticale
New species, but
NOT biotechnology
products
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Extension
Mutagenesis: New Trait, No Foreign Gene
 Mutagenesis changes the sequence of a gene
 New, useful traits can be obtained
Susceptible
Normal
Gene
Resistant
Mutant
Gene
Mutagenesis
Treatment
ATTCGA
ATTGGA
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Extension
BASF Clearfield Products
Mutagenesis Crops
Herbicide resistance
•imidazolinones
Mutant AHAS enzyme
•developed by mutagenesis
Crops
• Canola, Corn, Rice, Sunflower, Wheat
In US
• Not considered GMOs by USDA regulators
• A Major marketing advantage
• When some stacked with GMOs, the advantage lost
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Extension
Crop Biotech Market Dominated
By Four Countriesa
68%
35.7 mha
6%
3.2 mha
3%
1.5 mha
22%
11.8 mha
a2001
growing season data.
NDSU
Total = 99% of market
Extension
Transgenic Crops Increasing In the USa
Crop (% total acreage)
Soybeanb
Cornc
Canolad
Year
US ND SD US ND SD US ND
SD
2000
54
22
36
25
-
46
-
-
-
2001
68
49
80
26
25
48
75
75
-
2002
74
50
86
32
18
65
80
80
-
a Source:
NASS Planting Reports, 2001, 2002.
b2002 US acreage = 73 million; ND acreage = 2.6 million
c2002 US acreage = 79 million; ND acreage = 1.2 million
d2002 US acreage = 1.6 million; ND acreage = 1.3 million
NDSU
Extension
Agriculture Products On the Market
Insect resistant cotton
 Bt toxin kills the cotton boll worm
 toxin gene from a bacteria
Source: USDA
Insect resistant corn
 Bt toxin kills the European corn borer
 toxin gene from a bacteria
 Rootworm GM approved (2/26/03)
Transgenic
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Normal
Extension
Herbicide resistant crops
 current: soybean, corn, canola
 coming: sugarbeet, lettuce, strawberry,
alfalfa, potato, wheat (2005)
 resistance gene from bacteria
Source: Monsanto
Virus resistance
 papaya, squash, potato
 resistance gene from a virus
NDSU
Extension
Roundup Ready Soybean
No Yield Drag or (Advantage)
North Dakota 2002 Data
Locationa
Arthur, Grandin,
Northwood
Wyndmere, Mooreton,
Great Bend
Soybean type
Ave.Bu/A
Conventional
46.6 (27)b
91 %
45.5 (26)
100 %
Roundup Ready
51.5 (78)
100 %
44.1 (80)
97 %
collected by Dr. Ted Helms, NDSU
b# of varieties in trial in parenthesis
NDSU
aData
% Yield Ave. Bu/A % Yield
Extension
Roundup Ready Soybean
Reduces Expensesa
Soybean type
Herbicide cost
(per acre)
Conventional
$27.65
Roundup Ready
$15.90
aData
provided by Dr. Duane Burgland, NDSU.
NDSU
Extension
Crop Biotechnology Grew Worldwide
In 2002
• 145 million acres (11% growth)
• 6 million farmers (20% growth)
• 16 countries (up from 13: India, Colombia, Honduras)
Historically, the most rapidly adopted
new agricultural technology
NDSU
Extension
Biotechnology Crops Worldwide Acreage
2002
Soybean: 90.2 million acres (10% growth)
Corn:
30.6 million acres (27% growth)
Canola:
16.8 million acres (no change)
NDSU
Extension
Economic Effect of Bt Cotton
In China
 $200/acre increase in income
 $750 million increase nationally
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Extension
Biotech Crops Can Be Environmentally
(and Yield) Friendly
Table 1. Cotton yield and insecticide results from a large (157 sites) trial
in India during 2001.
Cotton type
Non-Bt
Popular check
Yield (kg/ha)
1501*
833
802
# Bollworm sprays
0.62*
3.68
3.63
# Sucking insect sprays
3.57
3.51
3.45
Kg/ha insecticide
1.74*
5.56
5.43
Toxic class I
0.64*
1.98
1.94
Toxic class II
1.07*
3.55
3.46
Toxic class III
0.03
0.03
0.03
*Means within a row are significantly different at the 5% level
From: Science (2003) 299:900
NDSU
Bt
Extension
Bacterial and Animal Biotechnology Products
Source: Chr. Hansen
Biotech chymosin
 enzyme used to curdle milk products
 gene from yeast
 harvested from GE bacteria
 replaces the calf enzyme
bST (bovine somatotropin)
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Source: Rent Mother Nature
 increases milk production
 gene from cow
 protein harvested from GE bacteria
 replaces cow protein originally
harvested from pituitary glands
of slaughtered cows
Extension
Next Generation of Ag Biotech Products
Golden Rice
 Increased Vitamin A content
 Transgenes from bacteria and daffidol
 Controversory: large amount needed to
solve problem
Sunflower
 White mold resistance
 Resistance gene from wheat
Source: Minnesota
Microscopy Society
NDSU
Extension
Turfgrass
 Herbicide resistance
 Slower growing
reduced mowing = reduced pollution
Bio Steel
 Spider silk strongest known protein
 Protein expressed in goat milk
 Protein used to make soft-body,
bullet proof vests (Nexia)
NDSU
Extension
Field Testing Permits Tell Us What is Coming
Field Trial Data: Jan 2001 – Today (n=2540)
Organization
Monsanto
Universities
Scotts
# 2002-03 trials (%)
1480 (58%)
329 (13%)
84 (3%)
78 (3%)
69 (3%)
63 (2%)
USDA/ARS
Prodigene
60 (2%)
25 (1%)
2001-03 data; collated from: Information Systems for Biotechnology
(http://www.isb.vt.edu/)
NDSU
Aventis
Sygenta
Dow
Extension
Where Are the GM Crops Tested in the US?
