ABOUT THE GLOSSARY

This "Glossary of Biotechnology for Food and Agriculture" is a revised, augmented version of the "Glossary of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering" published by FAO in 1999. The idea for such a collection of terminology associated with the rapidly expanding fields related to or deriving from biotechnology and genetic engineering, was stimulated by the difficulty of communicating effectively in discussions at intergovernmental level. On various occasions, simple differences of interpretation of terminology have threatened to de-rail negotiations of international importance. This Glossary tries to provide a consolidated, comprehensive and yet accessible list of terms and acronyms that are used regularly in biotechnology for food and agriculture and that represent a convenient reference source for researchers, students and technicians.

The first edition of the Glossary generated a considerable amount of interest worldwide, as seen by the many appreciative messages, number of visits to the related website and repeated requests for translation of the definitions into other official FAO languages. The process of revision, which is described in detail in the Acknowledgement section, took an entire year and involved a number of scientists, editors, teachers and experts in different fields of biotechnology. The approach used was largely participatory, attempting to involve in the review process also the audience of the Glossary.

The result of the process is presented here. The new edition contains about 450 new terms and about 100 terms have been deleted. It now contains 3,196 terms and related definitions. A number of definitions have been improved to enhance the coherence of the Glossary. This new edition also has a slightly modified title. The new title reflects more precisely the scope of the Glossary, limited to terms involving biotechnology for food and agriculture.

However, FAO does not consider that the process is completed but only to have reached a further intermediary step, and inputs from users (suggestions of new terms, comments on current terms etc.) are encouraged. Together with this continuous reviewing process, FAO also plans to translate the Glossary into other languages to make it available for a larger audience.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first version was developed by Abdelouahhab Zaid, whilst working as Chief Technical Adviser for a field project of FAO. He collaborated closely with Harrison G. Hughes, Professor of Horticulture, Colorado State University, USA. As their field of expertise is in plant tissue culture, Enrico Porceddu, Professor of Agricultural Genetics, University of Tuscia, Italy, was asked to introduce associated terminology from the broader area of agricultural genetics The whole draft was systematically read over by Frank Nicholas, Department of Animal Science, University of Sydney, who in particular, addressed animal-related terminology. The draft benefited from the expert comments of a number of specialists, which were collated under the guidance of Maria Zimmermann, Sustainable Development Department, FAO.

In 2001, the process of revision of the Glossary was undertaken under the coordination of Andrea Sonnino, Sustainable Development Department, FAO. The members (about 1 300) of FAO's Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture were requested to provide comments and suggestions for the new version. The request was further publicized by some other biotechnological networks. Two consultants, Robert Koebner from the John Innes Institute in the United Kingdom and Martin Shepherd, a free-lance scientific editor, prepared a revised, augmented version of the Glossary. Taking into account all the suggestions received so far, they improved the text of many original definitions, deleted irrelevant or obsolete entries, and added hundreds of new entries.

The draft of the new version was then scrutinized by the four original authors. Frank Nicholas, in particular, thoroughly revised the manuscript. Finally, the corrected draft was critically read and edited by Phil Moss, formerly Director of the Cellular and Molecular Biology Division of ICRISAT. A number of members of the FAO Interdepartmental Working Group on Biotechnology provided suggestions and comments.