Biotechnology and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa

Whether development is defined by the long-standing economic parameter of per capita gross national product (GNP) or by the newly introduced Human Development Index (HDI), which is not based exclusively on per capita GNP, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa rank at or near the bottom of the developing world. Agriculture and agro-based processing are the mainstays of the economies of the majority of these countries. Because of this, and also because many of the diseases endemic in these countries are communicable, the application of modern biotechnology (including genetic engineering, tissue culture and monoclonal antibody technology) and related biotechnologies could play an important part in creating sustainable development in the region. There is, therefore, an urgent need to train more of the region's indigenous citizens, and to equip more laboratories, in modern biotechnology. It is suggested that, in order to accelerate the harnessing of the fruits of biotechnology, more countries in the region should affiliate with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). It is further suggested that a regional equivalent of the ICGEB be built and the services of non-governmental biotechnology organizations used.The author is with Nnamdi Azikiwe University, P. M. B. 5025, Awka, Nigeria. Address correspondence to P. M. B. 1457, Enugu, Nigeria     

Development of health biotechnology in developing countries: Can private-sector players be the prime movers?

Health biotechnology has rapidly become vital in helping healthcare systems meet the needs of the poor in developing countries. This key industry also generates revenue and creates employment opportunities in these countries. To successfully develop biotechnology industries in developing nations, it is critical to understand and improve the system of health innovation, as well as the role of each innovative sector and the linkages between the sectors. Countries' science and technology capacities can be strengthened only if there are non-linear linkages and strong interrelations among players throughout the innovation process; these relationships generate and transfer knowledge related to commercialization of the innovative health products. The private sector is one of the main actors in healthcare innovation, contributing significantly to the development of health biotechnology via knowledge, expertise, resources and relationships to translate basic research and development into new commercial products and innovative processes. The role of the private sector has been increasingly recognized and emphasized by governments, agencies and international organizations. Many partnerships between the public and private sector have been established to leverage the potential of the private sector to produce more affordable healthcare products. Several developing countries that have been actively involved in health biotechnology are becoming the main players in this industry. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of the private sector in health biotechnology development and to study its impact on health and economic growth through case studies in South Korea, India and Brazil. The paper also discussed the approaches by which the private sector can improve the health and economic status of the poor.     

Amphibians and squamates from the middle Eocene of Namibia,with comments on pre-Miocene anurans from Africa

Three middle Eocene localities (Silica North, Silica South, Black Crow) recently discovered in Namibia have produced terrestrial faunas that rank among the few known from the period of insulation of Africa (Aptian-early Miocene). Collectively, the three localities have yielded anuran amphibians (one pipid frog, the earliest assemblage [three taxa] of ranoid frogs in Africa, one indeterminate family) and squamate reptiles (an amphisbaenian ‘lizard’, a snake that likely represents a colubroid, and two indeterminate ‘lizards’). These Eocene faunas suggest that ranoids, colubroids and African pipids are autochthonous to Africa. However, whereas pipids are vicariants inherited from West Gondwana, ranoids and colubroids (if really autochthonous) originated in Africa from unknown stems. Silica North and Silica South correspond to aquatic environments, permanent fresh water being present in the first locality; the environment of Black Crow was drier.     

Sex differences in obesity rates in poor countries: Evidence from South Africa

Globally, men and women face markedly different risks of obesity. In all but of handful of (primarily Western European) countries, obesity is much more prevalent among women than men. We examine several potential explanations for this phenomenon. We analyze differences between men and women in reports and effects of potential underlying causes of obesity—childhood and adult poverty, depression, and attitudes about obesity. We evaluate the evidence for each explanation using data collected in an urban African township in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Three factors explain the greater obesity rates we find among women. Women who were nutritionally deprived as children are significantly more likely to be obese as adults, while men who were deprived as children face no greater risk. In addition, women of higher adult socioeconomic status are significantly more likely to be obese, which is not true for men. These two factors - childhood circumstances and adult SES - can fully explain the difference in obesity rates between men and women that we find in our sample. More speculatively, in South Africa, women's perceptions of an ‘ideal’ female body are larger than men's perceptions of the ‘ideal’ male body, and individuals with larger ‘ideal’ body images are significantly more likely to be obese.     

