Potential and limitations of appropriate biotechnologies for the Near East region

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The concept of appropriate biotechnology promoted by FAO refers to the identification of those biotechnological tools which contribute to sustainable development: they are technically feasible, environmentally safe and socio-economically and culturally acceptable. FAO's policy considers biotechnologies as part of an integrated strategy to solve agricultural problems and not as goals in themselves.

It must be emphasized that biotechnology transcends the methods hitherto specific to crop or animal improvement and that in both fields it depends on molecular and biochemical techniques to utilize the genetic diversity for improvement of genetic stocks and to confer resistance to major diseases and environmental stress. In some countries, appropriate biotechnologies have

been applied successfully in both plants and animals. Agricultural biotechnology cannot be considered independently from the trends in agricultural production.

Plant biotechnologies

There are some important aspects to consider in regard to biotechnology implementation in the Near East Region. Although climate conditions make agricultural activities difficult and sometimes unpredictable, the region is one of the world's oldest agricultural areas where biotechnological practices, such as fermentation, began. Therefore, the accumulation of ancient agricultural practices passed down through generations of farmers, along with a rich genetic diversity, provides formidable challenge for modern biotechnology implementation.

As current biotechnological techniques have been developed for the needs of advanced countries, the basic biological principles are the same. Therefore countries of the region should likewise adapt or develop biotechnologies for local agricultural conditions.

In order to respond to market demands, and for production purposes, plant breeders have combined their efforts to provide new, uniform and genetically more productive varieties; these, in some cases, can replace the enormous diversity of local heterogeneous or wild varieties which have for centuries responded to agriculture's needs. It should not be forgotten, however, that the plant breeder's starting point is the genetic diversity represented by the heterogeneous materials of the traditional farmer (Villalobos, Ferreira and Mora, 1992). The extinction of some plants from their centre of origin and their replacement by "improved" cultivated varieties, in particular, has contributed, in some cases, unintentionally, to the decrease in natural genetic variability. Moreover, owing to the growing demand for food, plant breeders have produced very productive cultivars with a very narrow genetic base. In this sense, increasing the yield of a cultivated species may be to the detriment of its adaptation capacity and can increase genetic vulnerability because of the selective pressure during the breeding programme.

For practical implementation of plant biotechnology, access to genetic diversity is essential. Plant germplasm is a limited natural resource that supplies the genes which are essential for the production of improved plant varieties. Genes are dispersed in domestic species and natural populations that have been selected by nature and by farmers over thousands of years according to their adaptation characteristics, resistance and productivity. Without these resources, the improvement of varieties in farming would not have come about. In recent years, different factors such as the substitution of local varieties by hybrid seeds, excessive application of pesticides, high selection pressure, etc. have caused the extinction of much valuable material that had barely been exploited.

As has been mentioned above, biotechnology is composed of two major groups of tools which, to a certain extent, are interdependent:

The following biotechnologies are available for crop production and can be used in the Near East Region:

  1. rapid propagation of useful micro-organisms such as nitrogen fixation (NF) bacteria and biocontrol agents;
  2. micropropagation of plants, especially when combined with disease-indexing, to produce large quantities of clean planting material;
  3. diagnostics based on the use of monoclonal antibodies and nucleic acid probes for the identification of plant diseases and the detection of high levels of chemicals, such as pesticides in food;
  4. genetic engineering of individual species to introduce novel traits; and
  5. new genetic mapping technologies as an aid to conventional plant breeding programmes.

The major available biotechnologies mentioned above are being applied successfully to different groups of plants. Each tool is the result of many years of research, trial and error. The justification for the application of a specific biotechnology will depend directly on the critical analysis of the problems to be solved and the availability of suitable techniques. In some cases, conventional methods are more reliable than the most advanced technique.

Forestry

Biotechnologies provide several choices for use in the efficient utilization of forest resources. However, their main contribution is in saving time in the genetic improvement process, given the long cycle between sexual reproduction in the majority of economically important trees. This situation which is inherent in woody species, makes conventional methods difficult to implement. The major actual and potential applications of biotechnology to forestry are:

For forest tree breeding, genetic engineering techniques will allow direct desirable gene manipulation in one step. In the future it will be possible to incorporate genes codified for specific characteristics into commercial species.

