CAN TRANSGENIC CROP TECHNOLOGY BENEFIT BIOCONTROL?
Jamie Sutherland & Guy Poppy

Crop plants and insect pests are part of a complex agroecosystem that involves interactions between many trophic levels often referred to as multitrophic interactions¹. As such, pest management needs to be viewed from a holistic viewpoint. Because of a lack of harmonization between plant breeders and biocontrol specialists, breeders have continued to strive for total resistance to pests, whilst biocontrol specialists have often ignored the role of the plant in enhancing successful natural enemy foraging behavior. Although some² have highlighted the need to consider both the bottom-up (plant defense) and top-down (biological control) management of insect pests, there have been too few serious attempts at combining these approaches. As we understand more about the proximate and ultimate function of direct defenses, e.g., allelochemicals, trichomes, etc., and indirect defenses, e.g., recruitment of natural enemies, the potential now exists for genetically engineering plants that can combine both strategies. This article will outline plant traits that may be advantageous to enhancing biocontrol and will summarize how biotechnology could help in this new way of controlling insect pests, which ultimately could stack the odds in man’s favor in his continual ‘war on insect terror’.

Current commercial insect resistant GM plants rely on the production of toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and, because of Bt’s high pest specificity, are only resistant to a limited number of herbivorous insects. The risks posed by current transgenic plants expressing Bt to biological control agents has already been considered at length in several reviews^3,4. This article will explore some of the possibilities that exist for pest management beyond the limitations of expression of Bt in crop plants.

The principal advantage of using GM plants to manage insects is quite clearly the potential for reduced broad-spectrum insecticide inputs. The aim of integrated pest management (IPM) is to become less reliant upon synthetic insecticides, especially as a prophylactic measure. The introduction of Bt varieties has already dramatically reduced the amount of chemical pesticides applied to cotton. In 1998, US cotton farmers used 450 fewer tons of pesticides on Bt cotton than they would have used on conventional varieties. Naturally, reduction in the use of insecticides should have immediate benefits for biocontrol by allowing greater numbers of parasitoids and predators to survive. This has been seen in China where GM cotton has a significantly higher abundance of parasitoids and predators than conventionally sprayed cotton.

Rather than depend solely on crop plants that confer insect resistance by the production of Bt toxins, can we use and enhance the plant’s direct and indirect defenses to enhance biological control? It is probable that conventional breeding of many of our crop varieties in the past has bred out many traits that could be beneficial to natural enemies, whether indirectly or directly. We will discuss some of these here, citing several examples where conventional plant breeding has had significant direct and indirect effects on the fecundity, mortality, and behavior of natural enemies.

The use of biocontrol in arable crops has had limited success because of the problem of attracting and maintaining a high enough density of parasitoids and/or predators in the crop. Host-plant volatiles have an important role in attracting natural enemies, so by manipulation of the host-plant chemistry it could be possible to attract predators and parasitoids to their prey and hosts. Cotton is an often cited example of this phenomenon in which attack by herbivorous insects induces plant signals for their corresponding parasitoids. Naturalized (wild) cotton plants can produce many more signal volatiles than commercial varieties, but traditionally breeding wild cotton with modern cultivars has proved problematic. In the future, it may be possible to genetically engineer this pathway into modern cotton cultivars.

Terpenoid compounds are also believed to play an important role in attracting natural enemies. Corn plants may release large amounts of terpenoid volatiles after damage by beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua). Plants that were artificially damaged did not release these volatiles in significant amounts unless saliva from the caterpillars was applied to the damaged sites. Females of a parasitic wasp (Cotesia marginiventris) also use these same plant-derived volatiles to locate their hosts⁵.

It should be noted that the effects of enhanced allelochemical production on natural enemies are not always beneficial. Negative effects of enhanced glucosinolate production in some brassica crops have been reported. Higher glucosinolate concentrations caused an increase in mortality of ladybird larvae when feeding on aphids. This does, however, demonstrate the importance of plant allelochemicals on third trophic levels and should be borne in mind when considering plant manipulation, whether by genetic modification or by conventional breeding.