我国生物技术基地平台现状与发展建议

生物技术是21世纪以来新一轮科技革命和产业变革的核心,而生物技术基地平台是开展生物技术研究、生产和服务的载体,是生物技术创新体系的重要组成部分。对世界主要发达国家及我国生物技术基地平台的总体规模和建设情况进行梳理分析,并借鉴国外经验,提出改进我国生物技术基地平台建设的政策建议,以供参考。     

Needs and means for education and training in biotechnology: perspectives from developing countries and Europe

A plenary discussion session on Biotechnology education and training programs at the Xth International Conference on The global Impacts of Applied Microbiology in 1995 gave an opportunity to identify current priorities for biotechnology in developing countries. The discussion focused on three major areas: the nature of the skills required; education and training for the various categories of staff; the role of the scientific community in informing the decision makers about biotechnology and its prospects. Comparable discussions are taking place in Europe and elsewhere in the industrialized world. They are exemplified by developments arising from a White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness, Employment published by the European Commission in 1993 which included a reinforcement of the work of the European Initiative for Biotechnology Education (EIBE) for teachers in schools. There are also widespread anxieties about the effects of deficiencies in the amount of attention being given to microbiology in undergraduate courses.The author is with the National Centre for Biotechnology Education, The University of Reading. Whiteknights, PO Box 228, Reading RG6 6AJ,UK     

“一带一路”沿线国家生物技术发展趋势研究

“一带一路”贯穿亚欧非大陆,联结活跃的东亚经济圈和发达的欧洲经济圈,以及中间经济发展潜力巨大的广大腹地国家与地区,“一带一路”战略将对中国未来国内外的政治、经济、文化、科技发展产生重大深远影响。本报告分析了“一带一路”沿线国家的科技发展基础条件,研究了“一带一路”沿线国家在生物技术领域取得的基础研究进展和专利技术研发进展的总体情况,综述了“一带一路”沿线国家生物技术产业发展现状和国际专利布局情况,并针对中国与“一带一路”沿线国家在生物技术领域进一步深化合作互利共赢提出了发展建议。     

我国水产养殖事业的发展及今后的努力方向

我国水产养殖事业的发展及今后的努力方向曾呈奎（中国科学院海洋研究所青岛２６６０７１）我国水产养殖事业在新中国成立以前,只有个别零星古老的,传统的事业。在养殖海产鱼虾方面北方有几百年来的＂港养对虾和鱼＂,而在南方也有类似的鱼塘。在海藻栽培方面,则有几百年来的福建金门县的礁养海萝及平潭县的礁养紫菜等。这些古老的传统养殖方法虽然产生一些效果,但产量较小。     

Agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries and their possible contribution to food security

Latest FAO figures indicate that an estimated 925 million people are undernourished in 2010, representing almost 16% of the population in developing countries. Looking to the future, there are also major challenges ahead from the rapidly changing socio-economic environment (increasing world population and urbanisation, and dietary changes) and climate change.Promoting agriculture in developing countries is the key to achieving food security, and it is essential to act in four ways: to increase investment in agriculture, broaden access to food, improve governance of global trade, and increase productivity while conserving natural resources. To enable the fourth action, the suite of technological options for farmers should be as broad as possible, including agricultural biotechnologies. Agricultural biotechnologies represent a broad range of technologies used in food and agriculture for the genetic improvement of plant varieties and animal populations, characterisation and conservation of genetic resources, diagnosis of plant or animal diseases and other purposes. Discussions about agricultural biotechnology have been dominated by the continuing controversy surrounding genetic modification and its resulting products, genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The polarised debate has led to non-GMO biotechnologies being overshadowed, often hindering their development and application.Extensive documentation from the FAO international technical conference on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries (ABDC-10), that took place in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 1–4 March 2010, gave a very good overview of the many ways that different agricultural biotechnologies are being used to increase productivity and conserve natural resources in the crop, livestock, fishery, forestry and agro-industry sectors in developing countries. The conference brought together about 300 policy-makers, scientists and representatives of intergovernmental and international non-governmental organisations, including delegations from 42 FAO Member States. At the end of ABDC-10, the Member States reached a number of key conclusions, agreeing, inter alia, that FAO and other relevant international organisations and donors should significantly increase their efforts to support the strengthening of national capacities in the development and appropriate use of pro-poor agricultural biotechnologies.     

