National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1984. Genetic Engineering of Plants: Agricultural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

G, · ' . . enenc ~ngmee~ dig of Plants Agncullural Research Opportunities and Policy Concerns Board on Agriculture National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D. C. 1984

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20418 The convocation from which this publication was developed was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 83-63138 International Standard Book Number 0-309-03434-5 Copyright @) 1984 by the National Academy of Sciences No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use, without written permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of official use by the United States Government. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, January 1984 Second Printing, June 1984 Cover Photograph: Rice farming scene in northern California. ~)1982 by William Garnett, reproduced with permission of the photographer.

Board on Agriculture WILLIAM L. BROWN, Chairman, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. LAWRENCE BOGORAD, Harvard University NEVILLE P. CLARKE, Texas A&M University ERIC L. ELLWOOD, North Carolina State University ROBERT G. CAST, Michigan State University EDWARD H. GLASS, Cornell University RALPH W. F. HARDY, E.~. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. LAURENCE R. lAHN, Wildlife Management Institute ROGER L. MITCHELL, University of Missouri JO~ A. PINO, Tnter-American Development Bank VERNON W. RUTTAN, University of Minnesota CHAMP B. TANNER, University of Wisconsin VIRGINIA WALBOT, Stanford University PHILIP ROSS, Executive Director . . . lit

Acknowledgments We wish to express particular appreciation to Leslie Roberts who wrote this summary report. Also, we acknowledge the staff of the Council for Research Planning in Biological Sciences, Inc., Claire Wilson and Carol Von Dohien, and those with the Board on Agriculture of the National Research Council, Beulah BresIer, fill Curry, and km Tavares, who pro- vided valuable assistance in organizing the meeting and in producing this report. Finally, we sincerely appreciate the tireless efforts of Alexander Hol- laender in helping to arrange the convocation and the contributions made by the speakers, panelists, and other participants without whom the convocation and report wouIc! not have been possible. The convocation and study was supported by grants to the National Research Council's Boarct on Agriculture from the NAS Academy-~:ndustry Program; National Science Foundation; U.S. Department of Agriculture; and U.S. Department of Energy; and by grants to the Council for Re- search Planning in Biological Sciences from Allied Corporation; ARCO Plant Cell Research Institute; Caigene, Inc.; DeKalb-Pfizer Genetics; E. I. du Font de Nemours & Co., Inc.; Monsanto Company; North Amer- ican Plant Breeders; Pfizer, Inc.; Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.; Plant Genetics; The Standard Oil Company of Ohio; University of Cal- ifornia, Davis. V

Preface U.S. agriculture has flourished in this century. In the past 50 years, agricultural productivity has more than doubled, while the amount of land under cultivation has decTinect. This phenomenal growth has been fueled by advances in agricultural science by farm mechanization and the clevelopment of agricultural chemicals and improved plant varieties. Yet productivity gains may be harder to achieve in the next 50 years. In the United States, there is little prime farmland left to develop. Even with increased use of fertilizer and pesticides, farmers may not be able to squeeze more productivity from existing varieties. For some crops, yields are beginning to level off. Some of the richest croplands are becoming salinized; topsoil is being lost. And farmers are confronting rising costs for fuel, fertilizer, and water. In much of the Third World, hunger is pervasive. In many developing nations, farmers still struggle to extract an adequate food supply from marginal soils and world food production must somehow double in the next 40 years to meet the expected rise in demand. To sustain agricultural productivity, farmers worldwide will need new technologies, especially new plant varieties adapted to harsh conditions. Throughout the agricultural community, there is an increasing aware- ness that genetic engineering may provide some of the solutions. Re- combinant DNA and the other genetic engineering techniques, clevel- opect in animals in the early 1970s, have only recently been applied to plant research. Yet already, they have yielded a wealth of information about the basic structure and function of plant cells information that can be channeled into more effective breeding strategies. And eventu- ally, it may be possible to manipulate plant genes in the laboratory to improve plants and perhaps create new ones. At this stage, research effort is still largely centered in basic research v

v] PREFACE laboratories though excitement has spread throughout the agricultural research community. In just a few years, the scientific progress of a few plant scientists has been remarkable. In many ways, their work consti- tutes a revolution- one that foretells of changes that the agricultural enterprise may undergo as it absorbs the new technology. On May 23-24, 1983, plant scientists and science policymakers from government, private companies, and universities met at the National Academy of Sciences for a convocation on the genetic engineering of plants. Organized with the aid and encouragement of Dr. Alexander Holiaender of The Council for Research Planning in Biological Sciences, Inc., the convocation was cosponsored by Dr. HolIaender's organization and the Board on Agriculture of the National Research Council. (The program of that convocation follows on the next two pages.) During the convocation, the researchers described some of the ways genetic engineering may be used to address agricultural problems. Policymakers delineated and debated the changes in research funding and training necessary to realize this potential. Various speakers urged new collaborative efforts among basic scientists and plant breeders. And all spoke of a new era in agricultural research. This book summarizes those discussions. It is intended to serve as an introduction and guide for those who wish to follow the development of this promising new technology. WILLIAM L. BROWN Chairman, Board on Agriculture