Permanent expression of plant signals, which attract parasitoids or predators, in the plant is to be avoided. Natural enemies, in particular parasitoids, have remarkable powers of learning and are likely to quickly gain the knowledge that a plant that is producing a particular allelochemical, yet has no host or prey associated with it, is unprofitable and will learn to utilize more successful cues. It is probably more appropriate to use external chemical signals to switch on plant genes⁶. Finally, it is important to remember that because of the great genetic diversity in parasitoid populations and phenotypic plasticity of individuals, there is often a substantial variation in the response to chemical cues. The successful utilization of enhanced allelochemical-parasitoid systems will require careful management of these intrinsic parasitoid parameters.

By looking at the achievements of conventional breeding for resistance to pests, we can also begin to understand the possibilities and limitations of using transgenes to confer resistance. Perhaps there is a potential for compatibility of partial plant resistance with biocontrol. One notable example in which this was certainly not the case was in a partially resistant wheat cultivar (with conventionally bred resistance). The size of the aphid population (Metopolophium dirhodum) feeding on the wheat was reduced by 5%, but the knock-on effects of this on the third trophic level was a 34% size reduction in the aphid’s parasitoid population (Aphidius rhopalosiphi). This was due largely to increased restlessness of the aphids on the partially resistant wheat cultivars. Again, this demonstrates the complexity of and the need for investigating effects on third and possibly even fourth trophic levels.

Morphological traits in plants, such as trichomes, waxiness, and toughness, can also positively or negatively influence natural enemy behavior, and these traits could also be genetically engineered into plants. Most of the examples cited in the literature describe only the negative effects on natural enemies. For example, leaf hairiness can adversely affect parasitoid searching behavior in tobacco, potato, and cotton crops. Cabbage varieties with increased leaf waxes can also affect the mobility of generalist predators such as lacewings (Chrysoperla carnea) because the waxes accumulate on the tarsi of these insects. A large number of potentially valuable morphological traits may have been inadvertently bred out of modern crop cultivars but, by looking at wild crop relatives and their effects on natural enemies, we can perhaps select those traits that are beneficial to natural enemies and reinsert those genes into the crop cultivars.

Adult parasitoids and some predators tend to rely on an alternative food source for their larvae, and this is usually in the form of floral nectar, extrafloral nectar, pollen, and honeydew. Genetic modification of crop plants could be utilized to increase the production of resources for natural enemies to enhance biological control. A classic example from cotton, in which the resource requirements of parasitoids were ignored, occured when crop varieties were bred without extrafloral nectaries. This was done to prevent sooty mould formation on the developing bolls. This nectariless cotton actually had increased bollworm (Helicoverpa zea) damage due to a lack of parasitoids in the field. The adult parasitoids had previously been utilizing the nectar as a food resource⁷.

As we enter the post-genomic era, manipulating plants to assist natural enemies will become technically possible. Many of the scientific solutions we have suggested above are already feasible by conventional means, and soon all will become possible by transgenic technology. Use of this novel technology will permit a more rapid transfer of technology to the end user, i.e., the farmer. Previously, conventional breeding for insect resistance in a crop has proved to be a hit and miss affair. This has invariably meant exposing thousands of breeding lines to the pest and scoring their level of innate resistance. Evidently, this is a highly labor intensive process, although there have been some notable successes, e.g., the brown plant hopper, (Nilaparvata lugens)—the major pest in Asian rice. The impact of resistance on biological control should be examined carefully, particularly if it has been achieved through transgenic technology. It is vital that the environmental risks are fully assessed using robust risk assessment protocols to reduce the potential for severe disruption to ecological systems and their interactions. GM crops do have the potential to benefit biological control and to become a vital tool in any IPM program.

1. Poppy GM (1997) Endeavour 21: 61-65

2. Cortesero AM, Stapel JO, Lewis WJ (2000) Biol. Control 17: 35-49

3. Groot AT, Dicke M (2002) Plant J. 31: 387-406

4. Poppy GM, Sutherland JP (2004) Physiol. Entomol. 29: 257-268

5. Turlings TCJ et al. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92: 4169-4174

6. Pickett JA, Poppy GM (2001) Trends Plant Sci. 6: 137-139

7. Treacy MF et al. (1987) Environ. Entomol. 16: 420-423

IMPACT OF Bt COTTON ON BOLLWORM POPULATIONS AND EGG PARASITISM
Mellet MA & Schoeman AS

Transgenic cotton or Bt cotton, i.e., cotton that contains δ-endotoxin genes (cry genes) from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki, was introduced to combat Heliothis virescens and Heliothis zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the U.S. Bt cotton is lepidopteran specific and symptoms of δ-endotoxin protein ingestion include midgut paralysis, altered permeability and disintegration of the midgut epithelium, as well as an altered pH in the midgut. Insects thus stop feeding, become dehydrated, and ultimately die. The cultivation of Bt cotton, therefore, allows the producer to use fewer insecticide sprays during integrated pest management programs where susceptible bollworm species are a problem.

