Field testing and exploitation of genetically modified cassava with low-amylose or amylose-free starch in Indonesia

The development and testing in the field of genetically modified -so called- orphan crops like cassava in tropical countries is still in its infancy, despite the fact that cassava is not only used for food and feed but is also an important industrial crop. As traditional breeding of cassava is difficult (allodiploid, vegetatively propagated, outbreeding species) it is an ideal crop for improvement through genetic modification. We here report on the results of production and field testing of genetically modified low-amylose transformants of commercial cassava variety Adira4 in Indonesia. Twenty four transformants were produced and selected in the Netherlands based on phenotypic and molecular analyses. Nodal cuttings of these plants were sent to Indonesia where they were grown under biosafety conditions. After two screenhouse tests 15 transformants remained for a field trial. The tuberous root yield of 10 transformants was not significantly different from the control. Starch from transformants in which amylose was very low or absent showed all physical and rheological properties as expected from amylose-free cassava starch. The improved functionality of the starch was shown for an adipate acetate starch which was made into a tomato sauce. This is the first account of a field trial with transgenic cassava which shows that by using genetic modification it is possible to obtain low-amylose cassava plants with commercial potential with good root yield and starch quality

Malaysian Chinese speakers' attitudes towards Foochow, Hokkien and Mandarin

The study examines the influence of gender, age and socio-economic status on attitudes of Foochow and Hokkien towards their ethnic language and Mandarin. The matched guise test results of 120 Foochow and 120 Hokkien participants in Kuching, Malaysia, showed positive attitudes towards Mandarin on all the 15 traits. The Hokkien participants were more positive than the Foochow participants towards speakers of their own ethnic language. Foochow speakers were perceived as loud, and the male Foochow speaker was rated unfavourably on five other traits. Multivariate analysis of variance results showed that gender significantly influenced the Foochow participants' ratings of the wealth of Foochow speakers and the Hokkien participants' ratings of the easy-going nature of Mandarin speakers, the gentleness and solidarity of the male Mandarin speaker, and the height and intelligence of the male Hokkien speaker. Age influenced the attributions of status to the female Foochow speaker and solidarity with the female Mandarin speaker. Socio-economic status influenced the ratings of the most number of traits. Interaction effects were also found. The underlying dimensions loaded onto one factor each for Foochow (easy-going and rich) and Hokkien (formal, strong solidarity) and two different factors for Mandarin, suggesting different stereotypes of dialect and Mandarin speakers