Ecotypes of wild rooibos (Aspalathus linearis (Burm. F) Dahlg., Fabaceae) are ecologically distinct

Aspalathus linearis (Burm. F) Dahlg., Fabaceae is cultivated by small- and large-scale commercial farmers of the Cederberg and Bokkeveld Plateau in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, for the production of an herbal beverage called ‘rooibos’ or ‘rooibos tea’. Small-scale farmers also harvest A. linearis from the wild and market the tea as an organic and fair-trade certified product. However, little is known about the apparent ecotypes of wild A. linearis. We hypothesized that 1) rooibos ecotypes are ecologically distinct (occurring in different plant communities defined by environmental variables); 2) rooibos ecotypes are functionally distinct due to variance in water use efficiency; and 3) rooibos ecotypes are associated with threatened vegetation types/species, making populations of wild rooibos ecotypes worthy of conservation. Ecotypes of wild rooibos were identified based on plant habit and local knowledge. Plant communities were classified using Twinspan, environmental factors were tested as predictors of ecotype distribution and water use efficiency of ecotypes growing across a rainfall gradient was determined from foliar natural abundance of ¹³C. Wild rooibos was not generally associated with endangered vegetation types but was associated with plant species having endangered status. Wild rooibos occurred in four plant communities and comprised five wild rooibos ecotypes: shrub, tree, upright, salignus and prostrate types. Although some ecotypes clearly co-occurred, evidence is provided for habitat preference between the ecotypes: Prostrate and upright ecotypes occurred at higher elevations (> 400-600 m). Shrub ecotypes occurred at lower rainfall sites (< 200 mm p.a.) and the salignus ecotype occurred at higher rainfall sites (> 500 mm p.a.). Foliar ¹³C indicated greater water use efficiencies by ecotypes in relatively drier areas. The extent to which this is a plastic or inherent response requires further investigation. Considering that wild rooibos ecotypes differ both ecologically and possibly also functionally and genetically, it is concluded that populations of wild rooibos ecotypes should be considered as distinct and worthy of conservation. This distinctness should be considered when farmers apply for both harvesting and ploughing rights on land with wild rooibos ecotypes.     

Did a discrete event 200,000-100,000 years ago produce modern humans?

Scenarios for modern human origins are often predicated on the assumption that modern humans arose 200,000-100,000 years ago in Africa. This assumption implies that something ‘special’ happened at this point in time in Africa, such as the speciation that produced Homo sapiens, a severe bottleneck in human population size, or a combination of the two. The common thread is that after the divergence of the modern human and Neandertal evolutionary lineages ∼400,000 years ago, there was another discrete event near in time to the Middle-Late Pleistocene boundary that produced modern humans. Alternatively, modern human origins could have been a lengthy process that lasted from the divergence of the modern human and Neandertal evolutionary lineages to the expansion of modern humans out of Africa, and nothing out of the ordinary happened 200,000-100,000 years ago in Africa.Three pieces of biological (fossil morphology and DNA sequences) evidence are typically cited in support of discrete event models. First, living human mitochondrial DNA haplotypes coalesce ∼200,000 years ago. Second, fossil specimens that are usually classified as ‘anatomically modern’ seem to appear shortly afterward in the African fossil record. Third, it is argued that these anatomically modern fossils are morphologically quite different from the fossils that preceded them.Here I use theory from population and quantitative genetics to show that lengthy process models are also consistent with current biological evidence. That this class of models is a viable option has implications for how modern human origins is conceptualized.     

