Research Notes: Comparison of subunit compositions and isolectin profiles of the seed lectins purified from Glycine max and G. soja .

The presence of the 120,000 dalton soybean seed lectin (SBL) is controlled by a simple dominant gene designated Le (Orf et al. , 1978). A recent immunological survey of the USDA soybean [Glycinemax (L . ) Merr . ] collection indicated that 2,646 of 2,664 lines are Le (St ahlhut and Hymowitz , 1980), and an analogous study of the USDA G. soja Sieb. & Zucc . collection indicated that 285 of 559 lines contain SBL (Stahlhut et al., 1981 ). SBL preparations from seeds of the soybean lines \u27Beeson\u27, D68-127, \u27 Disoy\u27, \u27Forrest\u27, \u27Harosoy 63\u27, and T-247 apparently are identical; electrophoresis under denaturing conditions separated each lectin into two types of subunits, and isoelectric focusing resolved each into a complex mixture of isolec tins (Su et al. , 1980)

Creation and Capture of Innovation Returns for Intensive Urban Agriculture Systems

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) allows food plants to be reproducibly grown under conditions of optimal light, temperature, nutrition, and pest control. Space requirements are minimal, and so CEA is ideal for urban areas. Benefits are clear, but the long term economic viability of this new agricultural system is uncertain. We formalize the strategy space for innovation in CEA and discuss the extent to which it is served by investments in public sector agricultural research. We also present a unifying model of the relationship between the organoleptic and other food attributes desired by consumers and the suites of component technologies and business models capable of delivering these attributes via CEA

Conducting public-sector research on commercialized transgenic seed: In search of a paradigm that works

Public-sector scientists have a mandate to independently evaluate agricultural products available to American farmers on the open market, whereas the companies that sell the products must protect their intellectual property. However, as a consequence of the latter concern, public scientists currently are prohibited by industry-imposed restrictions from conducting research on commercialized transgenic seed without permission of the company. Industry acknowledged the seriousness of the problem after public warnings by a large group of entomologists to EPA and scientific advisory panels that the assumption of independence of public-sector studies on these products is no longer valid under current restrictions. Both industry and public scientists are working to find an amicable, mutually-acceptable solution. Recently, the American Seed Trade Association brokered a draft set of principles designed to protect the legitimate property rights of companies while allowing public scientists independence to conduct most types of research on their commercialized products without the need for case-by-case agreements. While there are a number of potential pitfalls in implementation of the principles across companies, this effort represents a major step forward, and there is reason for optimism that this approach can be made to work to the benefit of industry, public scientists, and the American public

Characterization of the overlapping promoters of nolB and nolW, two soybean cultivar specificity genes from Rhizobium fredii strain USDA257

The transcripts of nolW and nolB, two divergently oriented cultivar specificity genes of Rhizobium fredii strain USDA257, are known to be initiated 14 bp apart from promoters that face one another. We show here that expression of nolB is dependent both on induction with flavonoid signals and on the regulatory gene, nodD1. Expression of nolW is constitutive and independent of flavonoids and nodD1. Normal expression of nolB is retained with a promoter that extends only 61 bp upstream of the transcript start site, but it is lost if an additional 24 bp are removed. Substantial expression of nolW is retained with a promoter that contains only 34 bp of DNA upstream from the transcript initiation site. The dual control region for the two genes is thus only about 109 bp in length.Instituto de Fisiología Vegeta

Challenges to the sustainable use of water resources in the Ili River basin of Central Asia

Water is a scarce resource in Central Asia, and many catchments span international boundaries, among them that of the Ili River, which is shared by China and Kazakhstan. Since 1970, the natural hydrological regime of the Ili River, both absolute flow rates and cycles, has changed due to construction of reservoirs such as that at Kapchagai, as well as natural climatic cycles and the growth of water consumption in the basin. Using data from Kazhydromet, we calculated that flow rates below Kapchagai dam averaged 468 m3/sec before construction of the dam, 366 m3/sec while the reservoir was being filled, and 489 m3/sec between 1988 and 2013. The dam has profoundly altered the annual cycle of flows in the river, with reductions in the summer and increases in the winter, when water is released to produce hydropower. The effects of these changes are being heightened by China’s increasing diversion of the river’s water. The sustainable use of decreasing water resources to conserve the biodiversity of the Ili-Balkhash basin’s ecosystems mandates a solution to the water allocation challenge between China and Kazakhstan. This will require a basin-wide approach that includes modernization of water distribution systems and careful consideration to relative priority needs for food, hydropower, and communal uses in both countries

Introduction of Genetically Engineered Organisms - Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement—July 2007

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates the environmental introduction of genetically engineered (GE) organisms, including crop and noncrop plants, vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and micro-organisms. APHIS regulations are grounded in the most up-to-date science and are designed to provide a level of oversight appropriate for the safe introduction of GE organisms. APHIS is considering whether revisions to its regulations are necessary. One purpose of such revisions would be to address current and future technological trends resulting in GE plants with which the agency is less familiar, such as plants with environmental stress tolerance or enhanced nutrition, and plants engineered for new purposes such as biofuels or for production of pharmaceutical or industrial compounds. Additionally, the regulations would be revised to ensure a high level of environmental protection, to create regulatory processes that are transparent to stakeholders and the public, to consider the efficient use of agency resources, to ensure that the level of oversight is commensurate with the risk, and to ensure conformity with obligations under international treaties and agreements, such as World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. To this end, this draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was prepared to provide agency decisionmakers with a full range of regulatory alternatives and assist them in selecting a preferred alternative

High anxiety and biotechnology: Who’s buying, who’s not, and why?—An overview

Detailed meeting overvie

Megatrends reshaping American agriculture and agricultural universities

A cluster of interlocking megatrends is converging to make twenty-first-century agricul­ture much different from its twentieth-century counterpart. These trends are not novel, twenty-first-century phenomena. We saw them begin to stir during the waning years of the last century, and now they are upon us, reshaping both US agriculture industries and the land-grant universities that have traditionally served them

Exploring the public's role in agricultural biotechnology research

The potential for market failure resulting from under-investment in research is onejustification for public agricultural research. This justification seems less germane given recent developments regarding intellectual property protection and the size of private biotechnology firms. This article explores an alternative justification for public support of biotechnology research in agriculture.Includes bibliographical reference