2-Plants: Indian National Institute of Nutrition critical on "golden rice" benefits

[GENET <hmeyer@ngi.de>]

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                                  PART I
-------------------------------- GENET-news --------------------------------

TITLE:  Can Golden rice eradicate vitamin A deficiency?
SOURCE: The Hindu, India, by Ramesh V. Bhat and S.Vasanthi
        National Institute of Nutrition Hyderabad
        http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/stories/
        2002120500070200.htm
DATE:   Dec 5, 2002

------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------


Dear GENET-news readers,
apart from the scientific uncertainty about bioavailability of b-carotene 
in a rice diet and the fact that the researchers are not any longer willing 
to inform the public about the actual levels of b-carotene in the current 
experimental GE strains there is another interesting issue about "golden 
rice". 

As it has been reported in the case of Bt-rice given by Ciba Geigy (now 
part of Syngenta/Zeneca) to the IRRI the licence contract includes a 
section that imposes trade restrictions on living rice kernels to prevent 
it from be exported into the 20 Member States of the European Patent 
Convention, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the  U.S.. The promotors of 
"golden rice" often claimed that they are willing to cross the experimental 
GE rice into the currently used farmer varieties. If that is really their 
intention and considering Dr. Beyer's comment: "Farmers can produce and 
sell Golden rice to the tune of $10,000 a year. But they can only sell it 
within the country and not export it," we have to think about the 
consequences of the planned ubiquitous spread of the "golden rice"-
transgenes in farmers' varieties.

I do not know whether and to which extent the harvest of those varieties is 
exported or consumed locally. But in any case each rice variety that 
carries the "golden rice"-transgenes seems to be barred from export. If 
that is really true, the "golden rice"-story gains a completely new 
dimension. The celebrated licence agreement in which biotech companies 
allow the use of patented technology for humanitarian use could have the 
potential to serev as means to control the rice economy of a whole country. 

Yours,

Hartmut Meyer



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   "The current dietary intake of betacarotene among these children is
    estimated to be 788 microgram per day. Golden rice would provide an
    additional intake of betacarotene of 186 microgram per day. Thus,
    while from the current diet 49 per cent of RDA of betacarotene is met
    and from golden rice an additional 12 per cent, the total from both
    sources would be 61 per cent. However, Dr.Peter Beyer of the University
    of Freiberg, Germany, who along with Dr.Ingo Potrykus is the developer
    of the Golden rice, claimed that 'whatever quantity they eat would be
    sufficient to keep blindness and other problems at bay' (The Hindu,
    7 Nov, 2002). Based on the above data, obviously such a claim appears
    to be not correct."
                                        Ramesh V. Bhat and S.Vasanthi
                            National Institute of Nutrition Hyderabad
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Can Golden rice eradicate vitamin A deficiency?

VARIOUS KINDS of transgenic rice are being developed for a range of 
characteristics.

These are developed to be used both as food as well as for industrial 
purposes. Among these, nutritional enrichment has been receiving 
considerable attention especially in India.

Among all the transgenic crops, transgenic rice is claimed to provide 
maximum benefit to the consumer while other crops provide benefit mostly to 
the producer. .

Nutritional Genomics has been applied to rice for the development of Golden 
rice, iron enhanced rice and rice with enhanced proteins and amino acid. 
The proponents of Golden rice claim that its consumption provides the 
required vitamin A dose to prevent nutritional blindness in populations 
where xerophthalmia is endemic.

Although the initial experiments with Golden rice appear to indicate 
potential for alleviating vitamin A malnutrition, there is a need to 
examine in depth several factors before accepting this technology as an 
intervention strategy.

The total dietary exposure and exposure to the modified nutrient among 
various age groups, especially the vulnerable segment of the population 
need to be considered.

An adult would have to eat 3.7 kg (equivalent to about 9 kg of cooked rice) 
to obtain the total daily requirement of vitamin A. The projected serving 
size of 300 gm is claimed to provide only 8 per cent of the daily 
requirement. On the other hand, the developers of the transgenic crop 
dispute the calculation and suggest that only 0.75-1.5 kg rice would have 
to be consumed to meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) and rice can 
provide 20-40 per cent of the RDA from a 300 g serving.

Since rice is a staple food in large parts of the country and vitamin A 
deficiency is still a problem of public health significance, specially 
among children, it is essential to look into the Indian scenario.

The surveys of the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau indicate that the 
average cereal intake is 106 gm per day among 1-3 year old children. As per 
the ICMR Expert Committee, RDA for age groups 1-3 years of retinol 
equivalents in India is 400 microgram per day while for betacarotene it 
is1600 microgram per day.

The current dietary intake of betacarotene among these children is 
estimated to be 788 microgram per day. Golden rice would provide an 
additional intake of betacarotene of 186 microgram per day. Thus, while 
from the current diet 49 per cent of RDA of betacarotene is met and from 
golden rice an additional 12 per cent, the total from both sources would be 
61 per cent.

