As part of its Topical Reviews in Agricultural Biodiversity series, the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) has recently published "DNA banks - providing novel options for genebanks?", edited by M.C. de Vicente. The 10 chapters of this 84-page publication cover a wide range of topics related to DNA banks such as the current global status of plant genetic resources DNA banking activities; the importance of DNA storage for the conservation of species; best practices and experiences with preservation of DNA samples; the role of bioinformatics; the usefulness of DNA banks as a primary resource for conservation research; DNA banking of animal genetic resources; and the opportunities, limitations and needs for DNA banking from the perspective of developing countries. See http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/1110.pdf (881 KB) or contact [email protected] for more information.

The research programme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is organised into 5 themes, one of which is biotechnology. In the field of animal health, this research seeks to develop appropriate diagnostics to help identify disease threats and develop specific vaccines; for genetics and genomics, it includes identifying and using genetic adaptations such as disease resistance and developing appropriate marker technologies to facilitate delivery of genetic improvement into farmers herds/flocks; and for animal feeds research, genetic adaptations will be used to increase the quality of feeds. The biotechnology research website has now been updated and re-organised, including e.g. details about the projects and research highlights, milestones and publications. See http://www.ilri.org/research/Index.asp?SID=5 or contact [email protected] for more information.

As part of its EPT (Environment and Production Technology Division) Discussion Papers series, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has recently published "A gap analysis of confined field trial application forms for genetically modified crops in East Africa: Evaluating the potential for harmonization" by N.A. Linacre and J.I. Cohen. See http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd/dp/papers/eptdp149.pdf (302 KB) or contact [email protected] for more information. IFPRI Division Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results and are circulated in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment.

The FAO "Glossary of biotechnology for food and agriculture", published in 2001 as FAO Research and Technology Paper 9, has now been translated into Arabic, in a co-publishing partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University and under the patronage of H. H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, the UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Apart from a translation of the over 3,000 terms and definitions contained in the English glossary, the 434-page publication also contains an additional English-Arabic vocabulary of biotechnology-related terms. The original English version of the glossary was co-authored by Abdelouahhab Zaid, H.G. Hughes, E. Porceddu and F. Nicholas and the Arabic translation was carried out by A. Zaid with editorial assistance by A. Abdeltawab. The publication will soon be made available at the multi-lingual biotechnology glossary website. Contact [email protected] to request a copy.

FAO has been carrying out a global survey to assess plant breeding and related biotechnology capacity with the objective of designing strategies to strengthen national and regional abilities to use plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. A number of draft reports on national plant breeding and biotechnology surveys are now available on the web (for Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). In addition, FAO, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), recently carried out a series of workshops in Central Asian countries on designing strategies to strengthen the sustainable use of plant genetic resources. Draft reports from the workshops held in Uzbekistan (6 April 2006) and Tajikistan (8 April 2006) are now available. For both the national surveys and the workshop reports, see the "what`s new" section of http://apps3.fao.org/wiews/wiews.jsp or contact [email protected] for more information.

The 27th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling takes place on 15-19 May 2006 in Budapest, Hungary. Item 6 on the provisional agenda is "Criteria for the methods for the detection and identification of foods derived from biotechnology". See the meeting agenda at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp (in English, French and Spanish), some background to detection of protein and/or DNA in GM foods at http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/food/risk_biotech_detection_en.stm (in English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for further information.

As part of its Legislative Studies series, FAO has recently published "The legal framework for the management of animal genetic resources", by A. Ingrassia, D. Manzella and E. Martyniuk. Based on information gathered through national surveys and other sources, the 154-page study provides an overview of the main relevant legal instruments at both international and national levels (including e.g. the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety). The regulatory framework of the European Union is presented as an example of an integrated regional legal framework. A general assessment of the status of national regulatory frameworks is given as well as general recommendations for the development of national legislation. The study was jointly coordinated and prepared by FAOs Animal Production Service, Development Law Service and the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and is a revised and broadened version of the background study paper prepared for the CGRFA in 2004. See http://www.fao.org/Legal/legstud/ls89/ls89e.pdf (3.66 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.

A manual entitled "Improving artificial breeding of cattle and buffalo in Asia: Guidelines and recommendations", which is "aimed at all levels of administrative and technical personnel involved in the provision of artificial insemination services to cattle and buffalo farmers in Asia" is now available on the web. This 65-page manual of protocols, procedures, guidelines and recommendations was produced under an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) technical co-operation project implemented within the framework of the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Asia and the Pacific Region (RCA) programme, with technical support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/aph/public/d3-td1480.html (1.17 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.

