It’s not borrowed, it’s Indian, an anti-drought seed is on its way

A gene from a weed (Arabidopsis thaliana) is being introduced into Indian mustard to make the crop consume less water. Scientists at NRIPB are conducting open field trials on genetically-modified mustard that will cut down irrigation by almost half, from the usual four-five floodings to two-three floodings per season.

The scientists will continue trials for two more years to reach waterproof conclusions, and more varieties of Indian mustard will be included during this period.

Earlier this month, the NRIPB also began cloning Indian crop species that are hardy and can resist periods of drought. This is a first, since till now, most GM projects in India used genes “borrowed” from labs abroad. “A project is on to relocate genes from pearl millet (bajra) to economically viable crops like wheat and rice, which love water,” Kailash C. Bansal, principal scientist, NRCPB, told The Indian Express.

Increasingly, more than one gene is being transplanted in plants to provide multiple benefits and make the plant resistant to high temperature, cold and salt stress. “Since this research is being done at a public research institute, the seeds will not be any more expensive than those currently available,” said Bansal.

GM plants have faced criticism since insects often become resistant to toxins produced in the insect-resistant varieties. This is possible since the small genome size of insects make mutations easier and faster. To counter this, the “high-dose strategy” is being used that prevents the insect from from developing resistance.

“Here, the gene is put into plastids and not the nuclear genome,” explains Bansal. “Since plastids are many in number in a given cell, there is instant amplification and 10,000 to 50,000 copies of the gene are made of the trans-gene, making it impossible for the insect to develop resistance.”The multiple gene technique is also being used to develop nutritionally-balanced varieties of tropical maize, rice and potato.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Corporation is planning to conduct field trials for its transgenic cotton that contains Monsanto’s BT-resistant gene. “The application for the trials has just been accepted by the government,” confirms Ranjana Smetacek, Director, Public Affairs, Monsanto.

Many pharma majors too have jumped into the biotech fray, with Ranbaxy developing and marketing a large number of diagnostic kits. Aurangabad-based Wockhardt has a joint venture with Rhein Biotech of Germany to develop recombinant HBV vaccine, while Cadila is working in vaccines, biotherapeutics and immunodiagnosis. The biotech unit of Dr Reddy’s Labs has licenced its diabetes therapeutic technology to Novo Nordisk, and Dabur India is working on a natural substance-based immunomodulator. Nicolas Piramal would be working in collaboration with the Department of Biochemical Technology in the field of diabetes.

Not to be left behind, many small drug companies are also working in biotechnology. The Mumbai-based USV, which is setting up a molecular medicine research lab with recombinant protein and clinical diagnostic sections; and the Bangalore-based Biocon is doing research in bioenzymes. After the infotech revolution, Indian industry seems to have discovered its next port of call.