Micropropagation of control-pollinated individuals has been accomplished in several woody species, mainly conifers (Thorpe, Harry and Kumar, 1991), however, recent contributions have also shown success in other woody species such as Eucalyptus, Leucaena, Hevea, Palms, Prosopis and Casuarina. Although the list of trees that can be multiplied by tissue culture is constantly increasing, there are still some limitations for broader commercial development of those technologies as alternatives for the use of cuttings in forestry; limitations include the cost of planting stock and insufficient information regarding field performance (Haines, 1992). Recent developments with somatic embryogenesis systems offer hope on both counts. Perhaps the best micropropagation system to reach the commercial stage is with radiate pine in New Zealand. Estimations of the efficiency of this system indicate that one sexual embryo of one of the more responsive genotypes could yield 260 000 plants ready for the field in two and a half years (AitkenChristie, Singh and Davies, 1988). Other efficient systems are Eucalyptus poplars and Cryptomeria (Greed, 1992). Some of the limitations to the extension of these results to other species are related to the lack of response among genotypes of cells cultivated in vitro and reliable mechanisms for many of the commercial species are not available (Villalobos, Yeung and Thorpe, 1985). Other limitation to massive tree multiplication is the adaptation to site in the case of genetically homogeneous material. So far, the use of juvenile tissues as explants is the most commonly used procedure, especially for somatic embryogenesis.

The practical application of tissue culture will be extended to other species, adapting the results of species of proven feasibility and which are used as biological models. However, for full utilization of the potential of biotechnological tools to forestry, the following areas need to be developed further:

Animal biotechnologies

Livestock are an important component of the agricultural economy of the region as they provide food, industrial raw materials, traction and manure. There is considerable scope for improving productivity in animals in developing countries. Biotechnology offers new approaches to animal production and health which could benefit the region. Possible applications include: multiple ovulation and embryo transfer; monoclonal antibodies and clones DNA probes; genetically engineered and molecular vaccines; and production of transgenic animals to introduce desirable genetic traits such as disease resistance.

Despite the importance of biotechnology in animal production and health, at present there are no such activities in the region. However, FAO has recognized the importance of biotechnology in developing countries and has initiated activities which will eventually include the Near East region.

In October 1986 in Rome, FAO hosted an Expert Consultation on Biotechnology for Livestock Production and Health. This consultation confirmed the need for the application of new biotechnological procedures in order to improve animal health in developing countries. Two main areas were identified for potential implementation: disease diagnosis and new approaches for vaccination and disease control. The participants analysed the potential use of nucleic acid probes for diagnosis, monoclonal antibodies, diagnosis in field conditions, biotechnology in tick-borne diseases, peptide vaccines, baculuvirus and other virus vector vaccines, and the issue of public health implications of biotechnology. Special sessions on regional issues were also held. In the case of the Near East the expert consultation covered livestock production issues such as: improvement of the nutritive value of straw by biotechnological treatment; manipulation of rumen functions and maximization of livestock production through an integrated system; and recycling, employing the incorporation of by-products (straw) and animal wastes (poultry manure) in animal feeding as well as for the production of energy (methane).

The consultation was followed by two other important meetings concerned with animal biotechnology implementation in developing countries: the FAO Expert Consultation on Applications of Biotechnology in Livestock Production and Health in Developing Countries, held in Havana, Cuba, in 1988, and the FAO/UNDP Workshop on Biotechnology in Animal Production and Health in Asia and Latin America, held in Beijing, China, in 1989. The issues covered are also relevant to the Near East.

Other expert consultations held at FAO Headquarters in 1984 and 1992 gave specific recommendations and addressed the problem of newly emerging diagnostic or vaccines production methods based on modern biotechnology.

To facilitate the access of developing countries to new biotechnologies in animals, FAO has developed the following major networks:

Application of monoclonal antibodies for diagnosis of rabies by the WHO Collaborating Laboratory in Tubingen, Germany, has made possible an epidemiological mapping of the rabies strains. At present, the WHO/FAD Programme of Rabies Control in the Near East and southern African is being developed and will be used on a routine basis.