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) bollworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of the major agricultural pests in South Africa. Reports on Bt cotton efficacy against H. armigera are few and vary in the degree of control achieved. Damage to cotton plants is characterized by feeding activity on squares (flower buds), flowers, and cotton bolls, which results in shedding of these reproductive plant parts. This may lead to a loss in yield when it occurs ten weeks after plant emergence.

Development of resistance to Bt toxins is possible. Laboratory H. armigera populations developed resistance to Bt cotton within six to seven generations after first exposure¹. The use of refuges relying on a high dose strategy has been proposed to delay the development of resistance in bollworm populations. Five percent of cotton fields must be non-Bt and not sprayed, or 20% of cotton fields must be non-Bt and may be sprayed with agrochemicals other than microbial sprays. Oviposition preference of susceptible female moths for non-Bt cotton might slow down the development of Bt resistance, as more eggs will be laid in refuge areas, with fewer larvae being exposed to Bt. Oviposition preference by H. armigera females has not been evaluated.

A decrease in insecticide use in Bt cotton fields can increase beneficial arthropod diversity and abundance in these fields. Bt cotton has a narrow efficacy range and no direct negative impact against natural enemies can be expected. But it is still possible that beneficial arthropods might be indirectly influenced by the presence of the Bt gene. The behavior of non-target organisms or consumption of prey that survived the uptake of Bt toxin could play a role in how the population will be affected by Bt crops. For example, the egg parasitoid Trichogrammatoidea lutea Girault (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatoidea) might be indirectly influenced through changes in its behavioural patterns, i.e., the females change their oviposition patterns to avoid laying eggs in Bt cotton fields.

Trichogrammatoidea lutea kills the developing H. armigera embryo inside the egg and plays an important role in IPM (integrated pest management) tactics in which biological control is involved. If Bt toxins produced by Bt cotton do not pose direct and indirect threats to T. lutea, then Bt cotton can play an important role in the application of biological control.

A two-year field study was conducted at Marble Hall, South Africa, to determine the efficacy of Bt cotton against H. armigera and the effect thereof on egg parasitism by T. lutea and Telenomus ullyetti Nixon (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)². Helicoverpa armigera oviposition and larval and adult abundance were determined in Bt cotton (NuOpal) and non-Bt cotton fields (Delta Opal; referred to as control) using the scouting method. A sprayed non-Bt cotton field was included during the second season. Funnel-type pheromone traps, baited with H. armigera sex pheromone, were used to determine the number of adults in the cotton fields. Bollworm eggs were collected from the field during the second season and kept in a laboratory to determine the number of eggs from which parasitoids emerged.

Bt cotton effectively controlled H. armigera during both seasons and no insecticide applications were necessary at any stage of plant development within the Bt cotton fields. The highest number of eggs and larvae were found during the flowering and boll-forming stages of the cotton plants in the control field. The threshold level of H. armigera larvae, as indicated by the ARC – Tobacco and Cotton Research Institute³, is five larvae per 24 plants. Larval numbers per 24 plants were as high as 19.2 in the control, in contrast to only 1.6 larvae found on Bt cotton during the second season (Table 1).

Plants encounter various harsh environmental conditions, such as drought, extreme temperatures, and high salinity, during their life cycle. Environments that are unfavorable to plant growth are known as "environmental" or "abiotic" stresses. Abiotic stresses are major limiting factors of crop productivity worldwide. For example, it is estimated that approximately 90% of the United States land surface is exposed to various abiotic stresses and that the resulting yield losses of major crops amount to 50–80% of the maximum genetic potential yield¹.

Plants have the ability to monitor and adjust to their adverse environments, although the degree of adjustability or tolerance to specific stresses varies from species to species. The acclimation/adaptation process is, in large part, mediated by the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA)². The hormone level increases under common stress conditions to trigger metabolic and physiological changes. The adaptations entail changes in gene expression patterns. Numerous genes involved in the acclimation/adaptation processes are up- or down-regulated under stress conditions³. Although not all of them are subject to ABA-regulation, expression of a large number of them is controlled by ABA.