On 7-10 November 2005, an international workshop on "Options and strategies for the conservation of farm animal genetic resources" was held in Montpellier, France, convened by the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme in association with FAO, the French scientific community, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and hosted by Agropolis, Montpellier. The workshop consisted of 22 invited short presentations (some dealing with use of biotechnology tools, such as molecular markers or cryopreservation and reproductive technologies), short table discussions and detailed breakout group discussions. A 161-page report with the detailed output of the workshop is now available. See http://dad.fao.org/en/refer/library/reports/WS_FAnGR.pdf (1.13 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.

An advance version of the decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its 8th meeting (COP-8), that took place on 20-31 March 2006 in Curitiba, Brazil, is now available. The 272-page document, which is still subject to final editing and clearance, also refers to some biotechnology-related issues such as genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs), genetically modified trees and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. See the advance version (1.29 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.

In April 2006, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) upgraded its online database, PatentScope, so that over 1.2 million international applications filed under WIPOs Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) from 1978 to the present are now available in fully searchable form for free consultation. The information may be searched in several ways e.g. using keywords (such as `biotechnology` or `et/biotechnology` [i.e. with the word biotechnology in the english title]), names of applicants or dates and complete documents may be printed or downloaded. Together with documents on each patent application (e.g. description, claims), the database gives access to information on the status of the application. PatentScope is a valuable technical resource as new technologies are often disclosed for the first time as international patent applications and the patent applications filed under the PCT system are typically those that inventors consider to be the most valuable and therefore worth patenting internationally. See http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/ or contact [email protected] for more information. WIPO is one of the United Nations specialised agencies. It administers 23 international treaties dealing with different aspects of intellectual property protection and has 183 member nations.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently published the "WIPO-UNEP study on the role of intellectual property rights in the sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge", prepared by A.K. Gupta. This 164-page publication uses 3 detailed case studies from Nigeria, India and Mali to consider the role of the existing intellectual property system in providing benefit-sharing mechanisms for local communities and individual innovators. The case study in Mali deals with a voluntary initiative for sharing benefits through the licensing, and possible commercialisation, of a cloned gene (Xa21) derived from a wild rice variety obtained from Mali, via international and national research centres. See http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/publications/769e_unep_tk.pdf or contact [email protected] for more information.

In May 2003, World Health Organization (WHO) Member States agreed to establish an independent commission to consider the relationship between intellectual property rights, innovation and public health, which would "collect data and proposals from the different actors involved and produce an analysis of intellectual property rights, innovation, and public health, including the question of appropriate funding and incentive mechanisms for the creation of new medicines and other products against diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries". On 3 April 2006 the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health presented its report to WHO. Although not dealing specifically with agricultural biotechnologies, the report is relevant because of the parallels with development of improved agricultural products for developing countries e.g. through use of biotechnology. See http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/en/ (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

As part of its IPGRI Technical Bulletin series, the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) has recently published "Molecular markers for genebank management" by D. Spooner, R. van Treuren and M.C. de Vicente. The 126-page document includes discussion of the main marker techniques and their comparative qualities; applications of molecular techniques in genebank management and crop breeding; and current developments in molecular marker applications and future challenges that could result from these developments. See http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/1082.pdf (1.58 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information. IPGRI Technical Bulletins are targeted at scientists and technicians managing genetic resources collections.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has recently published "Laboratory protocols: CIMMYT Applied Molecular Genetics Laboratory. Third edition", edited by M. Warburton, M. William, A. McNab and D. Poland. According to the foreword, the primary motive for compiling and publishing this manual was to provide scientists, researchers, and students from national agricultural research systems, universities, and small private companies in developing countries, as well as advanced research institutions in the developed world, with a useful guide on the protocols currently in use in the Applied Molecular Genetics (AMG) Laboratory of CIMMYTs Applied Biotechnology Center. The main protocols currently in use there have to do with molecular marker technology and can be used for mapping, molecular marker assisted selection, and studies on genetic diversity. See http://www.cimmyt.org/english/docs/manual/protocols/abc_amgl.pdf (1.63 MB) or contact [email protected] with any comments.

As part of its IFPRI Issue Briefs series, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has published "Strategic Environmental Assessment: Assessing the environmental impact of biotechnology" by N.A. Linacre, J. Gaskell, M.W. Rosegrant, J. Falck-Zepeda, H. Quemada, M. Halsey and R. Birner. The 3-page brief discusses the need for systematic evaluation of environmental issues in the research and priority-setting process for genetically modified crops. See http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib41.pdf (196 KB) or contact [email protected] for more information.