The Hindu Business Line : Nod for large-scale Bt cotton trials of JK, Nath Seeds, Syngenta

IN what is expected to end Monsanto's monopoly over Bt cotton technology, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has allowed JK Agri-Genetics Ltd, Syngenta Seeds India Ltd and Nath Seeds Ltd to carry out large-scale trials of their genetically modified (GM) hybrids during the ensuing 2005 kharif planting season.

While JK Agri would be able to undertake large-scale trials and seed production of its `JKCH-1947 Bt' cotton hybrids in the North zone, similar approval has been granted for `NCEH-6R Bt' of Nath Seeds and `02-50 Vip' of Syngenta Seeds.

The decision to accord permission was taken at the GEAC's meeting here on Wednesday, officials told Business Line.

The hybrids developed by these companies are similar to Monsanto's GM cotton, to the extent that they, too, incorporate genes derived from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which confer an `in-built' resistance against the dreaded American bollworm pest.

The difference is that they have either used different Bt gene combinations or employed alternate technologies or constructs for inserting the same gene into their hybrids.

The Bt cotton hybrids being marketed now by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), Rasi Seeds Pvt Ltd and Ankur Seeds all incorporate the cry1Ac gene, based on Bollgard, the specific gene construct (`operating software', in common parlance) patented by Monsanto.

The US life science major has so far inked sub-licencing agreements with 21 domestic seed companies which, critics allege, vests with a power similar to what Microsoft enjoys on its Windows operating system.

JK Agri's GM cotton is based on a `modified cry1Ac gene construct' developed by a team of scientists headed by Prof S.K. Sen at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Nath Seeds has sourced its technology from China, having secured rights for a `fusion' cry1Ac/cry1Ab Bt gene, developed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Syngenta's Bt cotton, on the other hand, is based on a completely different set of genes called vip or vegetative insecticidal protein. The genes are derived from the same Bt and they, too, synthesise toxic proteins that `bind' themselves to the mid-gut of the insect pest, inhibiting their metabolic activity.

But unlike the cry genes that are found in the reproductive or sporulating phase of the bacteria, the vip genes are isolated at the vegetative growth stage.

"Moreover, the specific receptor site at which the proteins get attached to the mid-gut is different in both cases. For our hybrids, we have employed the vip3A gene", a company official said.

Incidentally, the Swiss multinational is yet to commercially launch any crop world-wide based on its patented vip gene technology, "though trials are on at difference stages for cotton and maize in Latin America and the US", the official added.

The Bt cotton using Monsanto's Bollgard technology is currently being sold at Rs 1,600 for every 450 gm packet, against Rs 450-500 for normal hybrids.

The technology fee that the seed companies pay to Monsanto is estimated to constitute up to 70 per cent of the price difference.

Roughly 13 lakh packets of Bollgard were marketed in the country during 2004, with the numbers expected to triple this year.

Industry sources say that once the new hybrids of JK Agri, Syngenta and Nath Seeds hit the market — probably by 2007 — Bt cotton prices may drop to about Rs 1,000 per packet.

Rasi's strain gets nod: The GEAC has cleared the commercial cultivation of the `RCH-138 Bt' GM cotton hybrid developed by Rasi Seeds for the Central zone. This was the only transgenic crop that was approved for commercial release at the panel's meeting, officials said.

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