Stress tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing ABF3
Promoter analyses of ABA/stress-responsive genes revealed that a DNA sequence element consisting of ACGTGGC is important for ABA-regulation. For the last several years, we have been trying to identify transcription factors that regulate the expression of ABA/stress responsive genes via the consensus element, which is generally known as "Abscisic acid Response Element" (ABRE). Many bZIP class DNA-binding proteins that interact with the element have been reported by others prior to our work. However, few of them have been demonstrated to have in vivo functions.

Our primary focus has been on the small subfamily of Arabidopsis bZIP proteins referred to as ABFs (ABRE Binding Factors)⁴, whose expression is induced by ABA and by various abiotic stresses (i.e., cold, high salt, and drought). To investigate their in vivo roles, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants that constitutively overexpress each of them. Their phenotypes were then analyzed with special attention to changes in ABA/stress responses. Each ABF displayed similar, but distinct, phenotypes. Since our data suggest that ABF3 is probably best suited for the engineering of stress tolerance among the four ABFs (i.e., ABF1, ABF2, ABF3, and ABF4), we describe its overexpression phenotypes in detail below.

ABF3 overexpression affected the expression levels of ABA/stress-regulated genes⁵. For instance, RNA levels of rd29B and rab18, which are typical LEA class genes induced by ABA and various abiotic stresses, were elevated in the transgenic plants compared with wild type plants. Similarly, ABA-inducible genes ABI1, ABI2, and ICK1, which are involved in ABA signaling or cell cycle regulation, were also expressed at higher levels. On the other hand, ABA-repressible ion channel genes, such as KAT1 and KAT2, were down-regulated as a result of ABF3 overexpression. The results indicate that ABF3 has a regulatory role of ABA-responsive gene expression in planta.

To investigate the regulatory role of ABF3 at the whole plant level, we first examined changes in drought tolerance. Plants were subjected to water deficit conditions and then survival rates were determined. Under our experimental conditions, wild type Arabidopsis plants wilted severely after approximately 11 days of the dehydration treatment, and most of them (ca. 85%) failed to resume growth when re-watered. By contrast, ABF3 transgenic lines exhibited near 100% survival rates, demonstrating that they are more resistant to water stress.

One of the key ABA-mediated processes is stomatal closure, which results in reduced transpiration and, thus, reduced water loss. To see whether ABF3 is involved in the process, we determined leaf transpiration rates by measuring the rates of weight loss of detached leaves. The results showed that transpiration rates of ABF3 transgenic plants are less than 50% of wild type rates. We also observed that stomatal openings of the transgenic plants are smaller than those of wild type plants. Thus, ABF3 overexpression promoted the stomatal closure, resulting in reduced transpirational water loss.

We then examined the behavior of the ABF3 transgenic plants under low temperature conditions⁶. Arabidopsis seedlings grown on Petri plates or on soil were exposed to freezing temperatures, and survival rates were determined. In the test, transgenic plants exhibited much higher survival rates. For example, only 12% of wild type plants survived when two-week-old soil-grown seedlings were exposed to -5°C for 12 hr without prior acclimation process, whereas the survival rates of transgenic lines were over 50%. The enhanced tolerance was observed with cold-acclimated plants as well, indicating that ABF3 enhanced both constitutive and induced freezing tolerance. Electrolyte leakage assay to determine membrane damage induced by freezing revealed that ABF3 overexpression lowered EL₅₀, the temperature of 50% electrolyte leakage, by 1.5°C.

The ABF3 plants also exhibited enhanced tolerance to high temperatures. When Arabidopsis plants grown on defined medium for two weeks were exposed to 48°C for 2 hr, most of them (ca. 70%) died. In contrast, over 90% of the transgenic plants survived the heat shock treatment. In another assay, newly germinated seedlings were acclimated to high temperature by exposing them to a non-lethal temperature (i.e., 38°C) briefly. The plants were then placed at 47°C for 4 hr, returned to normal growth temperature, and the rate of hypocotyl elongation was assessed. Growth of wild type plants decreased to ca. 20% of the control rate after heat treatment. The ABF3 plants, on the other hand, retained 50% growth rate. Thus, both assays indicated that ABF3 plants are heat-tolerant.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide radical and H₂O₂, accumulate under various abiotic stress conditions and induce cellular oxidative damages. ABA induces genes involved in the removal of ROS. To see whether ABF3 affected resistance to oxidative damage, detached leaves of transgenic plants were placed into a solution of methyl viologen (MV), a potent ROS-generating chemical causing membrane damage and chlorophyll degradation. The degree of chlorophyll loss was then monitored. Tests showed that ABF3 transgenic leaves are more resistant to oxidative damage; i.e., ABF3 transgenic leaves remained greener and retained higher contents of chlorophyll than wild type leaves.

