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Status of GE Plants Trials in Bangladesh

M. Khalequzzaman A. Chowdhury, Ph.DMember Director (Crops)

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council

Biotechnology: New Tool• Biotechnology is a set of powerful tools

that employ living organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or modify products, improve plants or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific uses. The “ new biotechnology ” includes the industrial use of recombinant DNA, cell fusion, novel bioprocessing techniques, and bioremediation.

• Biotechnology offers a hope to meet the future challenge of increased food production. It is a compliment to the conventional research. It helps where conventional research is stagnated.

Environmental benefits of GE crops

• Dramatic reduction in pesticide use. • Development of insect resistant Bt varieties

was estimated to have reduced the total world use of insecticide by 14%.

• Use of Bt cotton in China has led to an 80% reduction in the use of foliar insecticides and an estimated 15,000 tons reduction in pesticide use.

• Reduced use of pesticides can significantly decrease their effects on water quality through run-off and leaching of residues into surface and groundwater.

• GM crops can significantly improve crop yields, so that more food can be grown on less land area.

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Status of Biotechnology• Biotechnology research & development

is in an introductory stage. • Limited to in vitro culture & somaclonal

variation.• Protocol for potato micro propagation

has been commercialized.• Banana tissue culture plantlets are

producing by public institute & private org.

• Public institutes & universities initiated work on genetic engineering.

• BARI & BRRI have started working with GM rice, eggplant and potato under confined conditions.

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1. National Taskforce on Biotechnology (NTB)2. National Executive Committee on

Biotechnology3. National Technical Committees on

Biosafety, Biodiversity, Crop Biotechnology, Animal & Fish Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology.

4. Specialized Working Groups.

Policy-Biosafety of GM Crops

4 tier committees for management of biotechnological activities.

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Biosafety Protocol

Institutional Biosafety Committee

National Technical Committees

National Committee on Biosafety

Field Biosafety Committee

GE Crops

1. Eggplant2. Potato

Why selected these crops?

Eggplant Crop

Eggplant, a crop of both winter and summer, covers 64,208 ha with a production of 3,81,420 metric tons

It constitutes about 25% of the total vegetable area of the country

Eggplant->25%

Pumpkin->6.55%

Radish->8.79%

Arum->7.67%

Other SummerVegetable->20.13%Other WinterVegetable->31.46%

ESFB of Eggplant

EFSB is the key pest of eggplant

Some farmers spray insecticides on eggplant crops up to 84 times in the cropping season

Some farmers spray insecticides at alternate days and even in some cases twice a day (morning & afternoon)

ESFB of Eggplant

Late blight disease

Bt Eggplant development

• Introgression of Bt gene into 9 Bangladeshi eggplant varieties were done at MAHYCO.

• Bangladeshi varieties were backcrossed at MAHYCO with transgenic eggplant containing Cry1AC.

Bt technology: An alternate approach for target gene Cry1Ac

Variety/line in the Bt ProgramVariety /Line Fruit shape Fruit color Status

BARI Begun -1 (Uttara)

Cylindrical Light purple Popular all over the country

BARI Begun -4 (Kazla)

Cylindrical Blackish purple Popular all over the country

BARI Begun – 5 (Nayantara)

Round Deep purple Getting Popularity

BARI Begun -6 (ISD006)

Oblong Light green Popular at mid & South part

BARI Begun -7 (Singhnath/ B009)

Long cylindrical Deep purple Popular all over the country

BL117 (Khatkhatia)

Cylindrical Greenish Purple Popular at North part

BL072 (Dohazari) Oblong Green and white stripe at blossom end

Popular

Islampuri Round Deep purple Popular

Chaga Oblong Green and light Popular

BARI Begun -1 (Uttara)

ISD 006 Nayantara

SinghnathSinghnath

DohazariDohazari

KazlaKazla ChagaChagaKhotkhotia(BL117)Khotkhotia(BL117)

IslampuriIslampuri

Generation Advancement in the Contained Green House

Generation Advancement in the Contained Generation Advancement in the Contained Green HouseGreen House

SeasonSeason Generation Generation I I BCBC11

IIII BCBC22

IIIIII BCBC33

IVIV BCBC33 FF22

VV BCBC33 FF33

VIVI BCBC33 FF44 , BC, BC44

VIIVII BCBC33 FF55 , BC, BC55

GazipurChittagong

Sites for Bt Eggplant Confined Field Trial

Jessore

Ishardhi

Rahmatpur

Rangpur

Jamalpur

Confined Field Trial(2008-12)

Name of stations

Name of variety/line Status

Joydebpur (HQ) Uttara, Nayantara and Singhnath, Dohazari, ISD006, Chaga, Khakhatia, Islampuri

4th year

Hathazari (RARS) Dohazari and ISD 006 4th year

Jessore (RARS) Uttara and Chaga 4th year

Ishurdi (RARS) Uttara and ISD 006 3rd year

Jamalpur (RARS) Islampuri and Kazla 3rd year

Rahmatpur (RARS)

Chaga and Singhnath 3rd year

Burirhat (ARS) Nayantara and Khatkhatia

3rd year

Confined Field Trial of Bt

Infected fruit and shoot of non Bt Infected fruit and shoot of non Bt UttaraUttaraNonNon--infected fruit of Bt infected fruit of Bt UttaraUttara

Bt and Bt and NonNon--Bt Bt BrinjalBrinjal

Non-BtBtNon-Bt Bt

BtNon-Bt

RB gene Potato development

Diamant and Cardinal potato crossed with Transgenic Katahadin and true potato seeds were tested with kanamycin and germinated plants were transferred to pot for microtuber production.

Transgenic LB Resistant potato variety development

Method:1. Transformation:Wisconsin, USA 2. Hybridization: Indonesia

Variety used1. Cardinal2. Diamant

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Output of Hybridization

F1 Seedlings in the Biotech greenhouse at BARI, Gazipur

Some transformed clones at Joydebpur, 2010

Confined Field Trials in 2011-12

Multilocational trial of CFT of LBR potato

Location: Six (Gazipur, Comilla, Chittagong, Jessore, Bogra and Rangpur)

Number of LBR clone: Eight

Planting Date: November 28 to December 2, 2011

CFT at Gazipur

Confined FT, Debigonj (2008-09)

Hybrid clone 179 compared to ck Cardinal at Burirhat

CFT, Bogra

Programme Supporting Biotechnology

Programmes ActivitiesAgricultural Biotechnology Support Service Project II (ABSP II )

Biotech product development

Capacity building in research : both infra-structure and manpower

South Asia Biosafety

Program (SABP)

Capacity building on biosafety

and biotechnology

Awareness building on biosafety

and recent development on agricultural biotechnology

Assistance for the development of biosafety

and biotechnology policy documents

International Service For the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA)

Bangladesh Biotechnology Information Centre

Collecting and disseminating related information, media workshop

Regulatory Documents of GE Plants

• Guidelines for the confined field trials of GE plants

• Crop wise Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for CFT

• Inspector Manuals for confined field trials of Genetically Engineered plants

• Crop wise Data recording formats for CFT• Biology document of Eggplant• Guidelines for the safety assessment of

foods derived from GE plants

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