From the Concept of Totipotency to Biofortified Cereals

Abstract

I was a college teacher when opportunity opened a path into academia. A fascination with totipotency channeled me into research on tissue culture. As I was more interested in contributions to food security than in scientific novelty, I turned my attention to the development of genetic modification technology for cereals. From my cell culture experience, I had reasons not to trust Agrobacterium for that purpose, and I developed direct gene transfer instead. In the early 1990s, I became aware of the problem of micronutrient deficiency, particularly vitamin A deficiency in rice-eating populations. Golden Rice, which contains increased amounts of provitamin A, was probably instrumental for the concept of biofortification to take off. I realized that this rice would remain an academic exercise if product development and product registration were not addressed, and this is what I focused on after my retirement. Although progress is slowly being made, had I known what this pursuit would entail, perhaps I would not have started. Hopefully Golden Rice will reach the needy during my lifetime.

Methylome evolution in plants

“…Many genes are involved in DNA methylation pathways [56, 102], and so a comprehensive investigation of gene family phylogenies would be necessary to reveal connections between the functional conservation of specific orthologs and methylome diversity patterns. To date, such information is on the way for the CMT gene family [103], but only limited results are currently available for other methyltransferase genes or other DNA methylation-related genes [1, 4, 102, 104]. Potential insights from such an analysis are further complicated by the fact that the functional consequences of pathway mutations can be highly dependent on genomic backgrounds.…”

Genetic strategies for improving crop yields

“…Although herbicideand insect-resistance traits greatly lessened soil tillage and insecticide use, respectively, they require careful management to avoid natural selection of resistance in weeds or pests 3,4 . Despite engineered traits with clear benefits to farmers and end-users (including virus-resistant papaya 5 , drought-tolerant corn 6 , rice 7 and bananas 8 fortified with provitamin A, non-browning apples 9 and low-acrylamide potatoes 10 ), the acceptance of genetically modified traits is equivocal in some countries, and the cultivation of genetically modified crops is largely banned in the European Union.…”

An overview of agriculture, nutrition and fortification, supplementation and biofortification: Golden Rice as an example for enhancing micronutrient intake

“…In 2000, two German professors, Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, proved that they could modify the genome of white rice to produce beta-carotene, the precursor which the human body uses as a source to make vitamin A [42,43]. They then donated the technology involved in the creation of Golden Rice to benefit the disadvantaged in the developing world, mindful particularly of the intrac- [24].…”

“…But they knew that genes inducing a yellow colour were present in some easily obtainable plant tissues. By selecting the genes giving the yellow colour to daffodil (narcissi) flowers, and introducing them to the rice genome in a way which allowed gene (and therefore colour) expression in rice seed, they were able to create the prototype Golden Rice [42,43]. Subsequently, the Syngenta scientists took other genes known to be associated with beta-carotene synthesis in seeds, those from maize, and were able to induce synthesis of higher levels of betacarotene, both in micrograms and in percentage of total carotenoids [49].…”

“…I was at the time working for Zeneca, and had, for the company, proposed the structure and negotiated the above collaboration with Professor Potrykus, and Dr (now Professor) Beyer, the inventors, and related agreements with necessary third parties [24,37,43]. I received an invitation by Friends of the Earth, Europe, to attend a Conference "Sustainable Agriculture in the New Millennium" in Brussels, 28-31 May 2000.…”