CHALLENGES AND

OPPORTUNITIES OF GM CROPS

P. ANANDA KUMAR

Institute of Biotechnology

ANGRAU

Hyderabad 500030

INDIA

2008: 1.15 b

2050: 1.50 b

POPULATION

“Food Security exists when all people,

at all times, have physical and economic

access to sufficient, safe and nutritious

food to meet their dietary needs and

food preference for an active and

healthy life”

World Food Summit, 1996: FAO, 1996

FOOD SECURITY

COMMODITY 2000 2010 2020

FOOD GRAINS 208.0 266.0 343.0

EDIBLE OIL 6.3 9.4 13.0

VEGETABLES 80.0 117.2 168.0

FRUITS 22.2 42.9 81.0

MILK 84.0 153.1 271.0

MEAT, FISH &

EGGS

6.2 12.7 27.0

SUGAR 12.8 17.3 22.0

TIFAC: TECHNOLOGY VISION 2020

FUTURE NEEDMillion Tonnes

INDIAN AGRICULTURE

• Agriculture represents 14% GDP

• 126 million farming families engaged in Primary agriculture

• 234 million in agriculture sector

• Average farm size – 1.41 Ha

• 90 % production - domestic use

• Export – $6 billion (1.5% of total exports)

• 700 million people living in 683,000 villages

• Human development index: 134/182

• Global hunger index: 23.7 (World 14.6)

CHALLENGES

Urbanization

Diminishing area of cultivated land

Soil erosion

Salinization of land

Depleting water resources

Vanishing energy resources

New threats (E.g., Ug99)

Global climate change

SPECIFIC PROBLEMS

Malnutrition (40% of global

malnourished)

Hunger (1/5th population)

Undernourishment

Micronutrient deficiency

Anemia in women and children

Strict consumer preferences

GM CROPS - OPPORTUNITIES

• Break Yield Barriers (Next Quantum Jump)

• Improve productivity - output/input ratio

• Improve quality of foods (Nutrition)

• Minimize chemical inputs – pesticides and

fertilizers (Safe & Sustainable agriculture)

Mitigate adverse effects of Climate Change

JUDICIOUS COMBINATION OF

PLANT BREEDING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

GM CROPS-THE PROMISE

More food

Better quality food

Safer food

Healthy foods

Designer foods

PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING

Genetic manipulation of a plant

species by introduction and expression

of a foreign gene or its own gene to

confer a novel trait or character

Dr Bruce Chassy, UIUC

GM CROPS(Transgenic Crops)

• Resistance to pests and diseases

• Tolerance to drought and salinity

• Production of high yielding hybrids

• Improvement of protein and oil quality

• Post-harvest traits

• Metabolic manipulation

• Therapeutics

• Edible vaccines

• Phytoremediation

GM CROPS

GLOBAL STATUS

Area of GM crops in 2013

is 170 million hectares in 28 countries

Herbicide tolerance

Insect pest resistance

Virus resistance

Male sterility

Modified oil quality

ISAAA, 2007ISAAA, 2014

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL

BENEFITS - 1996-2012

•Increased crop production and value by US$ 116.60 billion

•Providing a better environment, by saving 443 m kg of pesticides

•Reducing CO2 emissions-19 billion kg = 9 m cars off the road-2010

•Conserved biodiversity by saving 91 million hectares of land

•Helped alleviate poverty by helping 15.0 million small farmers

who are some of the poorest people in the world

Brookes and Barfoot, 2014

Slow-Ripening Tomato

“Flavr-Savr”

(First commercialized GM crop-1994)

• Improved texture

• Delayed ripening

• Facilitation of transportation

PEST RESISTANCE

Bt Cotton - 1995• Carries a gene coding for δ-endotoxin of Bt

(Bacillus thuringiensis, a biopesticide)

• The gene confers resistance to bollworms

• Protects the yield

• Drastically reduces pesticide consumption

(290,000 METRIC TONS OF PESTICIDE

INGREDIENT)