However, Dr.Peter Beyer of the University of Freiberg, Germany, who along 
with Dr.Ingo Potrykus is the developer of the Golden rice, claimed that 
"whatever quantity they eat would be sufficient to keep blindness and other 
problems at bay" (The Hindu, 7 Nov, 2002). Based on the above data, 
obviously such a claim appears to be not correct.

Another important fact that has to be considered in this context is the 
bioavailability of betacarotene in the Indian context. The bioavailability 
of betacarotene is low compared to vitamin A and it depends on various 
dietary factors like level of protein and fat in the diet, protein and fat 
stores and cooking and processing methods.

Protein Energy Malnutrition and intestinal infections and infestations 
affect the absorption of vitamin A among children. Moreover, an intake of 
at least 5gm fat is necessary for betacarotene absorption. The consumption 
of fat among the needy communities is woefully inadequate.

An evaluation of bioavailability of betacarotene from Golden rice requires 
to be urgently assessed before any conclusions about the actual potential 
of Golden rice to meet its requirements are drawn.

There is no information as yet on consistency of the level of betacarotene 
production in Golden rice, particularly with respect to the nutrient 
amounts as claimed, when it is grown in different environmental conditions, 
in different locations under different levels of fertilizer application and 
management. What is more important is the acceptability of yellow Golden 
rice that requires further investigation.

Thus, many questions are yet to be answered and we have miles to go before 
Golden rice can be claimed to help eradicate the problem of vitamin A 
deficiency in the country.

Ramesh V. Bhat and S.Vasanthi
National Institute of Nutrition Hyderabad


                                  PART II
-------------------------------- GENET-news --------------------------------

TITLE:  Can Golden rice keep vitamin A deficiency at bay?
SOURCE: The Hindu, India, Interview with Peter Beyer
        http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/2002/11/07/stories/
        2002110700070200.htm
DATE:   Nov 7, 2002

------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------


Can Golden rice keep vitamin A deficiency at bay?

Golden rice biofortified with pro-vitamin A is intended to supply the 
required vitamin A dose to prevent blindness in malnourished population. It 
will be made freely available to developing countries and the farmers will 
be allowed to use the produce as seeds and cross them with other varieties.

Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg, Germany was one of the two 
scientists who created the Golden rice. As a member of the Humanitarian 
Board his mission is to make the Golden rice freely available to farmers in 
developing countries. Seeds would be made available to India early next 
year and would undergo field trials. The final product is expected to be 
available in 2-3 years' time. R. Prasad spoke to Dr. Beyer on various 
aspects of Golden rice when he was in Chennai recently.

WHAT IS the advantage of adding pro-vitamin A in rice?

A vast majority of the population, especially those below the poverty line 
in developing countries, are malnourished. Vitamin A is specifically 
required for preventing night blindness and to ensure normal development 
and growth. It is not to say that malnourished people especially children 
suffer only from vitamin A deficiency. But this is just the first step in 
meeting their micronutrient requirements.

Why did you choose this route when well-established methods like food 
fortification exist?

Fortifying food is a well-proven technology but you should remember that it 
is very expensive. And when the entire exercise is to make it available to 
the poor it makes little sense to go this route. The same holds good in the 
case of drugs too. On the other hand, getting the crop plants themselves to 
do the job of fortifying a required vitamin is an ideal solution.

Biofortification as it is called is less expensive and can be easily 
delivered to the target audience when done in crops like rice that is a 
staple food. Moreover, distribution of Golden rice seeds to the farmer will 
be a one-time process unlike supplying drugs or fortified food.

Why is the Golden rice yellow?

Biofortification of rice is done in the form of pro-vitamin A and not as 
vitamin A. Pro-vitamin A otherwise called betacarotene gives the rice the 
yellow hue. Plants normally contain vitamins in the form of pro-vitamin A. 
Carrot and pumpkin are also rich in pro-vitamin A.

Does pro-vitamin A not occur naturally in rice?

Rice does contain pro-vitamin A. But unfortunately it is not found in the 
grains but in the leaves and roots. Scientifically speaking, grains do have 
the genes that are responsible for making pro-vitamin A but the genes are 
not expressed unlike in the case of leaves and roots.

But is it true that some varieties of unpolished rice do contain pro-
vitamin A?

All rice cultivated has some pro-vitamin A in the outer layers. But it is 
extremely little and is lost when polished. The reason for polishing is to 
enable rice storage in tropical climate as otherwise it would turn rancid.

How do you make the grains produce pro-vitamin A?

Genes consist of DNA. To be functional, however, a gene needs a piece of 
DNA sequence in front of it that acts as a molecular switch, able to 
activate or to inactivate the gene. This switch is called a promoter. The 
promoter plus the structural gene associated with it is known as 
'expression cassette'. Only these two together will render a gene 
functional.

