Biotechnology products and European consumers

More than 100 interviews conducted during 1997 with European food manufacturers and retailers, trade associations, government departments, consumer groups, environmental organizations and some individual academic scientists revealed how differences in the perceived attitudes of consumers gave rise to varying approaches by suppliers to the possible introduction of transgenic foods. European consumers generally are not against the pharmaceutical products of biotechnology but are much less willing to accept food and food ingredients, especially when derived from genetically modified plants. Objections are mainly based on fears for the health and safety of the consumer, worries about the possibility of deleterious effects on the environment, and a range of moral and ethical concerns often deriving from a distaste, however expressed, at the concept of interfering with nature. Consumer understanding of the science underlying biotechnology is patchy; in no country does more than a small proportion of the population claim a good grasp. Partly no doubt as a consequence of these attitudes, the introduction of genetically modified foods into Europe has occurred slowly and, during the period of this study, perhaps only in the Netherlands and the UK.     

Current biotechnological developments in Thailand

Thailand is very much aware of the potential and the opportunities in biotechnology and has given the utmost effort into the development of biotechnology. In 1983, the government has set up the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NCGEB). The center operates through a network of research institutes and laboratories in order to maximize and consolidate the limited resources of the country. The center also plays a key role in formulating policies and plans relating to biotechnology as well as in supporting and coordinating biotechnology research and development. A sum of U.S. $8.6 million has been allocated for an initial 5-year program for R D & E activities. The priority consideration is on utilizing various levels of biotechnology for improvement in agriculture, industrial productivity, health, and environment. To facilitate and strengthen the link between research institutions and the private sector, the high-level Science and Technology Development Board (STDB) was established in 1986, with an initial allocation of U.S. $2.9 million between 1986 to 1992 for biotechnology. At present, there are between 400 to 500 scientists and technologists with M.S. or higher degrees actively working in research and development (R & D) in biotechnology and engineering, mostly in universities and government research laboratories. It is expected that approximately 500 graduates with advanced degrees in biotechnology and related fields will be produced during the 5-year plan (1987 to 1991).     

PERCEPTION OF PORK PATTIES WITH SHIITAKE (LENTINUS EDODE P.) MUSHROOM POWDER AND SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE AS MEASURED BY KOREAN AND UNITED STATES CONSUMERS

This study explored consumer liking and perception of pork patties with an added functional health ingredient: shiitake (Lentinus edodes P.) mushroom powder. In addition, patties with and without sodium tripolyphosphate were tested. Both native Korean and U.S. consumers evaluated the products. Pork patties made with both phosphate and mushroom powder were found to be acceptable by Korean consumers, but increases in mushroom powder in patties with phosphate decreased acceptability for U.S. consumers. However, addition of mushroom powder to patties without phosphate increased acceptability for U.S. consumers, perhaps because it tended to increase texture acceptance and juiciness. Thus, addition of mushroom powder as a functional ingredient in pork patties, while possible, would require different formula modifications to appeal to consumers of differing nationalities.     

Identity, traceability, acceptability and substantial equivalence of food.

The numerous food crises that Europe has experienced during the past five years have raised new consumer demands concerning the characterization, traceability, and safety of foods which are proposed on the market. The consumer has, at the same time, vigorously placed into question the modes of agricultural production in industrialized countries, as well as the structures and means of evaluating the food risks and the conditions of the consumer's participation in the public debate in these domains. For certain groups of consumers, one also attends a contestation of the expertise and the application to the food domain of the considerable progress that has taken place in the field of biotechnology. So it is that the development of genetically modified organisms (mainly plants, the raw material of food products) has experienced a slowing down in the European Union. The answers afforded to these new exigencies of consumers in matter of identity, traceability, and acceptability of the foods are dealt with in this paper, as well as the elements which may concur with the evaluation of their safety. The positive role that biotechnology can afford to the different domains is emphasized. A source of uneasiness, biotechnology is also a powerful tool for ameliorating the evaluation of the sanitary risks and for answering the hopes of the citizen in the food domain.     

