More food, cleaner food – gene technology and plants
Box 2 | Some examples of Australian gene technology research
CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra
Insect-resistant cotton. In Australia, Heliothis caterpillars can strip cotton plants of their leaves and nibble their flower buds. The bud develops into the cotton fruit containing the seeds on which the cotton fibres grow, so loss of buds means less cotton is produced. The usual way to control this pest was to spray the plants with chemical pesticides, but now over 90 per cent of Australia’s cotton crop is genetically modified to resist this insect pest. The GM cotton plant produces a protein that, while harmless to other insects, is poisonous to the caterpillar, and so prevents any serious damage to the developing flower buds. The information for making the protein comes from an additional synthetic gene, derived from a bacterium that has been added to the plant. GM cotton plants require far less insecticide than standard varieties of cotton. Pesticide use has been reduced by up to 80 per cent where the GM cotton is grown.
- GM cotton (transcript of ABC radio's The Science Show, 18 May 2002)
- CSIRO - Working towards sustainable cotton
- Cotton Australia - Facts and Figures
Virus-resistant clover
White clover provides protein for grazing animals, nitrogen for cropping, and helps improve soil structure and stability. Alfalfa Mosaic Virus (AMV) is a plant disease that reduces the productivity and persistence of the clover, costing dairy farmers in excess of $30 million per year.
Scientists from CSIRO and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries have developed clover with in-built resistance to AMV, providing the only control method for the virus so far. Researchers have also added natural resistance to Clover Yellow Vein Virus – the cause of another serious disease in white clover – to the AMV-resistant genetically modified clover.
Researchers are investigating the potential ecological impact of genetically modified white clover on natural and agricultural ecosystems.
Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre, Adelaide
The CRC, which operated from 2003 to 2010, aimed to develop better varieties of wheat, barley, pasture grasses and clover using the technologies of molecular markers and genetic engineering. Molecular markers are the genetic signposts that flag the presence of genes controlling particular traits. For example, by identifying a gene that controls a plant's ability to tolerate salt, scientists could develop new crop lines that could grow in areas affected by salinity.
Researchers at the centre of excellence for Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Adelaide are also working on a range of technologies to improve cereal crop yields, through enhanced resistance to conditions such as high salinity and to conditions such as stem, leaf and stripe rust. The group also works on developing new plant varieties and improving understanding of plant genetics.
Collaborative efforts
Researchers at the centre of excellence for Plant Breeding and Genetics, at the Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide are also working on a range of technologies to improve cereal crop yields, through enhanced resistance to conditions such as high salinity and to conditions such as stem, leaf and stripe rust. The group also works on developing new plant varieties and improving understanding of plant genetics.
The Food Futures National Research Flagship draws together expertise from five CSIRO divisions and Food Science Australia (a joint venture of CSIRO and the Victorian Government).
Flagship researchers have developed plants that produce DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a healthy omega-3 oil vital for human health. DHA is normally only available from fish sources which are declining worldwide. The breakthrough is an important first step towards improving human nutrition, reducing pressure on declining fish stocks and providing Australian grain growers with new high-value crops.
Scientists from the Grains Research and Development Corporation and CSIRO’s Plant Industry, Entomology and Molecular and Health Technologies are exploring the potential of plants to make compounds for a variety of industrial uses. More plastics, paints and even nylons could be made from chemicals produced in plants, an environmentally friendly replacement for non-renewable and increasingly costly petrochemicals currently used for the job.
The Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre, located at the La Trobe University Research and Development Park, was opened in January 2006. The consortium consists of the Department of Primary Industries, La Trobe University, the Molecular Plant Breeding CRC, Florigene Ltd, Monash and RMIT Universities, Dairy Futures CRC and GE HealthCare Biosciences. Research includes:
- helping plants survive drought and cold;
- boosting their salt tolerance;
- controlling when crops flower;
- enhancing crop yields;
- reducing crop losses to pest and diseases; and
- improving quality.
The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics is working to improve the resistance of wheat and barley to hostile environmental conditions, using functional genomics technologies.
Scientists at the Centre focus on stresses that impact agriculture in Australia, including drought, salinity, high or low temperatures and mineral deficiencies or toxicities. These stresses are a major cause of cereal crop yield and quality loss throughout the world.
The private sector
The company Florigene Ltd has produced mauve ‘Moon’ carnations by inserting a petunia gene into the carnation plant. The company's researchers have also produced a strain of carnations which stay fresh for longer when picked. The eventual browning and decay of picked flowers, even when their stems are in water, is caused by the production of the gas, ethylene. Using antisense genes, the researchers have 'switched off' the gene that codes for the production of ethylene in the plant. The genetically modified carnation retains its freshness and colour long after ordinary carnations have shrivelled and turned brown.
Page updated January 2012.