Advertisement
Advertisement

More Related Content

Slideshows for you(20)

Advertisement

Similar to Solutions for Impact in Emerging Markets: The role of biotechnology(20)

More from ICRISAT(20)

Advertisement

Solutions for Impact in Emerging Markets: The role of biotechnology

  1. Solutions for Impact in Emerging Markets: The role of biotechnology Pooja Bhatnagar-Mathur p.bhatnagar@cgiar.org Seed Security for Food Security Forum- a 2017 Borlaug Dialogue Side Event, World Food Prize 2017, Des Moines, October 17, 2017
  2. This presentation • ICRISAT’s mission • Constraints to crop productivity • Biotechnology for crop improvement  Global efforts & status • Biotech traits @ ICRISAT • Newer approaches for old problems • Issues linked to the development & deployment of GE crops • Overcoming the challenges • Conclusions
  3. We believe all people have a right to nutritious food and better livelihoods ICRISAT works in the dryland tropics of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to: Our research activities are focused on crops of immense value to the nutrition and economics of the semi-arid tropics – dryland cereals (sorghum, millets) and grain legumes (chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut). ICRISAT - Our “Why” Vision: A prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics
  4. High levels of poverty, malnutrition and environmental degradation Covers 6.5 million sq. km. Across 55countries with 2 billion people of which 644 million are the poorest of the poor Semi-Arid Tropics: Home to Most Emerging Economies
  5. 1. Crop improvement a major challenge. 2. Limited variability in the available germplasm. 3. Available germplasm may lack genes for major disease, pest resistance, and nutritional traits. 4. Lack of information on the nutritional and food processing traits. 5. Future breakthroughs will depend on creating additional variability, and inflow of desirable genes from related or unrelated species through biotechnology. Constraints to crop improvement
  6. Global Area of Biotech Crops, 2016: By Country (Million Hectares) • Top five countries: 3 Developing countries (Brazil, Argentina, & India) and 2 Industrial countries (USA & Canada) grew 91% of biotech crops
  7. Agriculture and Economic Sustainability • Reduce need for external inputs • Soil and water conservation • Improved food distribution systems, less wastage • Crop improvement strategies that integrate the best of conventional and modern to optimize productivity Multiple Interventions • <5% suitable agricultural land in production • Only 4% land in production is irrigated (30% in South Asia) • Low fertiliser use/high depletion of soil nutrients • Agricultural productivity at 25% of global average • Growing population • Shorter transitional seasons, replaced by characteristically hot and dry; or hot and wet. • Stagnating agricultural productivity • Rapid Urbanization; Rise of industrial belts • Persistent malnutrition 1951 2001 2050 90% Declining per capita availability of land Unrealised agricultural potential
  8. Crop- Target Region Genes/Technology Cowpea Africa Insect resistance Banana Africa Bacterial wilt, Vitamin A Cassava Africa Virus resistance Maize Africa Drought Potato SEA Disease resistance Mustard SA Hybrid vigor Eggplant SA Insect resistance Silk Moths SA NPV Resistance Important Traits for sustainable agriculture Global Examples
  9. Developing Technologies for “Breeding demands” + Biological interpretations based on “DATA” High throughput genetic transformation systems. Transgenic trait development Functional gene validations for key traits Systematic mutant populations for accelerated genetic gains. Translational Research for transgenic product development & deployment. Expanding the breeders’ toolbox @ ICRISAT
  10. • Biotechnological tools and technologies for research towards product development. • Combine forward and reverse genetic and biological engineering approaches to understand basic genetic and molecular mechanisms that control plant processes & stress responses (From predictive to descriptive biology). • Integrate discovery research with emerging ethical, legal and societal issues to responsibly mature innovative plant biotechnology solutions. Complementary and interconnected axes Breaching genetic glass ceilings to overcome intractable traits in our focus crops
  11. Efficient Transformation Systems: Legumes Peanut Pigeonpea Chickpea
  12. Efficient Transformation System: Sorghum
  13. Crop/Constraint Genes/Technology Peanut Viruses PBNV N-gene; Antisense/RNAi TSV/PSND Coat Protein Fungi Aflatoxin Rice chitinase; 13Lox; Ms Def1, MtDef4, amy, nsdc, P2C; HIGS Abiotic Stress Drought rd29A:DREB1A Bio-fortification ß-carotene oleo:psy1/ß-lyc; crtB, crtI Pigeonpea/Chickpea Insect Pod borer cry1Ac; cry2A; cry1Ac-1F; cry1Ac-2Aa Abiotic Stress Drought rd29A:DREB1A; 35S:P5CSF129A Bio-fortification ß-carotene oleo:psy1; crtBI; oleo:lyc-psy Herbicide tolerance HT GmCYP; HtCYP Sorghum Insect Stem borer 35S:cry1Ac; 35S:cry1Ac-1F Enhanced sugar Sugar ceiling PdSI Priority traits for transgenic interventions @ ICRISAT