Identification des zones biostratigraphiques méditerranéennes dans le Pliocène du Cap-Bon (Tunisie)

The Nabeul-Hammamet series analysis allows to recognize the six biozona known in the Mediterranean realm, as specified by Cita (1975a). These are: the Sphaeroidinellopsis subdehiscens BANNER & BLOW acme biozone equivalent to MPL1; the Globorotalia margaritae margaritae BOLLI & BERMUDEZ interval zone (= MPL2); the Globorotalia margaritae BOLLI & BERMUDEZ, Globorotalia puncticulata (DESHAYES), concurrent range zone (= MPL3); the Sphaeroidinellopsis subdehiscens BANNER & BLOW interval zone (= MPL4); the Globigerinoides elongatus (D’ORBIGNY) interval zone (= MPL5); the Globorotalia inflata (D’ORBIGNY) interval zone (= MPL6). There is no similarity between these biozones and those established by Berggren and al. (1995) for the atlantic and the indo-pacific realms. The MPL1, MPL2, MPL3 and MPL4 zones are especially englobed in argillaceous and yellow sandy lithological units specified in north-eastern Tunisia, such as ‘Argiles des Potiers’, ‘Sables Jaunes de Nabeul’ and ‘Argiles de Sidi Barka’. These units are together equivalent to the Raf-Raf Formation developed towards the North, in the Bizerte area. Besides, the MPL5 and the MPL6 zones are included in sands and sandstones composing the Hammamet unit, equivalent to the Porto-Farina Formation.     

Chimerical nature of the ribosomal RNA gene of a Nosema species

Taxonomic resolution of the Nosema/Vairimorpha clade has been augmented with DNA sequences of the small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and the arrangement of SSU and LSU. Based on the two characteristics, the clade is largely divided into two, i.e. ‘true’ Nosema sub-group and non-‘true’ Nosema sub-group within the clade. Our study shows that a novel Nosema species isolated from Pieris rapae has mixed characteristics of the ‘true’ and non-‘true’ Nosema sub-group based on the topology of SSU and LSU sequences. To our knowledge, this may be the first case of the incongruent phylogenetic placement of SSU and LSU in the Nosema/Vairimorpha clade. Additionally, the length of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) can be a diagnostic tool to distinguish ‘true’ Nosema from non-’true’ Nosema in the Nosema/Vairimorpha clade based on its nucleotide length as reported before.     

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 gene in Citrus reticulata

Ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 (UBE1) catalyzes the first step in the ubiquitination reaction, which targets a protein for degradation via a proteasome pathway. UBE1 plays an important role in metabolic processes. In this study, full-length cDNA and DNA sequences of UBE1 gene, designated CrUBE1, were obtained from ‘Wuzishatangju’ (self-incompatible, SI) and ‘Shatangju’ (self-compatible, SC) mandarins. 5 amino acids and 8 bases were different in cDNA and DNA sequences of CrUBE1 between ‘Wuzishatangju’ and ‘Shatangju’, respectively. Southern blot analysis showed that there existed only one copy of the CrUBE1 gene in genome of ‘Wuzishatangju’ and ‘Shatangju’. The temporal and spatial expression characteristics of the CrUBE1 gene were investigated using semi-quantitative RT-PCR (SqPCR) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The expression level of the CrUBE1 gene in anthers of ‘Shatangju’ was approximately 10-fold higher than in anthers of ‘Wuzishatangju’. The highest expression level of CrUBE1 was detected in pistils at 7 days after self-pollination of ‘Wuzishatangju’, which was approximately 5-fold higher than at 0 h. To obtain CrUBE1 protein, the full-length cDNA of CrUBE1 genes from ‘Wuzishatangju’ and ‘Shatangju’ were successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris. Pollen germination frequency of ‘Wuzishatangju’ was significantly inhibited with increasing of CrUBE1 protein concentrations from ‘Wuzishatangju’.     