The recent session of the Research Group of the Standing Technical Committee European Commission for the Control of Foot and Mouth Disease in Switzerland last year discussed new techniques for the diagnosis of FMD Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and monoclonal antibodies. The World Reference Laboratory on FMD (IAH-pirbright, United Kingdom and the FAO Reference Laboratory on Rinderpest "Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR)" programme provide expertise and reference services on numerous aspects of related biotechnologies.

FAO, in collaboration with leading research centres in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and France, has been promoting the development of recombinant vaccines against rinderpest. Successful attempts have also been made to increase the Plowright's vaccine shelf life by a modified freeze-drying scheme and the application of new stabilizers (Mariner, 1989) and a selection of thermostable mutants.

Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (PANVAC)

The PANVAC centres have been established since 1986 in the National Veterinary Institutes of Dakar, Senegal, and Debre-Zeit, Ethiopia, in order to strengthen vaccine production and quality control in 23 countries. In Africa, 28 veterinary vaccines are produced by 23 manufacturers. One of PANVAC's objectives is the technology transfer to Africa of bacterial, viral and anti-parasitic vaccines. A strict standardized quality control of rinderpest vaccines initiated by PANVAC resulted in a significant improvement in the quality of vaccines applied in the Pan African Rinderpest Eradication Campaign (PARC). PANVAC has also been assisting the Near East to strengthen capabilities in countries for rinderpest vaccines production and quality control and can be a model for the region.

The future of animal biotechnology in the Near East

There has not yet been a full assessment of the existing capabilities of countries with regard to animal biotechnology development. Some of the most advanced countries in the region have, however, been making individual arrangements with regards to biotechnology transfer and training.

Some of the needs for biotechnology implementation in the region are:

Strategies for biotechnology development main challenges

Biotechnology applied to agriculture has hitherto been mainly transferred to developing countries through universities with scientific interests and, often with educational objectives. More recently, international centres such as ICARDA, ICRISAT, and ILCA have been actively participating in the transfer of biotechnology to their counterparts, the national programmes.

Although some activities in the application of modern biotechnological procedures are taking place in the Near East region, these initiatives are, in most cases, associated with limited resources, lack basic biological information on species used and lack support. This current situation limits the real potential of biotechnology for solving problems in the agricultural sector. For the appropriate application of biotechnological tools in agriculture, some prerequisites are essential, including:

As mentioned above if any one of these elements is missing, expectations for biotechnological achievements should not be optimistic. Countries of the region must therefore define their policies on the use of biotechnologies.

FAO's programme on plant biotechnology

FAO is following the recommendations made by the participants in the FAO/CTA meeting held in Luxembourg in 1989 when FAO was requested to create a Programme on Plant Biotechnologies for Developing Countries in collaboration with other development agencies.

With reference to the implementation and adoption of appropriate biotechnologies, FAO is in the process of finalizing a programme which will address the needs and aspirations of member countries, in particular less developed countries.

The FAO programme will strengthen the relevant biotechnological capabilities of developing countries by promoting:

Biotechnology activities will rely on:

The FAO/AGP Programme on Plant Biotechnology will assist member countries in identifying their requirements and mobilizing resources for institutional and staff development. The programme also intends to promote regional networks in order to make optimize of scarce labour, equipment and other resources, particularly in developing countries.

Programme objectives

The programme objectives are to:

  1. Assist in the integration of plant and agricultural biotechnologies into the national plant breeding and germplasm conservation programmes.
  2. Facilitate the implementation of appropriate biotechnologies for sustainable agriculture.
  3. Design strategic research and development projects for funding sources.
  4. Monitor and appraise the impacts of new plant biotechnologies and inform the member countries through publications and meetings.
  5. Promote the exchange of information and experience through networking at different levels.
  6. Strengthen the biotechnological capabilities of developing countries in priority setting, personnel training in the relevant plant and agricultural biotechnologies, technology transfer and application to seed production, micropropagation followed by large-scale multiplication, germplasm exchange, etc.
  7. Provide a forum for debating intellectual property rights and legal and ethical issues.

