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New Delhi, Aug. 22 JK Agri Genetics Ltd says it would be in a position to commercially launch an improved version of its Bt cotton, containing a stacked combination of cry1Ac and cry1EC genes, by 2010. The new ‘event’ has already been approved for multi location research trials (MLRT) at 16 locations in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu during the current kharif season.

“If things proceed as per schedule (one year of MLRT and two years of large scale field trials), the new stacked gene event should hit the market in kharif 2010,” said Mr P.S. Dravid, President of the Rs 85-crore Hyderabad-based company, which is part of Mr H.S. Singhania’s JK Organisation.

JK Agri had introduced its first event — involving incorporation of the cry1Ac gene from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (bt), in four cotton hybrids — during the 2006 season. The gene construct technology for this event was sourced from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The company got the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee’s (GEAC) clearance to market four more hybrids based on the same event in the current season.

“In kharif 2006, we sold around two lakh packets, each containing 450 grams of our Bt hybrid cotton seeds. This year, we have done around six lakh packet,” Mr Dravid told Business Line. At Rs 750 per packet, it would translate into a business of roughly Rs 45 crore.

JK Agri is next targeting the commercialisation of an improved Bt cotton version, entailing pyramiding of a new cry1EC gene on the existing cry1Ac gene-based hybrids. The technology for the new gene construct has been obtained from yet another publicly funded laboratory – the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) National Botanical Research Institute at Lucknow.

The cry1Ac gene synthesises proteins that are toxic to the dreaded Helicoverpa armigera or American bollworm insect pest, thereby, reducing reliance on spraying pesticides. The cry1EC gene, on the other hand, is said to confer resistance to spodoptera (tobacco caterpillar or armyworm) larvae. The stacked combination of both genes is seen to not only broaden insect resistance coverage, but also lead to enhanced protein expression through synergetic action.

While JK Agri’s first event was a variant of Monsanto’s Bollgard-I (featuring the same cry1Ac gene and cleared for commercial release in 2002), the new event is expected to provide competition to the US life sciences major’s Bollgard-II. The latter, which is a stacked event of cry1Ac and cry2Ab genes, was launched in 2006.

According to industry estimates, the total sale of Bt cotton hybrid seeds will go up from around 92 lakh packets in 2006 to over 150 lakh packets or Rs 1,120 crore plus this year. And out of the 150 lakh packets, Bollgard-II is likely to account for 12-13 lakh, up from last year’s 2.5-3 lakh. “Most of the recent GEAC commercial approvals have been for hybrids incorporating the Bollgard II event. With new events such as those of JK, the share of multiple gene-based products will only go up further,” noted Mr Bhagirath Choudhury of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).

More Stories on : Cotton | Bio-tech & Genetics

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