丹参的生物技术

本文综述了丹参的生物技术,包括离体培养克隆增殖丹参试管苗、人工诱导丹参多倍体、利用丹参细胞培养生产活性成分以及农杆菌转化丹参获得再生植物、利用转化的组织和器官培养生产丹参中的活性成分等.     

Usefulness and Economic potential of the Rare Plants of the United States: A statistical Survey

The economic usefulness and potential of endangered and rare plants in the United States was surveyed to assess some of the potential impacts of plant extinction on the world’s largest economy. We analyzed relationships between an existing comprehensive database of U.S. rare plants, and a new database that synthesizes available information on worldwide plant uses and U.S. crop values. While few rare plants are directly useful, nearly 80% of the U.S. plant genera with rare taxa contain at least one useful species. Moreover, two-thirds of the 2949 U.S. rare and endangered taxa are congeneric with cultivated species. Examples of this close relationship between rare plants and their economically significant congenerics were translated into dollar values. For instance, the annual U.S. wholesale farm value of food crop congenerics of rare plants is $9 billion. Since many crops require periodic genetic infusions from close relatives to combat threats from climatic change and disease, or to supply features such as improved nutritional value, we conclude that the threats to the rare wild plants of the U.S. also constitute threats to the future of many contemporary crops.     

Improved stearate phenotype in transgenic canola expressing a modified acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterase.

The engineering of crops for selected fatty acid production is one of the major goals of plant biotechnology. The Garm FatA1, an acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase isolated from Garcinia mangostana, generates an elevated stearate (18:0) phenotype in transgenic Brassica plants. By site-directed mutagenesis, we generated seven mutants that showed up to a 13-fold increase in specific enzyme activity toward 18:0-ACP in vitro. The seed-specific expression of mutant S111A/V193A in Brassica plants results in transgenic plants that accumulate 55-68% more stearate than plants expressing the wild-type enzyme. Our results demonstrate that a thioesterase can be engineered to increase specific activity and that its improved function demonstrated in vitro is retained in vivo.     

Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Consumers’ Perceptions of Remanufactured Auto Parts

This study compares U.S. and Japanese consumers’ perceptions of remanufactured auto parts. Remanufactured parts have a long history and enjoy continuing success in the U.S. domestic aftermarket. In contrast, although Japan's domestic aftermarket is growing, it remains comparatively underdeveloped. This research examines whether customers’ perceptions of remanufactured products explain their lower acceptance in Japan. Our Internet survey of 440 U.S. and 300 Japanese respondents examined their knowledge of remanufactured auto parts, perceptions of their benefits and risks, and price consciousness. The results reveal that Japanese consumers know less about remanufactured products, perceiving them as entailing lower benefits and greater risk, especially concerning quality, and are less price conscious. Drawing on its results, this study suggests measures to promote markets for remanufactured auto parts in Japan and in economies in which such markets are in an early stage of development.     

菲律宾农业生物技术年报(2011年)

菲律宾生物技术监管体系始终坚持以科学为依据,其他发展中国家逐渐将菲律宾作为生物技术政策和法规方面的楷模。第一种本地开发的转基因作物“Bt茄子”可能在2013年初前实现商业化,“金色水稻”可能紧随其后。目前没有生物技术相关的贸易中断的报道,美国出口的转基因产品在2010年继续保持增长。菲律宾农业政策仍然是以食品保障为导向,政策的制定工作一直以来保持积极态势。但是,最近批准的《菲律宾发展计划》支持了转基因产品的标签工作以及对环境风险评估采取谨慎态度。     

Effects of Using Heterogeneous Prices on the Allocation of Impacts from Electricity Use: A Mixed‐Unit Input‐Output Approach