One of the FAO/AGP programme strategies is to create a flow of information and knowledge between laboratories in developed or developing countries that are at the frontier of biotechnology research. This flow of information as well as plant germplasm is a two-way system, so that strong links between supply and demand are stimulated. One of the major objectives of the FAO/AGP programme on Plant Biotechnology will be to foster these associations. Also, FAO will act as a liaison, promoting, supporting and stimulating four major kinds of activity:

These activities will be carried out in close collaboration with national governments, other UN agencies such as UNESCO, UNIDO, UNDP, and funding institutions such as the World Bank, regional development banks, the CGIAR systems and other relevant organizations involving private industry and NGOs. Participation will also be sought from the interinstitutional tasks forces involved in the international or regional plans of major projects.

Recommendations for a regional implementation strategy for plant biotechnologies

The proposed FAO programme described above can be implanted in the Near East region with the support of national governments. The strategy could be the implementation of a regional network for technology transfer and training. The proposed network could facilitate the information exchange among laboratories within the region and also from selected advanced laboratories outside the region. Conferences and scientific meetings for information exchange could also be programmed and promoted according to national priorities. Activities on germplasm conservation and use should be approached at the regional level, in which the network could play a leading role. The major goal of this regional programme should be the gradual development and implementation of biotechnology infrastructure, and identification of human resources capable of contributing to solving problems in the agriculture sector of member countries of the Near East region. To initiate actions for the implementation of this programme, the support of the countries of the region will be essential.

Conclusion

The region is involved in biotechnology "revolution", albeit with delays and serious limitations. The information available indicates considerable differences between the countries but, on the whole, biotechnological tools are being applied experimentally, and other technologies, mainly tissue culture, are being applied in practice and even commercially. There are some initiatives by regional organizations in which FAO should play an important catalytic role. The need to preserve genetic resources and to promote their rational use when these are affected by biotechnology should also be addressed by the regional network. Finally, it is important to stress that biotechnology, as a set of technological tools involving different disciplines, will play a significant integrative role in the region. It is hoped that it will provide solutions to the many

needs and expectations of the agricultural sector, as long as it is used judiciously and in conjunction with conventional technologies.

References

Aitken-Christie, J., Singh, A.P & Davies, H. 1988. Multiplication of meristematic tissue: a new tissue culture system for radiate pine. In New York, J.W. Hanover & D.E. Keathley, eds. Genetic manipulation of woody plants, P. 413-432. Plenum Press

Bajai, Y.P.S. 1991. Automated micropropagation for a massive production of plants. In Bajai, ed. Biotechnology in agriculture and forestry, 17: 3-16. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.

Gleed, J.A. 1992. Afforestation and management with cloned tissue cultured radiate pine plantlets. Tasman forestry Ltd., New Zealand. Paper presented at the 6th meeting of the International Conifer Biotechnology Working Group, Raleigh, April 1992.

Haines, R.J. 1992. Mass propagation of cuttings, biotechnologies and the capture of genetic gain. Paper presented at IUFRO meeting, Bordeaux, September 1992. pp. 15.

Hamdan, Y.Y. 1990. Current status of plant biotechnologies in the Near East and North African. In Sasson & Constantini, eds. Plant biotechnologies for developing countries, proceedings. p. 131-139. Int. symposium organized by CTA and FAO, Luxembourg, June 1989.

Thorpe, T.A. 1990. The current status of plant tissue culture. In S.S. Bhojwani, ed. Plant tissue culture: applications and limitations. p. 1-33. Elsevier. Amsterdam.

Thorpe, T.A. Harry, I.S. & Kumar, P.P. 1991. Application of micropropagation to forestry. In Debergh Zimmerman, eds. Micropropagation: technology and application, p. 311-336. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Villalobos, V.M., Ferreira, P. & Mora, A. 1991. The use of biotechnology in the conservation of tropical germplasm. Biotech. Adv., 9: pp 197-215.

Villalobos, V.M., Yeung E.C. Thorpe, T.A. 1985. Origin of adventitious shoots in excised radiate pine cotyledons in. vitro. Can. J. Bot., 63: 2172-2176


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