Program of the Convocation on Genetic Engineering of Plants: Speakers and Panelists Introductory Remarks WALTER A. ROSENBLITH, Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Sciences GEORGE A. KEYWORTH TI, Science Adviser to the President GEORGE E. BROWN, JR., Chairman, House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research and Foreign Agriculture, U.S. Congress Why Agricultural Research? ORVILLE BENTLEY, Assistant Secretary for Science and Education, U.S. Department of Agriculture (National Perspective) W. DAVID HOPPER, Vice President, South Asia Division, World Bank (International Perspective) RALPH W. F. HARDY, Director of Life Sciences Research, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. (Industrial Perspective) LOWELL N. LEWIS, Assistant Vice President for Agriculture and Director, California Agricultural Experiment Station System (University Perspective) A Science Overview of Genetic Engineering LAWRENCE BOGORAD, Biology Department, Harvard University Research Opportunities ROBERT GOLDBERG, Biology Department, University of California at Los Angeles (Gene Structure, Function and Genetic Transmission) WILLIAM SCOWCROFT, Plant Industries Division, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia (Somaclonal Variation, Cell Selection and Genotype Improvement) CHARLES I. ARNTZEN, Director, Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University (Introducing Herbicide Resistance into Crops via Novel Genetics) MILTON N. SCHROTH, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California at Berkeley (Organisms in the Rhizosphere) · ~ VI!

Ill Perspectives on Future Research (Panel DiscussionJ SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS RONALD L. PHILLIPS, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota STEPHEN P. BAENZIGER, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville WINSTON BRILL, University of Wisconsin and Cetus-Madison, Inc. GLENN B. COLLINS, Agronomy Department, University of Kentucky ROBERT M. GOODMAN, Calgene, Inc. KEITH A. WALKER, Plant Genetics An Overview of PoZicy Issues VERNON W. RUTTAN, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Minnesota (Agricultural Productivity Implications of Biotechnology Research) ANTHONY I. FARAS, University of Minnesota and Co-chairman, Molecular Genetics, Inc. (Economic Considerations in Founding a Biotechnology Company) RENE TEGTMEYER, Assistant U.S. Commissioner of Patents, Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce (Patents) RAYMOND THORNTON, President, Arkansas State University (Safety Regulations for Recombinant DNA) Education and Manpower (Panel Discussion) CHARLES HESS, Dean, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of California at Davis MARY E. CLUTTER, Division of Physiology, Cellular and Molecular Biology, National Science Foundation PHILIP FILNER, ARCO Plant Cell Research Institute KENNETH I. FREY, Agronomy Department, Iowa State University The Roles of Universities, Industry, and Government: Opportunities for Cooperation and Collaboration GILBERT S. OMENN, Dean, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington (Overview of Types of Agreements: University-Industry-Government) REUVEN M. SACHER, Director, Biological Research, Monsanto Agricultural Products Co. (Industry's Roles) THEODORE HULLAR, Director of Research, Cornell University (Government's Roles) RICHARD S. CALDECOTT, Dean, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota (University's Roles) Closing Remarks WILLIAM L. BROWN, Chairman, Board on Agriculture, National Research Council

Contents INTRODUCTION. CROP IMPROVEMENT . . . . . . . . The First Biological Revolution, 6 Burgeoning Demand for Food, Molecular Genetics, 12 Uncertain Impact, 13 GENE TRANSFER . . . . . . . The Background, 15 The Technique, IS Current Constraints, 21 Vectors, 21 Gene Expression, 24 Single and Multigene Traits, 25 Plant Regeneration, 25 A TOOL FOR FUNDAMENTAL PLANT SCIENCE. Seed Protein Genes, 31 SOMATIC CELL GENETICS Selection, 33 Protoplast Fusion, 36 Somaclonal Variation, 37 15 ..... 27 IX 33

XAPPLYING THE TOOLS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY TO AGRICULTURAL PROBLEMS Herbicide Resistance, 40 Engineering an Atrazine-Resistant Crop, 42 Bioengineered Microorganisms to Combat Plant Diseases, 44 Nitrogen Fixation, 48 The Bottom Line, 52 POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Neglect of Basic Science, 55 Multidisciplinary Training, 57 UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RELATIONS University Concerns, 61 Industry Concerns, 62 Three-Way Collaboration, 64 SAFETY REGULATIONS . . The Need for Continued Diligence, 71 PATENTS The Test Case, 74 Patent Activity, 75 INDEX . CONTENTS 40 53 60 69 73 77

\l a/ ~ ~ ~ j~ 1 Genedc En~eer~g of plants I/ R~- ~or~"f~e ~~d PI Corals

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"The book...is, in fact, a short text on the many practical problems...associated with translating the explosion in basic biotechnological research into the next Green Revolution," explains Economic Botany. The book is "a concise and accurate narrative, that also manages to be interesting and personal...a splendid little book." Biotechnology states, "Because of the clarity with which it is written, this thin volume makes a major contribution to improving public understanding of genetic engineering's potential for enlarging the world's food supply...and can be profitably read by practically anyone interested in application of molecular biology to improvement of productivity in agriculture."

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