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Why USDA’sTechnology Protection
System (aka “Terminator”) Benefits Agriculture
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A discovery to spur
new crop improvement
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On March 3, 1998, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) and Delta and Pine Land Co., Scott, Miss., a major breeder
of cotton and soybeans, received U.S. Patent 5,723,765 entitled "Control
of Plant Gene Expression." The patent covers technology referred to as
the Technology Protection System (TPS).
TPS uses a genetic engineering approach to prevent unwanted germination
of plant seeds. The patent was based on research conducted under a Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Delta and Pine Land
Co. and the ARS. The CRADA was signed in 1993. The ARS portion of the
work was done at the agency's Cropping Systems Research Laboratory in
Lubbock, Tex.
It should be noted that ARS has entered into more than 825 CRADAs since
passage of the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986. This act and various
other Federal laws—including the Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980 and
the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980—make the transfer of new technology to
the private sector and industry a responsibility of all Federal research
agencies.
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How does TPS work?
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Like most genetically engineered plants, TPS plants are transgenic, meaning
their new genes come from other species. TPS plants hold three new genes:
two derived from bacteria, and one from another plant. The bacterial genes'
only function is to help the newly introduced plant gene to work.
Before sale, seeds of the plants are treated with a compound that activates
a molecular switch in one of the bacterial genes. This switch begins a
chain reaction that readies the plant gene for eventual action.
The farmer plants the seed and cultivates the crop in the usual manner.
When—and only when—the crop's new harvest of seed is almost
finished maturing, the new plant gene becomes active. The gene then stops
the seed from manufacturing any of the protein it would need to germinate
and produce offspring plants.
Aside from the inability of the second-generation seeds to germinate,
in all other respects the plants grown from treated TPS seeds should perform
normally in terms of growth, maturation, harvest and quality. Also, if
seeds of TPS plants do not undergo the seed treatment before planting,
the TPS plants produce second-generation seeds that are capable of germination.
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What is the commercialization
status of the technology and what is the role of the Agricultural Research
Service in TPS research?
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The discovery of TPS was a joint invention by Delta and Pine Land Co.
and ARS, which means each party is a co-owner and may act independently
from the other. Furthermore the discovery was made under a CRADA. This
law provides that government owned CRADA inventions will be licensed exclusively
to the cooperator. The two parties have negotiated a license for the use
of ARS' rights to the technology.
ARS will be an active participant in deciding how the technology is applied.
ARS' involvement will ensure that the public interest is represented.
It is ARS policy that technology in which it has an ownership interest
will be made widely available. Therefore, this technology will be widely
available for research purposes by public and private researchers. In
line with ARS policy, Delta and Pine Land Co. has agreed to make the technology
widely available for sublicensing to other seed companies.
Delta and Pine Land Co. researchers are further developing the technology
to ready it for commercial use. However, even the most optimistic predictions
estimate that commercial cotton with built-in TPS technology may not be
available until 2004.
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What are the potential
benefits of TPS technology?
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Hybrid seeds found in corn, sunflower, sorghum and other crops provide
a conventional genetic protection system that allows seed companies to
protect their investment in developing and marketing new varieties.
But other crops produce seed that can be saved and replanted in the next
growing season, although the saved seed has lower quality than material
developed to meet the standards for certified or commercial markets. Because
of this seed-saving practice, companies are often reluctant to make research
investments in many crops; they cannot recoup their multi-year investment
in developing improved varieties through sales in one year.
TPS would protect investments made in breeding or genetically engineering
these crops. It would do this by reducing potential sales losses from
unauthorized reproduction and sale of seed. The knowledge that the seed
companies could potentially recoup their investment through sales will
provide a stronger incentive for the companies to develop new, more useful
varieties that the market demands.
Today's emerging scientific approaches to crop breeding—especially
genetic engineering approaches—could be crucial to meeting future
world food needs, conserving soil and water, conserving genetic resources,
reducing negative environmental effects of farming, and spurring farm
and other economic growth.
TPS technology will contribute to these outcomes by encouraging development
of new crop varieties with increased nutrition to benefit consumers and
with stronger resistance to drought, disease and insects to benefit farmers
for example.