  14. Insect resistance in Pigeonpea & Chickpea Control Pod bioassay +ve sample UT Control
  15. Pod damage
  16. Untransformed controls Transgenic Events (T3-T5) Pod bioassays
  17. Strategies to address VAD •Dietary diversification •Supplementation •Fortification •Biofortification
  18. The Golden Crops
  19. • β-carotene levels increased up to 25-folds in the first generation transgenic events carrying psy1 gene • The second generation transgenic events carrying the Zmpsy1 and Le β-lycopene cyclase gene showed 100-folds increase in β-carotene levels 5.5 µg/gm Pro-vitamin A enrichment in peanut
  20. Transgenic events that ranged from very similar to very different from controls were further tested JL24 RD19 RD20 RD2 RD11 RD12 Transgenic Drought Tolerance Peanut and Chickpea Y=T*TE*HI (Passioura, 1977)
  21. Finally…… It’s all about Yield !! * * * * * * * ; RD33RD2 Relative change in seed yield over WT 18-26% increased yield under drought stress
  22. Aflatoxin- a complex issue Synergistic interaction with Hepatitis-B & C Malnutrition Liver cancer Trade Restrictions Quality reduction Aflatoxin contamination in food and feed Vicious-Link Reduced ability to cope with diseases, especially HIV/AIDS Liver cirrhosis, immuno-suppression, blocks nutrient absorption, growth abnormalities, etc. Trade Health In many SAT countries, monitoring and weak enforcement of food safety standards
  23. Host plant resistance Field level assessments & Implementation across regions & environments Knowledge on fungal biology genetics & management Efficient pre- harvest phenotyping/ screening methods Plant breeding strategies Exploring non- host resistance? Biocontrol strategies Transgenics Overexpression of antifungal / anti-toxin genes Proteomics Candidate genes/ RAPs/ RIPs Molecular markers Marker assisted selection TILLING/ Mutagenesis HIGS/ RNAi
  24. Source: IITA Bio Control-Competitive “atoxigenic” fungal technology Sporulation on moist soil 3-20 days Spores Wind Soil colonization and displacement of toxigenic fungi Broadcast
  25. Colony growth, pigmentation, and sclerotium production and reduced conidiation in A. flavus ΔnsdC and ΔnsdD mutants Aflatoxin resistance strategies in peanut Candidate genes for HIGS  Aflatoxin biosynthetic cluster genes  A. flavus α-amylase, Pectinases  Global Transcription factors and co- activators
  26. Sharma et al. (2017), Plant Biotechnol. J. Double Defence Strategy
  27. WT HIGS Peanuts that keep aflatoxin at bay: thresholds matter
  28. Over 20 million hectares (ha) of crop land in sub-Saharan Africa is Striga-infested, resulting in a whopping $ 1 billion in annual yield loss (CIMMYT) Annual crop losses of over $1.3 to 2.6 billion; 2.6 million ha of solanaceous crops in the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Asia Menace of parasitic weeds
  29. Types of resistances 1. Germination ** 2. Attachment 3. Post attachment- haustoria formation Bewitches cereal production systems
  30. SL receptors; genes responsible for Striga germination ; Using mutants/ HIGS/ genome editing methods for inducing variations No more free lunch !! Yang et al., 2016, PNAS Toh et al., 2016, Science
  31. Gene silencing Germination, attachment and post-attachment connections Transient knock-down of PaCCD7 and PaCCD8 inhibited tubercle development and the infestation process in host plantsAly et al., (2014) Plant Signaling and Behaviour
  32. Functional Gene Discovery Platforms Developing genetic and genomic resources that can enable efficient gene discovery and mining for crop improvement. Systematic mutagenized TILLING population in Sorghum; Tnt1 insertional mutant lines in chickpea and pigeonpea generated for random insertions to develop resources for efficient forward- and reverse- genetics studies *. Traits : Sorghum- Improved grain yield and adaptation, leaf architecture and plant maturity, Striga resistance. Chickpea- Plant architecture, Seed size and quality Pigeonpea- Seed yield and quality traits
  33. The next big thing!! Customized Genome editing platforms for expanding Breeder’s tool box
  34. Natural and induced variations “Data” Identifying new targets (genes/proteins/metabolites) Functional validation Targeted genome scale engineering Identifying relevant network & pathways Linking to phenotype Intractable traits being studied: • Groundnut- Aflatoxin • Sorghum – Striga • Pearl millet- Rancidity • Pigeonpea- Photoperiod sensitivity • Chickpea- Dry Root Rot Systems for Efficient Traits and Genetic Gain Optimizations
  35. Translational research T0’s Event Selection (GH) Event Selection (Fld) Regulatory Release Groundnut GRAV PBNV Pigeonpea & Chickpea Bt Groundnut A, flavus Pigeonpea & Groundnut ß-carotene 1-2 years 2-3 years 2-4 years 2-4 years 3-6 Translational Activities Chickpea DREB Groundnut DREBPigeonpea & Chickpea Bt New Tools •HIGS •Proteomics