Current state and prospects of biotechnology in Central and Eastern European countries. Part II: new and preaccession EU countries(CRO,RO, B&H,SRB)

Innovation holds the potential for economic prosperity. Biotechnology (BT) has proved to be a viable vehicle for the development and utilization of technologies, which has brought not only advances to society, but also career opportunities to nation-states that have enabling conditions. In this review, we assess the current state of BT-related activities within selected new and preaccession EU countries (NPA) of CEE region namely Croatia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, examining educational programs, research activity, enterprises, and the financing systems. The field of BT covers a broad area of activities, including medical, food and agriculture, aquaculture or marine, environmental, biofuels, bioinformatics, and many others. Under the European Commission (EC), member-states are to set their Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3), to identify priorities or strengths in order to develop knowledge intensive economies. As the four countries highlighted in this review are in the early stages of implementing RIS3 or have not yet fully formulated, it presents an opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of those that have already received major structural funds from the EC. A critical point will be the ability of the public and private sectors’ actors to align, in the implementation of RIS3 as new investment instruments emerge, and to concentrate efforts on a few select target goals, rather than distribute funding widely without respect to a long-term vision.     

The interactions between humans and mammals in Africa in relation to conservation: a review

Most human-mammal interactions are detrimental to wild mammals. In Africa, mammalian population numbers and the geographical distribution of many species have been reduced due to hunting, pastoralism, habitat modification and disease control. The importance of each of these factors depends on the species, its location and habitat, and density of the human population. In contrast, some small- and medium-sized species have benefited from human activities, and there has been an increase in the population numbers of some species in well-managed and well-protected conservation areas. There appears to be a strong negative correlation (at least for some well-studied species) between density of humans and density of mammals. Recently, several African countries, notably in southern Africa, have developed the principle of integrated rural development in which local people are involved in the planning and administration of their traditional lands. Managed conservation areas are an integral part of good land-use policies. Surveys indicate that most Africans living close to conservation areas, especially those with a higher level of education, understand and support the ideals of conservation; nevertheless it is important that the benefits of conservation and integrated development (such as money, jobs, and food) directly benefit the local people. Conservation of mammals (and all other species) in Africa in the future will only succeed if there is participation at the grass roots level, better food production in designated agricultural areas, reduction in the rate of increase of human populations, stabilization of human densities, and active programmes of conservation education.     

Shift in chicken intestinal gene association networks after infection with Salmonella

A primary infection of Salmonella enteritidis causes a spatial-temporal dependent change in the gene expression patterns in the intestine of chickens (Gallus gallus). This is the result of a dynamic intestinal response to adapt to the altered environment and to optimize its ‘health’ and functionality under the new circumstances. By inferring gene association networks (GANs), the complexities of and changes in biological networks can be uncovered. Within such GANs highly interacting (hub) genes can be identified, which are supposed to be high-level regulators connected to multiple processes. By exploring the intestinal expression of genes differing between control and Salmonella infected chicken in a time-dependent manner differences in GANs were found. In control chickens more developmental processes were observed, whereas in infected chickens relatively more processes were associated to ‘defense/pathogen response’. Moreover the conserved protein domains of the identified hub genes in controls were nuclear-associated, whereas hub genes in infected chickens were involved in ‘cellular communication’. The shift in topology and functionality of the intestinal GANs in control and Salmonella infected animals and the identification of GAN-specific hubs is a first step to understand the complexity of biological networks and processes regulating intestinal health and functionality under normal and disturbed conditions.     

