The beta carotne-rich yellow rice, nicknamed 'golden rice', developed by Dr Peter Beyer of Germany and Dr Ingo Potryteus of Switzerland is being made available to the developing countries for free further development under local conditions. This is the first genetically engineered product in the public domain. It is expected that in India this new variety rice would be ready for field trials over next three years.

Icrisat Develops World's First Transgenic Groundnut Variety BV Mahalakshmi Hyderabad, November 3: The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) has developed the world's first transgenic groundnut variety. The new variety is expected to have resistance towards peanut clump virus which is widely prevalent in the sandy soils, especially in Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat in India. The total yield loss due to PCV is estimated at about $38 million across the world. The field trials for this new groundnut crop is completed and is expected to
be commercialised by 2005 with the approval from the department of biotechnology, according to Icrisat sources. The transgenic varieties were tested in the greenhouses following the biosafety regulations.

The biotechiques for developing the transgenic variety involved four stages: gene sequencing and cloning under a collaborative project between Icrisat and Scottish Crops Research Institute, Dundee, UK; Transferring the coat protein and polymerase genes through genetic transformation;
extensive molecular characterisation of the transgenics for gene integration, function and inheritance, followed by preliminary studies in the glasshouse; field trial under controlled conditions to test the transgenic groundnut to peanut clump disease after an approval from the
department of biotechnology.

'Golden rice' is considred to be an option to aid the struggle to end the malnutrition in the developing countries where rice is the staple food. According to Dr Beyer (who was recently in Chennai), "The Golden Rice is more than rice, it is a technology to enrich any food-grains, roots or oils with micro-nutirents like Vitamin A, iron etc. It is coming free of any licence charge, trade barrier, intellectual property strings etc to the governments of the developing countries for adoption and application in their fields."

The technology is offered to the Department of Biotechnology and four laboratories, (Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi, Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack and Delhi University), are working on this free gift to get it
transferred to one or more popular and affordable rice varieties. Eight other laboratories in five more countries are working on its adoption. Farmers will be totally free to plant it, save the seeds, sell the rice provided their total yeild does not exceed $10,000. While domestic trade is absolutley free, it will not be open for international trade.

In the developed countriesl, this technology will be on sale for a fee, though it is free in the developing countries, Dr Beyer said. He also allayed misconceptions and fears about the 'golden rice'. Some of the opponents of boitechnologically enriched rice say that for the supply of the micro-nutrients which biotechnology promise to provide it would be enough to encourage people to change their eating habits by including more leafy and coloured vegetables.

Dr Beyer said a person who can just afford a bowlful of rice will spend all his savings on that. He will not think of diverse food simply because he cannot afford it. Poverty is all that - one's inability to have what one needs. In such a situation, if the very rice he eats is micronutirent-rich it will go a long way in keeping him healthy. He also said the apprehension about the volume of consumption for the required results was baseless.

Dr Beyer said the allegation that 'Golden Rice' was a bait to sell gene technology on a wider scale at a later stage was wrong. "This accusation would hold water only if there was some ulterior motive in transferring the technology to the developing countries and there was more technologies lined up for sale."