ND #23
230 (3)
CA #5
990 (12)
IA #4
1,022 (12)
Data: 1993-present: State rank, # trials, % total trials
Information Systems for Biotechnology (http://www.isb.vt.edu/)
PR #3
1,063 (13)
NDSU
HA #1
1,437 (17)
IL #2
1,292 (16)
Extension
Corn is the Current Main Focus
Crop
# 2002-03 Trials (%)
Corn
1424 (56%)
Cotton
193 (8%)
Rice
146 (6%)
Wheat
141 (6%)
Soybean
124 (5%)
Alfalfa
121 (5%)
Turfgrass
NDSU
2001-03 data; collated from: Information Systems for Biotechnology
(http://www.isb.vt.edu/)
89 (4%)
Extension
The Traditional Traits Predominant
Trait
# 2002-03 Trials (%)
Insect resistance
791 (31%)
Herbicide resistance
736 (29%)
Plant quality
400 (16%)
Pathogen resistance
171 (7%)
NDSU
2001-03 data; collated from: Information Systems for Biotechnology
(http://www.isb.vt.edu/)
Extension
But Some Novel Traits Are Being Tested
Trait
# 2002-03 Trials (%)
Yield
105 (4%)
Amino acid content
94 (4%)
Sugar content
44 (2%)
Oil content
42 (2%)
NDSU
2001-03 data; collated from: Information Systems for Biotechnology
(http://www.isb.vt.edu/)
Extension
What’s Coming for Wheat??
Trait
% 2002-03 Wheat Trials
Roundup Ready
57%
Protein content
10%
Yield
8%
Fusarium resistance
8%
NDSU
2001-03 data; collated from: Information Systems for Biotechnology
(http://www.isb.vt.edu/)
Extension
Some Ag Biotech Products Are Discontinued
Why???
Poor Quality
• FlavrSavr tomatoes (Calgene)
Negative Consumer Response
• Tomato paste (Zeneca)
Negative Corporate Response
• NewLeaf (Monsanto)
NDSU
Universal Negative Publicity
• StarLink corn (Aventis)
Extension
Biotechnology and Health
Product
Use
Insulin
Diabetes
Interferon
Cancer
Interleukin
Cancer
Human growth hormone
Dwarfism
Neuroactive proteins
Pain
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Extension
What is Biopharming?
Biopharming Definition
Growing transgenic crops that express
pharmaceutical products
Examples:
Drugs
Antibodies
Proteins
NDSU
Extension
Why use this technology?
Familiar Production Systems
• Genes introduced into field crops (mostly corn)
• New productions systems not needed
• Producer can use traditional growing strategies
Reduced End-Product Cost
• Animal system: $1000 - $5000 per gram protein
• Plant System: $1 - $10 per gram protein
Source: The Roanoke Times, 2000
NDSU
Extension
Edible Vaccines – A Biopharming Dream
Biotech Plants Serving Human Health Needs
• A pathogen protein gene is cloned
• Gene is inserted into the DNA of plant (potato, banana, tomato)
• Humans eat the plant
• The body produces antibodies against pathogen protein
• Human are “immunized” against the pathogen
• Examples:
Diarrhea
Hepatitis B
Measles
NDSU
Extension
Future Health-related Biotech Products
Vaccines
 Herpes
 hepatitis C
 AIDS
 malaria
NDSU
Tooth decay
 Streptococcus mutans, the mouth bacteria
 releases lactic acid that destroys enamel
 engineered Streptococcus mutans
does not release lactic acid
destroys the tooth decay strain
Extension
Environmental Applications
Indicator bacteria
 contamination is detected in the environment
 microbes sensitive to certain pollutants
Bioremediation
 cleanup contaminated sites
 uses microbes designed to degrade
the pollutant
NDSU
Extension
Recent Crop Biotechnology News
The European Union Moratorium
• A five year EU biotech crop moratorium is in place
• Nov 2002: Labeling and traceability regulations drafted
• Jan 2003: Some countries looking to go GMO-free
• Feb 2003: Some EU countries want the moratorium to continue
until regulations approved
NDSU
Extension
EU Labeling Regulations
• Foods with less than 0.9% of GM gene product
Labeling not required
• Products derived from a GM crop
Labeling required
• Applies even if the product does not contain the GM
gene product
• Ex: Corn syrup: does not have the Bt protein, but must
be labeled
NDSU
• Animal feeds from GM crops
Same guidelines apply
Extension
EU Traceability Regulations
•GMO containing food must be declared at departure point
• List does not have to be modified if part of shipment
is off-loaded in route
• A compromise regulation:
Some wanted documentation from each step of the route
NDSU
Extension
US Response to the EU Regulations
• United States frustrated
• Might sue under WTO policy that prevents policies
that restrict trade
• USDA Secretary Veneman:
The US patience was "growing very thin" and "very strong action
was needed". (Feb 27, 2003)
• US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick:
NDSU
"We've tried to hold off" filing a WTO case, “but we're getting
to the point where our patience is running thin." (Mar 3, 2003)
Extension
Different Countries
Different Decisions
Germany (3/3/03)
• Would accept biotech crops once regulations approved
 Major decision: long considered an opponent
to biotech crops
Taiwan (2/27/03)
• Will permit field trails in 2003
NDSU
Tasmania (2/28/03)
• Extends biotech crop ban for five years
• Wants to remain a biotech free and
maintain their niche market
Extension
What Are the Public Concerns?
Economics
Are we changing the economics on the farm?
Environmental
Are we irreversibly modifying the environment?
Globalization
Is technology becoming centralized in too few hands?
Social
Will we develop a class of genetic outcasts?
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Religious
Are we playing God?
Extension