Promoters come in two main classes, namely, constitutive and tissue 
specific. Constitutive promoters can activate in any tissue of the plant 
while tissue specific promoters activate a given gene only in certain parts 
of the plant, such as in the grain. By using endosperm-specific promoters 
(the endosperm is the tissue that represents the edible portion of the rice 
grain) fused with structural genes for carotenoid biosynthesis, we ensured 
pro-vitamin A formation in this tissue.

There is a criticism that children, the main targets of this exercise, will 
not stand to benefit as the quantity of rice they consume is less?

The apprehension is misplaced and the criticism baseless. It's true that 
the quantity of rice that children would eat will be less than adults. But 
whatever quantity they eat would be sufficient to keep blindness and other 
problems at bay. And our goal is to achieve this and not meet 100 per cent 
of body's requirement.

Is utilisation of vitamin A dependent on the presence of other 
micronutirents in our body?

You should ask nutritionists about this. But it is known that a better 
vitamin A status enhances the bioavailability of iron. Nutritional testing 
is underway.

What is the amount of pro-vitamin A that will be available in the grains?

The exact amount has to be decided based on field trials to be undertaken 
in India soon. But a basic point to be understood is that the grain's 
yellow colour would become richer as the amount of pro-vitamin A available 
goes up. Importantly, it remains to be seen whether people would accept 
yellow colour rice let alone deep yellow coloured ones.

Is there a way to produce grains without the yellow colour?

Yes it is possible. But then grains would be able to produce vitamin A and 
not pro-vitamin A. Plants only produce pro-vitamin A and the same is 
converted to vitamin A by our body. The advantage with pro-vitamin A is 
that there is never a threat of toxicity due to excess consumption. This is 
not the case with vitamin A as there is a theoretical possibility of toxic 
levels being reached.

Can the poor afford to buy Golden rice?

The main intention behind this entire exercise is to make it available to 
the poor. The first step to achieve this is to make the seeds available to 
farmers at no extra cost. What use is this product if it is expensive for 
the poor to buy just because the seeds are sold at a premium to farmers? 
All out efforts to reduce vitamin A deficiency through biofortification of 
rice stands defeated if we do so.

What made you make this technology freely available to farmers?

Here I have an invention that is of very little value in the developed 
countries as vitamin A deficiency is a non-issue. But it has large benefits 
for the developing countries. So will you think of making a profit from 
such an invention? I will not. Will you dream of making profit for 
inventing AIDS vaccine if the disease is affecting only the poor African 
countries?

Can you elaborate on this?

European Community Project was one of two sponsors of this project. The 
first sponsor was Rockefeller Foundation. Syngenta is the industrial 
partner in the European Community project. According to the agreement the 
company Zeneca has exclusive rights to sell the seeds in the developed 
countries. But the Humanitarian Board got the licence back from Zeneca to 
give it to developing countries free of cost. The only obligation on our 
part is that we use it for humanitarian purpose and not make any profit 
from it.

Is there any string attached when you give the licence to a developing 
country?

The only condition is that seeds should be provided to farmers and not to 
commercial organisations. Farmers can produce and sell Golden rice to the 
tune of $10,000 a year. But they can only sell it within the country and 
not export it.

Can the farmer keep some part of his produce as seeds for use later?

All the rights of the farmer are preserved. The license allows him to use 
the produce as seeds, to produce new hybrids by crossing it with existing 
varieties to name a few.

How difficult was the task of dealing with other patent holders?

It took nearly one and half years of negotiation to deal with the ten 
holders in Asia. It is for the first time that such a large number of 
patent holders waived their IPR (intellectual property rights) claims on 
the product for non-commercial purpose.

What about the threat of gene transfer from Golden rice?

Gene transfer is less of a problem with Golden rice though it can happen. 
Out crossing is not a major issue in rice unlike other crops. But even if 
it happens, the ecological impact will be less, as the gene modification 
has to do with pro-vitamin A which is only a micronutrient.

How safe are promoters taken from other organisms to insert the gene into 
Golden rice?

The 35S promoter we used ranks under 'constitutive' and is most commonly 
used to drive the selectable marker gene. Generally, promoters are of very 
little concern, because they will never become a protein.

Is it true that the transformation process is random and there is no way to 
target the foreign genes to precise locations in the genome?

Only one transformation event out of hundreds will make it to a product and 
this is checked for any problems that may have occurred.

Can inserts be rearranged, or subject to deletions or repetitions?

Using soil bacterium Agrobacterium, rearrangements are practically absent 
and if it occurred, such lines are discarded and will never make it through 
the regulatory process.

Is there a guarantee that GM plants will give stable progeny in successive 
generations? Can inserted genes lose their activity in subsequent 
generations?

All plants that are deregulated are stable and have shown to behave 
normally over many years. Think about all the GMOs being grown in the U.S. 
Do you really believe that these farmers would grow it if the trait could 
not be maintained? To pass through regulations you must prove for stability 
over many generations.



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