BT BRINJAL

The Bt brinjal is a transgenic brinjal (also known as an eggplant or aubergine)

created by inserting a crystal gene (Cry1Ac) from the soil bacterium Bacillus th
uringiensis into the brinjal's genome. The insertion of the gene, along with oth
er genetic elements like promoters, terminators and an antibiotic resistance mar
ker gene into the brinjal plant is accomplished using Agrobacterium-mediated rec
ombination. The Bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance against lepidop
teron insects, in particular the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (Leucinodes orbon
alis)(FSB). Monsanto, a multinational company based in the USA, has developed th
e Bt brinjal in partnership with India's Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyc
o). It was approved for commercialization in India in 2009, but after a public o
utcry the Indian government applied a moratorium on its release.
Development
Mahyco developed the DNA construct that contains a modified insecticidal cry1Ac
gene obtained from Monsanto and two supporting genes (nptII and aad). The cry1Ac
gene is under the transcriptional control of an enhanced Cauliflower mosaic vir
us 35S (CaMV35S) promoter, which ensures the gene is expressed in all the brinja
ls tissue throughout its complete life cycle. NptII and aad are selectable marke
r genes, nptII is used to identify transgenic plants from non-transgenic and aad
is used to identify the transformed bacteria used during the development of the
construct. Aad contains a bacterial promoter and is not expressed in the Bt Bri
njal. The completed construct was inserted into young cotyledons from the brinja
l plants using agrobacterium-mediated techniques. Agrobacterium naturally insert
s DNA into plants from its Ti plasmid and scientists use this to insert their ge
nes of interest into various plants. The transformed plants were regenerated and
analyzed for the presence of the gene through Southern blotting. The plants pro
geny were also analyzed to identify lines segregating in a Mendelian fashion
Attempted commercialization in India
An expert committee (EC-I) was set up in 2006 to examine the biosafety data pres
ented by Mahyco. They concluded that while the current data demonstrated that Bt
brinjal was safe and equivalent to its non Bt counterpart, more studies were re
quired to re-affirm the findings and further trials were needed to ascertain the
benefits from Bt brinjal with respect to existing methods for pest management a
nd pesticide reduction. They recommended that large scale trials be allowed to g
o ahead. In 2009 a second expert committee (EC-II) examined the data from these
trials. They concluded that adequate safety tests had been performed, stating th
at "the benefits of Bt brinjal event EE-I developed by M/s Mahyco far outweigh t
he perceived and projected risks", and advised the Genetic Engineering Appraisal
Committee (GEAC) to recommend commercialization of the Bt brinjal.
The GEAC cleared Bt brinjal for commercialization on 14 October 2009. Following
concerns raised by some scientists, farmers and anti-GM activists the government
of India officially announced on 9 February 2010 that it needed more time befor
e releasing Bt brinjal, with Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh saying th
at there is no overriding urgency to introduce Bt brinjal in India. On 17 Februa
ry 2010, Jairam Ramesh reiterated that the Centre had only imposed a moratorium
on the release of transgenic brinjal hybrid, and not a permanent ban, saying tha
t â until we arrive at a political, scientific and societal consensus, this moratoriu
m will remainâ . Companies with any seeds of Bt brinjal will have to register the det
ails with the government and the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBP
GR) was made responsible for storage of all the Bt brinjal seeds in India. Indep
endent testing labs are being currently being set up.
Controversy
There are many controversies about the development and release of genetically mo
dified foods, ranging from human safety and environmental impacts to ethical con
cerns such as corporate control of the food supply and intellectual property rig
hts. The brinjal is an important food crop for India and the potential commercia
lization of a genetically modified variety has drawn support and criticism. Alth
ough it is a major food crop in India, brinjal production is relatively low with
Fruit and Shoot Borer infestation a major constraint to yield. Proponents of th
e technology believe the Bt brinjal will have positive effects for the Indian ec
onomy and the health of the farmers. Field trials conducted on research-managed
farms carried out by Mayhco and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICA
R) suggested a 42% pesticide reduction and a doubling of the yield was possible.
[7] The economic gain for consumers, developers and farmers was estimated to pot
entially be US$108 million per year with an additional $3â 4 million saved due to hea
lth benefits associated with decreased pesticide use.
French scientist, Gilles-Eric Seralini of the Committee for Independent Research
and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN) reviewed the safety informatio
n. He raised concerns about some of the differences between feeding trials using
the genetically modified and non-modified Brinjal and criticized some of the te
sting protocols. The EC-II responded to the concerns raised by Seralini and othe
r scientists in their report, although opponents asserted that these concerns we
re not adequately addressed. Concerns have also been raised about a possible con
flict of interest, with some of the scientists appointed to the GEAC being invol
ved in developing their own GM products, that the decision by the EC-II was not
unanimous, and about the reliability of safety data originating from Mahcyo run
trials. The imposed moratorium has been criticized by some scientists as not bei
ng based on any compelling scientific evidence and potentially setting Indian bi
otechnology back decades. Others feel the critical issue is not the safety of th
e GM technology, but its corporatization and there are claims that Indiaâ s crop prot
ection industry was a major player in preventing the commercialization of the Bt
brinjal.