SUMMARY OF CURREANT AND FUTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN Malachy Dottin

1. SUMMARY OF CURREANT AND FUTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN Malachy Dottin Biotechnologist Director of Research & Biotech Laboratory Ministry of Agriculture, Grenada W. I

2. SUMMARY OF CURRENT AND FUTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN Contents •    The challenge •      The Status of Biotechnology •      The Potential benefits to the Region •      Applications with the greatest potential and future development •      Conclusion •      Recommendation

3. The challenge • Throughout history, innovation has driven progress and helped people address the problem of the age. This progress has not been achieved without pain and controversy, at times war and famine and pestilence thwart our best endeavors. • Despite setbacks, people in the world over continue to strive to understand the natural world, to pursue truth and beauty, and to create a better world for themselves and their children.

4. The task of Caribbean scholars of today is to analyze where Plant Biotechnological can lead to technical innovation and how these can be used wisely: • To improve agriculture productivity, •  Conserve nature resources, •   Create wealth especially for poor people in developing countries.

5. Science has a role to play in all these pursuits. However, the very power of the new discoveries in the biological sciences raises fears that these discoveries will not be used wisely. • Many believe that they will accelerate the destruction of the natural environment. • Damage human health. • Concentrate too much power in the hands of a few global companies. • Widen the gap between the rich and the poor, within and between nations.

6. The task of Caribbean scholars of today is to analyze where modern science can lead to technical innovation and how these can be used wisely, • To improve agricultural productivity, • Conserve natural resources, • Create wealth especially for poor people in developing countries.

7. The Status of Biotechnology in the Caribbean •    First Generation 1980- 1995 The first generation uses genetic information to speed up and improve conventional plant.     Higher crop yields: ¨     Reduced farm costs ¨     Increased farm profit ¨     Improvement in the environment. ¨     Flexibility in crop management

8. Second Generation 1995 - The second (and more advanced) modifies the genetic pattern of a plant or animal to create a new organism. Transgenic crop that will feature increased nutritional and industrial traits: ¨     Yam enriched with higher starch content ¨     Maize varieties able to grow in poor condition

9. Countries Institution Genetic Engineering Molecular biology Micro-propagation Jamaica SIR ü ü Mona ü ü ü Surinam MOA ü Guyana MOA ü ü Trinidad UWI ü ü Barbados UWI ü ü MOA ü Grenada MOA ü ü ü St Vincent MOA ü St Lucia ü List of countries participating in biotechnology programs in the Caribbean

10. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGYIN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN ST. AUGUSTINE • Agricultural biotechnology • plant and pathogen genetics • development of transformation systems for introducing disease resistance to cocoa, sugar cane and modified color range in anthurium • isolation and characterization of genes regulating abcission and biosynthesis of flavonoids and starch • development and use of reporter gene systems to monitor GMO’s in the environment • development of molecular diagnostic systems for tropical plant diseases • DNA fingerprinting of cocoa cultivars and varieties

11. ‘ ST. AUGUSTINE • Agricultural biotechnology • in vitro micropropagation • development of tissue culture regeneration systems for tropical crops including banana, breadfruit, pawpaw, pineapple, carambola, helicona, anthurium, orchids to allow for mass propagation of disease-free planting materials

12. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN ST. AUGUSTINE • Agricultural biotechnology • microbial pesticides • development of microbial sprays for control of ticks and insect pest • animal husbandry • bioengineering of gut-inhabiting bacteria to improve digestibility of forage in ruminants

13. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN ST. AUGUSTINE • Industrial biotechnology • fermentation biotechnology • development of new foods, enzymes and industrial chemicals using fermentation technology • development and modification of process parameters

14. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN ST. AUGUSTINE • Medical biotechnology • molecular epidemiology • genetic characterization of maturity onset diabetes in Trinidad and Tobago • molecular characterization of dengue subtypes towards better management of dengue epidemics • molecular characterization and subtyping rabies isolates in Trinidad and Tobago • analysis of polymorphic human response genes

15. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN CAVE HILL • Agricultural biotechnology • plant and pathogen genetics • identification and development of several disease resistance genes in varieties of pepper and tomato in Barbados and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States • implementation of a successful molecular strategy for control of a debilitating yam disease in Barbados • development of pathogen detection systems based on serology or nucleic acid probes • characterization of genes controlling proline biosynthetic pathway with the aim of engineering plants resistance to abiotic stress

16. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN CAVE HILL • Agricultural biotechnology • in vitro micropropagation • mass of propagation of disease-free tissue culture anthurium planting materials • Medical biotechnology • human pathogen diagnostics • development of PCR-based protocols for identifying Leptospira.

17. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN MONA • Agricultural biotechnology • plant and pathogen genetics • cloning and sequencing of Gemini viruses genes • transgenic control of viral diseases of papaya  • in vitro micropropagation • genetic diversity and in vitro tuberization of yam

18. STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN MONA • Medical biotechnology • human pathogen diagnostics • molecular diagnosis of HIV • development of HIV vaccines • detection of current nervous system viruses

19. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS Developments in modern biotechnology Agronomic applications Food quality and public health Medicinal applications Industrial applications

20. A policy to promote further use of Biotechnology Conclusion 1       The need to produce sufficient food for the Caribbean population is urgent, compelling, and complementary to improving human health. 2       Requirement for international standards, regulation and legislation need to be put in place to deal with the issue of the release and determination of the risk of GMO 3        Developing countries need to develop knowledge capabilities, the human resources and the appropriate infrastructure to address the issue of the release of GMO as it relates to human and animal health, the environment, international trade and treaties on international trade.

21. Recommendation 1  Research needs to respond to these challenges, so as to improve the livelihood of the rural poor and ensure the increased availability of nutritious food at affordable prices for the urban poor. 2    The need for a comprehensive cost /benefits analysis and health impact assessment of GMO. 3  Determination of the effect of GMO on farming practices 4    Segregation of GM foods at source to enable identification and traceability of GM product this would facilitate monitoring in the interest of public health. 5    Comprehensive assessment to determine if GM crop with pesticide and herbicide resistance resulting an increase or decrease in the use of these agri-chemicals 6   Long- term studies to determine the environment, the food chain, and the fate of metabolic transgenic DNA in humans and animal. 7  Socio- economic, culture impact assessments 8   Implication for world trade and world agreements

22. References 1     Delgado, C., M. Rosegrant, H. Steinfeld, S.Ehui, and C. Courbois. 1999. Livestock to 2020: The Next Food Revolution. 2     Dottin, M 2000. Oral Vaccines Future in Medicinal application. No 23 Havana Cuba 3     FAO. 1996. In Investment in Agriculture: Evolution and Prospects. World Food Summit Technical Background Document .No. 10 4    Hollingsworth, W 1998. Release of Genetically modified materials in the Caribbean. 5     Mc Calla, A.F. 1998. The challenge of Food security in the 21st Century Montreal, Quebec: Convocation Address, Faculty of Environment Sciences, Mc Gill University 6     Pinstrup-Andersen, P., R. Pandya-Lorch and M.W Rosegrant. 1999. World food Prospect: Critical Issues for the early Twenty-First Century. Washington, D.C. International Food policy Research Institute. 7     World Bank. 1997. World Development Report 1997. The World bank Oxford University Press.