Rapid Diagnostic Kits for Genetically Modified Traits

The global area under commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops is increasing at a very fast pace. In India too, there has been dramatic increase in commercial cultivation of Bt cotton. There is an urgent need for upgrading the analytical methods for the GM detection to check the authorized GM crops being cultivated and to solve the legal disputes as well as to meet the labeling and international trade requirements.

Diagnostic kits based on Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been developed for five GM crops. Bt cotton (Bollgard I) with cry1Ac gene was the first GM crop to be commercialized in India in March 2002 and Bt cotton (Bollgard II) with cry1Ac and cry2Ab for insect resistance has also been commercialized. Revealing this at a Press Conference in New Delhi today, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal said that these diagnostic kits developed at NBPGR under a collaborative research project funded by DBT are ready for commercial launch and will be of immense use to meet the regulatory obligations and legal requirements as well as helping to address the consumer concerns.

The other four food crops viz. Bt brinjal and Bt cauliflower with cry1Ac gene, for insect resistance, GM mustard with barnase/ barstar gene for male sterility and GM tomato with osmotin gene for drought and salinity tolerance are either in field trials or in advanced stages of testing in contained field trials.

The kits can detect specific transgenes, cry1Ac, cry2Ab, barnase/ barstar, and osmotin gene, individually as well as along with CaMV35S promoter and endogenous genes, Sad1 in cotton, SRK1 in cauliflower, HMG in mustard, Lat52 in tomato.

National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, has been designated by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India as a Referral Centre for Molecular Diagnosis of Transgenic Planting Material.

Source: Press Inormation Bureau
Date: April 07, 2008