Non-Bt (Tigers) and Bt cotton

Bt-cotton - First GM crop – 2002

Area – >10.0 million hectares - 2013

Bt cotton hybrids - 1200 - 2013

Net economic benefit - $ 225/ha

Yield gain - 31%

Reduction in pesticide sprays – 39%

Increase in profit – 88%

Second in global cotton production

(34 million bales - 2013-14)

Bt-COTTON IN INDIA

Bt-BRINJAL VARIETIES(Fruit Borer Protection)

IIVR, UAS-D, TNAU

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PATNERSHIP WITH M/S MAHYCO

ABSP II

Bt Normal

(Cry1Fa; Patent No. 242768)Licensed to M/S Bejo Sheetal

NRCPB

RBLB

.

I

pBinBt9LB

.

cry1Fa135S Pro

Fruit damage

Control: 45%; Bt: 2%

BRL II 2014-15

Bt-Brinjal (IARI/ICAR)

Parent Null Transgenic BS 6H (Bt)

AAU, Jorhat & NRCPB

(Cry2Aa; NRCPB Patent)Plant Science, 2010

Bt-CHICKPEA

Resistance to Gram Pod Borer

BRL I; 2014-15

BROWN PLANT HOPPER RESISTANT RICE

Osmania UniversityNagadhara et al., Theor. Appl. Gen., 2004;109: 1399-1405

Snowdrop Lectin

Field Trial at Maruteru

ANGRAU

Glass house Tests

DISEASE RESISTANCE

GM Papaya - Resistant to Ring Spot Virus Late Blight Resistant Potato

(Hawaii and China) CPRI-Shimla

HERBICIDE RESISTANCE

Resistant to eco-friendly herbicides.

Soybean, Corn, Cotton, Canola & Alfalfa

CONSERVATION TILLAGE AND BETTER WEED CONTROL

Roundup Ready Flex Bt cotton – Field tests

CONTROL E-2 E-3 E-

6Glyphosate tolerant Rice - IR 64

NRCPB

NURITIONAL QUALITY

NUTRITIONAL QUALITY“GOLDEN RICE” - β-carotene - Provitamin A

Dr Gerard Barry, IRRI

IARI, New Delhi

DRR,

Hyderabad

TNAU,

Coimbatore

INDIAN GOLDEN RICE NETWORK CENTRES

Swarna

Jaya

ADT43

ASD16

BPT5204

MTU1010

Dr A K Singh, IARI

Qu et al., Planta 2005; 222: 225-233

IRON AVAILABILITYFERRITIN IN RICE ENDOSPERM

Improved Protein Quality

Introduction of an Amaranthus gene

coding for a protein with balanced

amino acid content (WHO standards) in

potato

Ama1 - GM Potato

Biosafety and Field Tests - NIPGR

Chakraborty et al., PNAS 2000; 97: 7 3724-3729

OIL QUALITY

• High oleic acid canola and soybean.

(Unsaturated Fatty Acids-Healthy)

• High Laurate Canola (Industrial)

(Commercialized in USA, Calgene)

HYBRID PRODUCTION

• Creation of male sterile and restorer lines

• Use of bacterial genes Barnase & Barstar

(E.g. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens)

• Production of high yielding hybrids

• Hybrids of Canola Commercialized

(Canada, Australia, USA)

MUSTARD HYBRDS - BRL II FIELD TESTS - UDSC

DROUGHT TOLERANCE

Transgenic maize which

expresses an RNA chaperone

gene is tolerant to salt and

water stress - USA-2013

AFRICA

CIMMYT-MONSANTO

Melinda & Bill Gates Foundation

THE ROAD AHEAD1. Several speed breakers.

2. Enormous cost of biosafey tests

3. Excessive GM regulation-Impediment to PRS efforts.

4. Losing time - Ecological disasters

5. Thousands of Deaths due to pesticide poisoning,

malnutrition, anemia etc.,

6. Strident anti-GM campaign

7. Many states declared their opposition to GM

8. “No Objection Certificate” – Rules 1989

9. Public awareness – Need of the hour

10. BRAI bill ??

Science based policy, Dialogue and Complementarity

THANK YOU