Author
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Moore, Paul |
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Submitted to: International Sugar Journal
Publication Type: Trade Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 10/5/2004 Publication Date: 1/20/2005 Citation: Moore, P.H. A personal view on coordinating international progress in sugarcane improvement and linking biotechnology to application. Sugar Cane International. v107:1273, p27-31. 2005. Interpretive Summary: ABSTRACT ONLY Technical Abstract: The scale and pace at which the biotechnology revolution is occuring is beginning to impact our lives in so many ways that some authors have suggested that civilization is moving into the age of biotechnology. Advancements in technology have made it possible to sequence the complete genomes of increasingly complex organisms, including that of humans, and to clone and transfer individual genes to engineer new traits into various life forms. Biotechnology is creating massive volumes of information that is transforming the world's chemical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural establishments. The dawning of this realization by a small group of sugarcane scientists caused them to develop a plan so that the world's sugarcane estalishments might reap the benefits of this biological revolution. Their solution consisted of establishing a consortium of sugarcane research organizations that pledged to freely share technologies and information, to invest in building their own institutional biotechnology infrastructure, and to collaboratively invest in funding grants to advance fundamental knowlege about sugarcane biology. The now 12-year-old International Consortium for Sugarcane Biotechnolgy (ICSB) is made up of 18 sugarcane research organizations from 11 countries that are responsible for about half of the world's production of cane sugar. During its 12 year life, the sharing within the ICSB has helped each of its members become more proficient in biotechnology so that they can advantageously use the information and technologies that were developed for sugarcane through their collaborative efforts. |