ABF3 as a genetic resource for regulon engineering to enhance stress tolerance
ABA controls various aspects (i.e., biochemical, cellular, and developmental aspects) of adaptive responses to a variety of common abiotic stresses. Underlying adaptive changes are changes in gene expression patterns, which ultimately lead to physiological changes. Our analysis of ABF3 overexpression lines indicates that ABF3 is a regulator of ABA-responsive gene expression and that it is an important regulator of protective responses to multiple abiotic stresses.

An important corollary to the result is that ABF3 is an excellent genetic resource for development of crop plants with multiple stress tolerance. The mode of gene regulation by ABA appears to be highly conserved among plant species. The same cis-regulatory elements (i.e., ABREs) function in both dicot and monocot plants. Transcription factors highly identical to ABFs have also been reported in major crop species such as rice, wheat, and barley. The high degree of conservation of regulatory elements suggests that ABF3 will function in a wide variety of plant species. We generated transgenic plants of several crop species to test the possibility. Our preliminary analysis of the plants indicates that ABF3 promotes stress tolerance of both vegetable and monocot crop plants. For instance, drought tolerance of tobacco is greatly enhanced by ABF3 (Fig. 1), and similar effects were also observed with other plants.

ALL-NATIVE PLANT DNA TRANSFORMATION
Caius Rommens

Public concerns about the permanent introduction of foreign DNA into food crops
The creation of food crops that sustain cultivated life is one of the greatest accomplishments of mankind. For thousands of years, plant breeders carefully recombined the genetic material available within species barriers and selected for combinations that provided the highest local yields. Just over the last forty years, intensified breeding efforts supported a doubling of these yields for some of the most important crops. There is concern, however, about the potential for much further yield increases. Furthermore, it may be difficult to apply conventional breeding methods to rapidly address increasing demands for more nutritious and healthy foods.

One of the most promising approaches for accelerated plant breeding may be based on genetic engineering. However, rather than engineering the plant’s own genetic material, initial applications of this technology have been directed towards the stable integration of foreign DNA into plant genomes. During the last two decades, hundreds of thousands of transgenic plants have been generated that contain foreign DNA, either created synthetically or derived from bacteria, viruses, fungi, animals, and unrelated plants. An example of such a transgenic plant is Monsanto’s NewLeaf Plus^® potato variety, which contains a total of eleven different foreign genetic elements (Fig. 1). Processor and consumer rejection of this variety resulted in market withdrawal within a year after launch.

SILK PURSE FROM A SOW’S EAR? SPIDER SILK PRODUCTION IN TOBACCO
Jim Brandle & Rima Menassa

Dragline spider silk is nature’s strongest known fiber and, since it compares well with many synthetic fibers, it has great potential for use in a wide array of industrial and medical applications that range from surgical sutures to bulletproof vests. Spiders use specialized glands to produce as many as seven different types of silk, and they tailor them to diverse uses such as web construction, egg sacks, draglines, and cocoons. Dragline silk, which forms the scaffold of the spider’s web, is the strongest of all types and is even tougher than Kevlar. Composed of two different proteins, dragline silk is located inside spiders’ silk glands in a liquid crystalline solution known as "spinning dope." This silk protein solution can be transformed to a thread through a series of steps, including protein molecule orientation, ion exchange, pH gradient, water removal, and drawing, all of which happen naturally in the spider’s spinneret.