Economic input‐output life cycle assessment (IO‐LCA) models allow for quick estimation of economy‐wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with goods and services. IO‐LCA models are usually built using economic accounts and differ from most process‐based models in their use of economic transactions, rather than physical flows, as the drivers of supply‐chain GHG emissions. GHG emissions estimates associated with input supply chains are influenced by the price paid by consumers when the relative prices between individual consumers are different. We investigate the significance of the allocation of GHG emissions based on monetary versus physical units by carrying out a case study of the U.S. electricity sector. We create parallel monetary and mixed‐unit IO‐LCA models using the 2007 Benchmark Accounts of the U.S. economy and sector specific prices for different end users of electricity. This approach is well suited for electricity generation because electricity consumption contributes a significant share of emissions for most processes, and the range of prices paid by electricity consumers allows us to explore the effects of price on allocation of emissions. We find that, in general, monetary input‐output models assign fewer emissions per kilowatt to electricity used by industrial sectors than to electricity used by households and service sectors, attributable to the relatively higher prices paid by households and service sectors. This fact introduces a challenging question of what is the best basis for allocating the emissions from electricity generation given the different uses of electricity by consumers and the wide variability of electricity pricing.     

After Fukushima: managing the consequences of a radiological release

Even amidst the devastation following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that killed more than 20,000 people, it was the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that led the country's prime minister, Naoto Kan, to fear for "the very existence of the Japanese nation." While accidents that result in mass radiological releases have been rare throughout the operating histories of existing nuclear power plants, the growing number of plants worldwide increases the likelihood that such releases will occur again in the future. Nuclear power is an important source of energy in the U.S. and will be for the foreseeable future. Accidents far smaller in scale than the one in Fukushima could have major societal consequences. Given the extensive, ongoing Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and industry assessment of nuclear power plant safety and preparedness issues, the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC focused on offsite policies and plans intended to reduce radiation exposure to the public in the aftermath of an accident. This report provides an assessment of Japan's efforts at nuclear consequence management; identifies concerns with current U.S. policies and practices for "outside the fence" management of such an event in the U.S.; and makes recommendations for steps that can be taken to strengthen U.S. government, industry, and community response to large-scale accidents at nuclear power plants.     

Latitudinal variation in plant–herbivore interactions in European salt marshes

Ecological interactions often vary geographically. Work in salt marshes on the Atlantic Coast of the United States has documented community-wide latitudinal gradients in plant palatability and plant traits that may be driven in part by greater herbivore pressure at low latitudes. To determine if similar patterns exist elsewhere, we studied six taxa of saltmarsh plants ( Atriplex , Juncus , Limonium , Salicornia , Spartina and Suaeda ) at European sites at high (Germany and the Netherlands) and low (Portugal and Spain) latitudes. We conducted feeding assays using both native and non-native consumers, and documented patterns of herbivore damage in the field. As in the United States, high-latitude plants tended to be more palatable than low-latitude plants when offered to consumers in paired feeding assays in the laboratory, although assays with grasshopper consumers were less consistent than those with crab consumers, and plants in the field at low-latitude sites tended to experience greater levels of herbivore pressure than plants at high-latitude sites. Similarly, high-latitude leaf litter was more palatable than litter from low-latitude plants when offered to consumers in paired feeding assays in the laboratory. Latitudinal gradients in plant palatability and herbivore pressure may be a general phenomenon, and may contribute to latitudinal gradients in decomposition processes.     

Analysing biotechnology's traumas

Some of the most important factors that played a role in provoking the upheavals which overwhelmed the agri-foods biotechnology industry in Europe at the end of the 20th century are described and analysed, focusing especially on the impact of the introduction of a statutory labelling scheme that could be enforced. The implications of those upheavals for the development of biotechnology, for consumers and public policy makers, and corporate strategists, nationally and globally are outlined. The contention is that the trauma which overwhelmed the agri-food biotechnology sector in Europe had profound roots and rich implications which extend to the whole biotechnology sector and beyond.     