  36. • Failure to translate concepts into commercial products • Barriers of IP/Trade • Biosafety regulations/Food safety • Risk assessment and risk management • Training & Capacity building • Partnerships for product development & deployment • Commercialization limitations, a serious barrier Bottlenecks in Translational Research A public sector perspective
  37. • Promoting innovation & technology transfer • Synergy & strength of social equity of public institutions and efficiency of delivery of the private sector. • Create linkages in the supply chain to deliver inputs to small-holder farmers at reasonable costs. • Investment costs are shared leading to lower product costs (= benefit to consumer). • Risk Management and Mitigation. Public-Private partnerships are the key
  38. • On what cropping systems do the poor most depend? • What are the constraints to the productivity of those systems? • What existing or potential technologies might best address those constraints? Under what scenarios? • What is the magnitude and distribution of potential payoffs to the poor from different investment targeting strategies? e.g., target ecologies, production systems, crops, constraints, technologies.. Strategic Questions
  39. Value Chains and Country Strategies Crop improvement Inputs and farmer services Post-harvest handling and access to markets Research and development Discovery Agronomic research Other input systems Farm management Seed systems Knowledge exchange Aggregation, quality and storage End-user demand Processing Value Chain Approach Guides our Country Strategies • To establish clear priorities • To help identifying specific areas or technology trajectories to invest, and meet specified goals by optimal utilization of available skills and resources • Consider IPR and impact on the acquisition, development, and diffusion of biotechnology; forge strategic alliances
  40. Participatory approach and partnering Building capacity Integrating communications Monitoring and evaluation Policy support Priority Setting Issues & opportunities Research Innovations Trait Development Tech Transfer PPP Promoting Markets Technological and institutional changes Research-- technology development -- technology transfer -- technology use Building iterative relationships
  41. Principles 1.Create and charter an entity with express purpose of translating genetic engineering research into a practical, value adding technology 2.The entity would embody the requisite scientific and business skills that are appropriately balanced Mission To translate transgenic technology and harness its products to meet the needs of agricultural growth Platform for Translational Research on Transgenic Crops An ICRISAT-DBT Initiative (PTTC)
  42. • To develop and deploy state-of-the-art infrastructure for conduct of transgenic research. • To act as a clearinghouse for technology inputs, transgenic research leads/ prototypes with proof of concept derived from Indian research institutes, universities, and other likely sources. • To “evolve” the technology to a point where a practical application can be demonstrated, and transfer this “evolved” technology for product development and distribution to appropriate agencies. Platform for Translational Research on Transgenic Crops (PTTC) An ICRISAT-DBT Initiative
  43. • Scientific & technical support • Access to bio-tech infrastructure • Knowledge services • Partnerships • Start-up mentoring • Business & Market development • Grant & fund facilitation • Start-up training program • Legal & IPR Bio-Incubator PTTC AIP-ICRISAT Ag-bio Start-up MarketICRISAT BioNEST Bio-Incubator @ ICRISAT Outcome • Start-up growth • Ag-bio promotion • Funding and M&As • New products in market • High-end IPs Incubation to Translation Incubation Graduation/Tenant 1-3 years Incubation experience & Clientele pipeline Translation experience & Technology support To address disconnect between the proof-of-concept, technology development, technology translation, and commercialization
  44. Benefits to Public Sector Tech Transfer • Public sector technology developers find an outlet for their technologies. • Small & Medium seed companies have access to products of biotechnologies. • Technologies available to the stakeholders (resource-poor farmers) at an affordable cost. • Products developed in the PTTC can be easily transferred to the participating countries and need only to be evaluated for their local agronomic performance.
  45. Biotechnology is a valuable tool in eliminating global hunger, poverty and malnutrition! It is a strategic weapon in winning the next Green Revolution! Let us harness biotechnology with due regards for the farmer, consumer and environment
  46. Thank you
Advertisement