Despite having this knowledge, it has not been possible to make fabrics from spider silk simply because spiders can’t be "farmed" and there is no other concentrated source for spinning. So if we want to make such fabrics, we need to duplicate spider silk in some other system. Development of machinery to do the spinning can be accomplished through engineering. The production of recombinant dragline silk proteins in transgenic plants, in a process known as "molecular farming," can provide the spinning dope. In fact, the two components of spinning dope have been produced in a collaboration between Agriculture and AgriFood Canada and Nexia Biotechnologies. They have shown that the two essential protein components of dragline spider silk, known as major ampullate spidroin proteins 1 and 2, can be produced in transgenic tobacco¹. Two synthetic genes, specially designed to function in plants, that contained one or other of the two dragline silk genes from the golden orb spider were constructed in order to allow tobacco plants to make spider silk. These genes were introduced into the genome of a low-nicotine tobacco cultivar², developed specifically for recombinant protein production. Experiments designed to detect the silk proteins and measure production levels in the transgenic tobacco plants were conducted in both the greenhouse and the field. Those experiments showed that the genes did function and that recombinant silk protein accumulated in transgenic tobacco plants. Levels of protein were low, but this is not uncommon in the early stages of proof of concept experiments. Follow-up work aims to increase silk concentration in plant tissues and improve production economics.

Despite this success, the production of recombinant proteins in plants is still in its infancy and many barriers remain to be overcome. Some of these barriers are technical, some business, and some regulatory. While the first two challenges are well understood, the existence of significant regulatory barriers to plant recombinant protein production has only recently been recognized by much of the industry. Now the way forward is being slowed by increasing trepidation on the part of regulators. Public concern is growing and opponents of the technology have highlighted risks of contamination of both the human food chain and the environment. Consequently, there is a great danger that the "whole farce of GM food could play out again,"³ which would effectively prevent the potential of this technology from being realized. However, straightforward solutions are available. The adoption of non-food crops as production platforms would help to reestablish lost momentum and would refocus efforts back on the technical issues. So far, a complicated web of intellectual property issues and entrenched positions has limited the adoption of non-food crop platforms to all but a few groups. For the production of spider silk, tobacco was chosen as the production platform precisely because it is clearly non-food. It is a non-native species in many countries, does not persist in Northern climates, and produces large amounts of biomass⁴. Riskier production elements like seed multiplication, because tobacco is a prolific seed producer, can easily be conducted in greenhouses. Features like male-sterility² and visual distinguishability have been added to further enhance biosafety, and low-nicotine types² can reduce levels of unwanted metabolites. By bringing together a good product concept that needs plants for large scale production with a biosafe platform, spider silk fabrics and many other recombinant protein products that improve human health and quality of life will become a reality.

1. Menassa R, Zhu H, Karatzas CN, Lazaris A, Richman R and Brandle JE (2004) Spider dragline silk proteins in transgenic tobacco leaves: Accumulation and field production. Plant Biotech. J. 2: 431-438

2. Menassa R, Nguyen V, Jevnikar AN, and Brandle JE (2001) A self-contained system for the field production of plant recombinant human interleukin-10. Mol. Breed. 8: 177-185

3. Editorial (2004) Drugs in crops – the unpalatable truth. Nat. Biotech. 22:133

4. Rymerson RT, Menassa R, Brandle JE (2002) Tobacco, a platform for the production of recombinant proteins. In: Molecular Farming of Plants and Animals for Human and Veterinary Medicine. (L Erickson, J Brandle, RT Rymerson eds.) Kluwer, Amsterdam

CONFERENCE ON PLANT-MADE PHARMACEUTICALS
January 30 to February 2, 2005
Montréal, Québec, Canada

The Conference on Plant-made Pharmaceuticals will offer three days of the most recent business, science, and regulatory advances of plant-factories. The program will emphasize three themes:

· Compounds (biologic drugs in development, pharma partnerships, markets).

· Capacity (speed, cost, quality, reliability of production).

· Compliance (evolving regulations, biomass production in North America and Europe, and progress in clinical trials).

The Conference will convene a strong contingent of drug discovery/drug development groups with over 30 plant-based protein-production systems. This encounter, under the discriminating eye of biotech investors, precedes the launch of billion-dollar plant-made pharmaceuticals.

An international gathering from commercial, academic and public-sector backgrounds will provide an in-depth coverage of the current state of the sector, and insightful perspectives on business, science, and regulatory landscapes.

The workshop, sponsored by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Fondazione per le Biotecnologie, the ECONOGENE project, and the Società Italiana di Genetica Agraria, includes three sessions on the status of the world’s agro-biodiversity; the use of biotechnology for conservation of genetic resources; and genetic characterisation of populations and its use in conservation decision-making. There is also a poster session and a session on the final results from the ECONOGENE project.