Engineering a root-specific, repressor-operator gene complex

Strong, tissue-specific and genetically regulated expression systems are essential tools in plant biotechnology. An expression system tool called a 'repressor-operator gene complex' (ROC) has diverse applications in plant biotechnology fields including phytoremediation, disease resistance, plant nutrition, food safety, and hybrid seed production. To test this concept, we assembled a root-specific ROC using a strategy that could be used to construct almost any gene expression pattern. When a modified E. coli lac repressor with a nuclear localization signal was expressed from a rubisco small subunit expression vector, S1pt::lacIn, LacIn protein was localized to the nuclei of leaf and stem cells, but not to root cells. A LacIn repressible Arabidopsis actin expression vector A2pot was assembled containing upstream bacterial lacO operator sequences, and it was tested for organ and tissue specificity using beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and mercuric ion reductase (merA) gene reporters. Strong GUS enzyme expression was restricted to root tissues of A2pot::GUS/S1pt::lacIn ROC plants, while GUS activity was high in all vegetative tissues of plants lacking the repressor. Repression of shoot GUS expression exceeded 99.9% with no evidence of root repression, among a large percentage of doubly transformed plants. Similarly, MerA was strongly expressed in the roots, but not the shoots of A2pot::merA/S1pt::lacIn plants, while MerA levels remained high in both shoots and roots of plants lacking repressor. Plants with MerA expression restricted to roots were approximately as tolerant to ionic mercury as plants constitutively expressing MerA in roots and shoots. The superiority of this ROC over the previously described root-specific tobacco RB7 promoter is demonstrated.     

How can genetically modified foods be made publicly acceptable?

A recent study by Lusk suggests that consumers might voluntarily pay more for a genetically modified (GM) food than a non-GM equivalent if made aware of the possible health benefits. However, other research indicates that the acceptability of novel hazards is affected by a variety of factors, in addition to benefits, and that making agricultural biotechnology publicly acceptable will be more complex than indicated by the results from Lusk's study.     

The effect of sulfur on the response of cotton to urea under alkali soil conditions in pot experiments

Summary The effect of sulfur (S) placement and S rate on the efficiency of urea (U) relative to ammonium sulfate (AS) and ammonium nitrate (AN) for cotton were examined in a pot experiment using sandy clay loam soil (pH 7.9). The results showed that AS and AN application in the absence of S increased the yield than U partly because U-induced damage to plants. The combined application of the N sources with S increased the yields and that, the placement of S in the seed horizon in contact with N was more effective than mixing throughout the soil especially with U. These effects were observed with three cotton cultivars. The addition of S to a maximum of 1.5 g/pot gave further increases in yields or the N content of leaves for U, AS or AN. Using the least squares method, it was found that the presence of S significantly increased the efficiency of U than AS or AN. Incubation of S and the N sources with S in the soil was carried out to understand the growth conditions of cotton fertilized by U in alkalin soil. In the case of U-soil system, the pH increased. NO₂−N accumulated and considerable loss of N took place. The pH, NO₂−N accumulation and the loss of N decreased with S increments.     

RNAi-directed downregulation of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (OsBADH1) results in decreased stress tolerance and increased oxidative markers without affecting glycine betaine biosynthesis in rice (Oryza sativa)

Chemically inducible gene switches can provide precise control over gene expression, enabling more specific analyses of gene function and expanding the plant biotechnology toolkit beyond traditional constitutive expression systems. The alc gene expression system is one of the most promising chemically inducible gene switches in plants because of its potential in both fundamental research and commercial biotechnology applications. However, there are no published reports demonstrating that this versatile gene switch is functional in transgenic monocotyledonous plants, which include some of the most important agricultural crops. We found that the original alc gene switch was ineffective in the monocotyledonous plant sugar cane, and describe a modified alc system that is functional in this globally significant crop. A promoter consisting of tandem copies of the ethanol receptor inverted repeat binding site, in combination with a minimal promoter sequence, was sufficient to give enhanced sensitivity and significantly higher levels of ethanol inducible gene expression. A longer CaMV 35S minimal promoter than was used in the original alc gene switch also substantially improved ethanol inducibility. Treating the roots with ethanol effectively induced the modified alc system in sugar cane leaves and stem, while an aerial spray was relatively ineffective. The extension of this chemically inducible gene expression system to sugar cane opens the door to new opportunities for basic research and crop biotechnology.     