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Limiting the spread
of genes
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A concern has often been expressed that transgenes might escape from
genetically modified plants into wild populations. One of the main purposes
for the development of TPS was to offer a way in which the risk could
be restricted or completely eliminated.
Cotton plants containing the activated TPS genes are evolutionary “dead
ends.” They cannot reproduce nor can their pollen create a new generation
when fertilizing a non-TPS plant. The activated TPS plant produces non-germinating
seed and pollen. If pollen fertilizes a non-TPS plant, the seed produced
cannot germinate. This renders the activated TPS plant self limiting.
The current TPS was designed for use in self-pollinating crops where
pollen spread to neighboring fields is not significant. In crops that
spread pollen over wide areas this TPS is not suitable, since the spread
of activated TPS pollen would be detrimental to neighboring crops.
Research is currently underway to modify the TPS so that pollen will
not contain any transgenes (neither TPS nor the inserted gene of economic
importance). Pollen from such modified TPS plants would be completely
normal.
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What plants will
TPS work with?
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The patent covers all plants. The genetic molecular switch was originally
inserted into tobacco cells as a model for later research. The ARS researchers
subsequently inserted TPS genes into cotton cells, which grew into normal
cotton plants in a greenhouse. The TPS would have to be designed specifically
for each crop.
TPS will initially be used with self-pollinated crops such as cotton,
soybeans and wheat.
In cross-pollinated crops such as corn, grain sorghum, sunflower, and
canola, it would not be used in its present form. These crops will benefit
from this technology when the next generation of TPS is developed and
tested. All of these crops usually have hybrid varieties whose seed is
not saved because it is not uniformly like the parent seed, which causes
yield and quality losses.
The TPS system might, however, be used with these hybrids to prevent
the spread of novel genes from conventional hybrids into wild populations.
Essentially, the TPS technology gives self-pollinating crops a similar
varietal protection to that currently enjoyed by hybrid varieties of cross-pollinated
crops.
Commercial production of TPS plants—as with any gene-engineered
plant—would require approval by USDA's Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service. Food crops must also conform
to rules of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
These approvals are expected because there appear to be no crop or food
safety risks to the new technology. There also appear to be no environmental
risks.
Because of the cost of developing improved varieties, it is doubtful
if the time and expense would be justified for incorporating TPS into
many varieties.
Also, ARS has no plans to insert the system into improved plant materials
it publicly releases for variety development programs and will continue
its policy of an extra level of review for projects utilizing TPS genes.
The nonprofit international agricultural research centers' breeding programs
will probably not do so either.
Thus, farmers will continue to have a choice of varieties with and without
the TPS.
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What are the implications
for small farmers in the U.S. and abroad?
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Small farmers may benefit greatly if the invention stimulates the extension
of biotechnology to "minor crops" such as tomatoes. Many minor crops—so-called
because they don't occupy a large share of the crop acreage in the U.S.
or abroad, even if high-value—are limited by lack of technology to
manage pests or produce and harvest the crop efficiently. The private
sector sees too low a rate of return to justify the plant breeding research
investment in varietal improvement. As a result, growers' productivity—and
crop quality—may be lower than their potential. But the new TPS technology
could change the equation.
Could the new technology hurt small farmers by ending "brown-bagging,"
the practice of collecting seed at harvest and bagging it to use as the
next year's planting stock?
Few U.S. farmers do this; it is much more common in other countries.
Countries where brown bagging is common practice will still be able to
save their traditional seeds and other public varieties.
Furthermore, loss of cost savings from brown-bagging also must be weighed
against the productivity gains to the farmer from having superior new
varieties that could increase crop values such as yield and quality, input
cost reductions such as for fertilizers and pesticides, and reduce losses
such as those due to pests or adverse soils and weather.
Raising the economic incentive for minor crop improvement and crop development
will raise the rate of return for growers. Market forces will limit the
spread of TPS in the seed market to levels that are cost effective. If
the cost of the improved seeds does not result in greater value to the
producer, there will be no market for the TPS varieties.
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Revision posted December
28, 2001
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