applications, biochemical pathways activated. Also, it remains to elucidate as
expressed by Lewinsohn and Gijzen (2009) the plant silent metabolism that is not
silence, but is a pool of pathways that awake to be activated.
1.12.2 Use of Genotypes
Plant science is faced with a strong challenge: ensure yield security while shifting
breeding goals in order to produce more with less. There is a predicted need to
increase food production in a changing environment which affects agricultural
yields. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the efficiency of crop production.
Molecular plant breeding has the potential to deliver substantial improvements
once the component traits and the genes underlying these traits have been identified. These traits are made available through genetic engineering or the mining of
existing genetic variability. Moreover, yield enhancing genes have been the focus
of intensive research during the last three decades or so and over the past 25 years,
one new gene with an established phenotypic effect on crops has been identified
every year on average using forward genetic approaches. Identified traits will be
incorporated into new cultivars using conventional or biotechnological tools.
The first two classes of products of crop biotechnology, broad-spectrum herbicide-tolerant, and Bt-mediated insect resistance crops in corn, cotton, canola, and
soybeans, have been widely adopted in the U.S., Canada, South America, India,
and China because such traits have not been generated through classical breeding.
By 2012, more than 10 % of the world croplands were growing transgenic crops,
with an annual growth rate of 6 %. While 28 countries planted commercialized
biotech crops in 2012, an additional 31 countries totaling 59 have granted regulatory approvals for biotech crops for import, food and feed use, and for release
into the environment since 1996 (ISAAA 2012).
Several new developing countries are expected to plant biotech crops before
2015 led by Asia, and there is cautious optimism that Africa will be well-represented: the first biotech-based drought tolerant maize planned for release in North
America in 2013 and in Africa by 2017; the first stacked soybean tolerant to
herbicide and insect resistant will be planted in Brazil in 2013; subject to regulatory approval, Golden Rice could be released in the Philippines in 2013/2014;
drought tolerant sugarcane is a possible candidate in Indonesia, and biotech maize
in China with a potential of *30 million ha and for the future biotech rice which
has an enormous potential to benefit up to 1 billion poor people in rice households
in Asia alone (ISAAA 2012). Thus, genetic crop improvement is a reality and is
necessary in order to increase production potential under water-scarce and climate
change conditions. This will be an important avenue to improved food security
over the next four decades and feed a growing human population.
38
L. Garcia-Mier et al.
expressed by Lewinsohn and Gijzen (2009) the plant silent metabolism that is not
silence, but is a pool of pathways that awake to be activated.
1.12.2 Use of Genotypes
Plant science is faced with a strong challenge: ensure yield security while shifting
breeding goals in order to produce more with less. There is a predicted need to
increase food production in a changing environment which affects agricultural
yields. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the efficiency of crop production.
Molecular plant breeding has the potential to deliver substantial improvements
once the component traits and the genes underlying these traits have been identified. These traits are made available through genetic engineering or the mining of
existing genetic variability. Moreover, yield enhancing genes have been the focus
of intensive research during the last three decades or so and over the past 25 years,
one new gene with an established phenotypic effect on crops has been identified
every year on average using forward genetic approaches. Identified traits will be
incorporated into new cultivars using conventional or biotechnological tools.
The first two classes of products of crop biotechnology, broad-spectrum herbicide-tolerant, and Bt-mediated insect resistance crops in corn, cotton, canola, and
soybeans, have been widely adopted in the U.S., Canada, South America, India,
and China because such traits have not been generated through classical breeding.
By 2012, more than 10 % of the world croplands were growing transgenic crops,
with an annual growth rate of 6 %. While 28 countries planted commercialized
biotech crops in 2012, an additional 31 countries totaling 59 have granted regulatory approvals for biotech crops for import, food and feed use, and for release
into the environment since 1996 (ISAAA 2012).
Several new developing countries are expected to plant biotech crops before
2015 led by Asia, and there is cautious optimism that Africa will be well-represented: the first biotech-based drought tolerant maize planned for release in North
America in 2013 and in Africa by 2017; the first stacked soybean tolerant to
herbicide and insect resistant will be planted in Brazil in 2013; subject to regulatory approval, Golden Rice could be released in the Philippines in 2013/2014;
drought tolerant sugarcane is a possible candidate in Indonesia, and biotech maize
in China with a potential of *30 million ha and for the future biotech rice which
has an enormous potential to benefit up to 1 billion poor people in rice households
in Asia alone (ISAAA 2012). Thus, genetic crop improvement is a reality and is
necessary in order to increase production potential under water-scarce and climate
change conditions. This will be an important avenue to improved food security
over the next four decades and feed a growing human population.
38
L. Garcia-Mier et al.