吲哚丁酸对桉树插条多酚氧化酶的影响及其与生根的关系

尾叶桉MLA无性系(简称MLA)为难生根植物,尾叶桉U6无性系(简称U6)和刚果12号桉W5无性系(简称W5)为易生根植物。MLA插条内的PPO活性比U6、W5的低。用吲哚丁酸(IBA)处理桉树的插条后,在扦插生根的不同阶段,插条内的PPO活性呈现规律性的变化。蛋白质含量呈上升趋势。PPO同工酶谱带也随生根的进程出现增多现象。讨论了多酚氧化酶与桉树插条生根的关系。     

Innovation and the regulation of products of agricultural biotechnology in the United States of America

The policy of the United States government is to seek regulatory approaches, consistent with applicable laws, that protect health and the environment while reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens and avoiding unjustifiably inhibiting innovation, stigmatizing new technologies, or creating unnecessary trade barriers [Adapted from the National Strategy for Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products, Product of the Emerging Technologies Interagency Policy Coordination Committee’s Biotechnology Working Group (OSTP 2016)]. U.S. agencies are focused on delivering health and environmental protection based on the best available science; establishing transparent, coordinated, predictable, and efficient regulatory practices across agencies; and promoting public confidence in the oversight of the products of biotechnology through clear and transparent public engagement [Adapted from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Report (USDA 2017)]. U.S. agencies that regulate the products of agricultural biotechnology discuss regulatory approaches presented during the June 2018 OECD Conference on Genome Editing Applications in Agriculture, focusing on plants developed using genome editing.

     

Breakdown of self-incompatibility in a natural population of Petunia axillaris caused by loss of pollen function

Although Petunia axillaris subsp. axillaris is described as a self-incompatible taxon, some of the natural populations we have identified in Uruguay are composed of both self-incompatible and self-compatible plants. Here, we studied the self-incompatibility (SI) behavior of 50 plants derived from such a mixed population, designated U83, and examined the cause of the breakdown of SI. Thirteen plants were found to be self-incompatible, and the other 37 were found to be self-compatible. A total of 14 S-haplotypes were represented in these 50 plants, including two that we had previously identified from another mixed population, designated U1. All the 37 self-compatible plants carried either an S(C1)- or an S(C2)-haplotype. S(C1)S(C1) and S(C2)S(C2) homozygotes were generated by self-pollination of two of the self-compatible plants, and they were reciprocally crossed with 40 self-incompatible S-homozygotes (S(1)S(1) through S(40)S(40)) generated from plants identified from three mixed populations, including U83. The S(C1)S(C1) homozygote was reciprocally compatible with all the genotypes examined. The S(C2)S(C2) homozygote accepted pollen from all but the S(17)S(17) homozygote (identified from the U1 population), but the S(17)S(17) homozygote accepted pollen from the S(C2)S(C2) homozygote. cDNAs encoding S(C2)- and S(17)-RNases were cloned and sequenced, and their nucleotide sequences were completely identical. Analysis of bud-selfed progeny of heterozygotes carrying S(C1) or S(C2) showed that the SI behavior of S(C1) and S(C2) was identical to that of S(C1) and S(C2) homozygotes, respectively. All these results taken together suggested that the S(C2)-haplotype was a mutant form of the S(17)-haplotype, with the defect lying in the pollen function. The possible nature of the mutation is discussed.