THE PHILIPPINES

1. What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is derived from two words-“bio” meaning life and “technology” referring to tools and techniques used to achieve a particular purpose. Biotechnology is a set of scientific tools using living organisms (microorganisms, plant or animal), or their parts to produce useful products for medical, agricultural, industrial and environmental applications.

Genetic engineering is one of the more advanced scientific techniques in biotechnology. It refers to all techniques that artificially move genes from one organism to another, often from one species to another, to produce new or novel organisms.

The target material in genetic engineering is the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule, found in cells of organisms, where genetic information is stored. Thus, genetic engineering is also known as recombinant DNA technology.

Scientists can take useful genes from microorganisms, plant, and animal cells and transfer them to microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria that are easy to grow in large quantities. Products that once were available only in small amounts from an animal or plant are then available in large quantities from rapidly growing microbes.

One example is the use of genetically engineered bacteria to produce human insulin for treating diabetes. The hormone insulin was originally obtained from pancreas of slaughtered animals. This made insulin expensive and not readily available. Now, genetically engineered human insulin can be mass-produced through the use of synthetic genes.

Genetic engineering also allows desirable genes from one plant, animal or microorganism to be incorporated into an unrelated species. Thus, a wider range of traits is now made available to the plant or animal breeder. Direct manipulation of DNA allows traits to be incorporated more quickly and more reliably into target species than through conventional methods.

Basically, genetic engineering hastens the process that is already occurring in nature. Conventional plant breeding involves much labor and time waiting for a hybrid seed to germinate. Through genetic engineering, plant cells can be grown and induced to regenerate whole plants with the introduced genetic character.

Aside from insulin for diabetes, several medically useful proteins like interferon, and synthetic vaccines against malaria, rabies, and hepatitis B have been developed.

Genetic engineering also allows medical applications like screening for genetic diseases and DNA fingerprinting to identify bacteria or viruses that cause diseases.

Industry

Protein products and important enzymes are available for the food and feed industry. Bacteria, fungi and cultured mammalian cells are used as factories to mass-produce these products.

Agriculture

Genetically engineered crops are now available in many countries worldwide. These include soybean, cotton, corn, potato, canola, tobacco, squash, papaya and carnation. Herbicide-tolerant, insect-resistant and virus-resistant crops offer more effective options for controlling pests, reducing pesticide use and increasing crop yields.

A GMO is a living cell or organism whose genetic material has been altered or modified making them capable of producing new substances or perform new functions. A GMO is also referred to as transgenic.

Transgenic plants are plants created by means of recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering. They contain genetic material or DNA from other organisms like other plants, animals, viruses, bacteria or fungi or DNA synthesized in the laboratory. Transgenics are genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Yes. In developed countries such as the United States, and Canada, and developing countries like Argentina, China, and Mexico, transgenic plants are already grown in large scale. Examples of these plants are transgenic cotton, potato and corn which contain the endotoxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

Bt is a bacterium which produces a toxin that affects only certain insects but not other organisms. Since 1995, the US government has approved the sale and use of Bt plants. In fact, there is a shortage of supply of seeds of Bt crops since farmers prefer to plant these crops. In 1998, the area planted to transgenic crops worldwide, excluding China was 27.8 M hectares. It is estimated that in 1999, the area planted to transgenic crops could reach up to 44 million hectares or more.

Transgenic plants that are now being used in other countries have passed through very strict laboratory and field tests to show that they are safe for humans and not harmful to the environment. In the United States, for example, transgenic plants are evaluated by three regulatory agencies - the US Department of Agriculture, US Food and Drug Administration and US Environmental Protection Agency prior to their commercialization.

In the Philippines, researches on transgenic plants are regulated by the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP). Their strict guidelines ensure the safety of the public and the environment before granting permission for researches in this field. Reportedly, the Philippines has one of the most stringent biosafety guidelines in the world.

Yes, they can be a component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The selected genes that are transferred to the plants are toxic only to plant pests. Other natural enemies such as spiders, predators, parasites, and parasitoides are not affected. A combination of cultural, chemical and biological control can also be used to protect plants from pests if necessary.

Yes. At present there are scientists in different government agencies and academic institutions doing research on transgenic plants. If properly funded and supported, significant results can be attained in their experiments.

In the Philippines, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), both in Los Baños, and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Nueva Ecija are undertaking transgenic researches to improve the resistance of rice varieties to insect pests. BIOTECH and the Institute of Plant Breeding, also in the University of The Philippines Los Baños, are undertaking a joint study to produce a local Bt corn variety resistant to the Asiatic corn borer. IPB-UPLB has also already started its research to produce transgenic papaya and mango with delayed ripening characteristics.

Yes, the use of transgenic plants can be sustainable if proper guidelines on their use are followed. It is important to consider the different elements of the environment where these plants will be planted. For example, to minimize the early onset of resistance of pests to transgenic plants, it is important to form an effective resistance management program that should be properly followed by farmers. This principle applies not only for transgenic plants but also for plant varieties developed through traditional breeding methods.

Yes. The National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP), created in 1990 by Executive Order 430, formulates policies and guidelines on activities on genetic engineering and GMOs, including research, importation, production, and distribution. The NCBP is a multi-sectoral body composed of scientists and representatives of the community and chaired by the Undersecretary for Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.

Also, the Institutional Biosafety Committee in the concerned organizations is responsible for screening as well as monitoring biosafety aspects of the organization’s activity/project.