Hydrographical observations west of the Banc d'Arguin,Mauritania, in May 1988

The present paper discusses the distribution of hydrographical parameters in Mauritanian waters between 19° 20 N and 20° 40 N. Data were collected during the first leg of the Dutch Mauritania Expedition in May 1988 with the R/V TYRO and comprise measurements of water temperature (T), salinity (S) and dissolved oxygen contents (O₂) in the area off the Banc d'Arguin. The time of investigation fell in the transitional period between the cold and warm season, which in this area is characterised by a peak in the trade wind speed and progressive heating of waters. Wind speed and sea surface temperature distribution in May 1988 were close to the seasonal averages which suggests that the observed hydrographical conditions were normal for this period as well. The highest spatial variability of T, S and O₂ was found near the southern end of the Banc d'Arguin, where the combined effect of coastal upwelling and seasonal heating made the thermocline upper limit rise towards the surface and upwelling waters reach the shallowest parts of the shelf. In the northern part of the study area upwelling phenomena were observed in the subsurface layers below 50 m depth; upwelling water did not reach beyond the outer edge of the shelf. The analysis of the TS diagram showed that water masses in the upper 300 m layer were mainly composed of South Atlantic Central Water with an admixture of warm, low-salinity surface water of Guinean origin. Traces of North Atlantic Central Water were found in the subsurface layer and at the deepest levels of measurements. Almost no traces of warm, saline water originating from the shallow Banc d'Arguin were registered during the survey.     

Quantum biology at the cellular level—Elements of the research program

Quantum biology is emerging as a new field at the intersection between fundamental physics and biology, promising novel insights into the nature and origin of biological order. We discuss several elements of QBCL (quantum biology at cellular level) – a research program designed to extend the reach of quantum concepts to higher than molecular levels of biological organization. We propose a new general way to address the issue of environmentally induced decoherence and macroscopic superpositions in biological systems, emphasizing the ‘basis-dependent’ nature of these concepts. We introduce the notion of ‘formal superposition’ and distinguish it from that of Schroedinger's cat (i.e., a superposition of macroscopically distinct states). Whereas the latter notion presents a genuine foundational problem, the former one contradicts neither common sense nor observation, and may be used to describe cellular ‘decision-making’ and adaptation. We stress that the interpretation of the notion of ‘formal superposition’ should involve non-classical correlations between molecular events in a cell. Further, we describe how better understanding of the physics of Life can shed new light on the mechanism driving evolutionary adaptation (viz., ‘Basis-Dependent Selection’, BDS). Experimental tests of BDS and the potential role of synthetic biology in closing the ‘evolvability mechanism’ loophole are also discussed.     

Thraustochytrid Marine Protists: Production of PUFAs and Other Emerging Technologies

Thraustochytrids, the heterotrophic, marine, straminipilan protists, are now established candidates for commercial production of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω-3 PUFA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), that is important in human health and aquaculture. Extensive screening of cultures from a variety of habitats has yielded strains that produce at least 50% of their biomass as lipids, and DHA comprising at least 25% of the total fatty acids, with a yield of at least 5 g L⁻¹. Most of the lipids occur as triacylglycerols and a lesser amount as phospholipids. Numerous studies have been carried out on salinity, pH, temperature, and media optimization for DHA production. Commercial production is based on a fed batch method, using high C/N ratio that favors lipid accumulation. Schizochytrium DHA is now commercially available as nutritional supplements for adults and as feeds to enhance DHA levels in larvae of aquaculture animals. Thraustochytrids are emerging as a potential source of other PUFAs such as arachidonic acid and oils with a suite of PUFA profiles that can have specific uses. They are potential sources of asataxanthin and carotenoid pigments, as well as other lipids. Genes of the conventional fatty acid synthesis and the polyketide-like PUFA synthesis pathways of thraustochytrids are attracting attention for production of recombinant PUFA-containing plant oils. Future studies on the basic biology of these organisms, including biodiversity, environmental adaptations, and genome research are likely to point out directions for biotechnology explorations. Potential areas include enzymes, polysaccharides, and secondary metabolites.