Namulonge research institutes. PHOTOS BY LOMINDA AFEDRARU By Lominda Afedraru Posted Wednesday, March 5 2014 at 02:00 IN SUMMARY Biotechnology is used in agriculture to improve breeds or to obtain particular traits. Though, it has
been like that for centures, what is known as modern biotechnology is at the centre of controversy. Biotechnology has been used by human beings
for a number of centuries with the first
application mainly applied by industries
engaged in the fermenting and brewing of
products. Modern biotechnology refers to the use of
biological techniques to manipulate genetic
material using a combination of cells beyond
normal breeding barriers. An example is genetic engineering to create genetically modified organisms (GMOs) through “transgenic technology” involving the insertion or deletion
of genes. Types The first application of modern biotechnology is tissue culture, which involves use of either embryos of plants
or meristem, which is put in a medium to grow into shoots. This technology is mainly used for faster
multiplication of clean plantlets of banana and coffee in the case of Uganda.
Scientists in the agricultural and health sector globally are now involved in genetic engineering where crop,
animal and bird species are bred using gene sequencing in the laboratory as well as manufacturing drugs and
vaccines to cure human illness. Transgenic Dr David Talengera, of the National Agricultural Research Laboratories Kawanda, notes that usually scientists
obtain genes for resistance of a particular disease or pest and sometimes to attain a particular food nutrient or to
get a variety resistant to stress caused by climate factor such as drought. “You can get a gene from a banana and put it into another banana variety or get a gene from another plant like
sweet pepper and put it in banana for disease resistance, which is called transgenic,” he explains. Globally, so far, scientists have done research on GM crops for pest and disease resistance, tolerance to drought
and salinity, high yielding varieties which are termed as hybrids, improvement of protein and oil quantity, and
metabolic manipulation mainly for starch in industrial process and edible vaccines in banana, especially in
South Africa. Trait of interest In modern biotechnology, scientists are interested in obtaining a particular gene which will express trait of
interest while other characteristics of the plant remain the same be it taste, the growth period and the yield,
among others. There is also another method used for tracing DNA of a particular plant using molecular makers. This can be
used to detect breeder seeds with specific traits and ensure that the seed being maintained is the correct one.
For GMOs, molecular makers can be used to trace herbicide resistance, insect infestation, diseases and pro
vitamin. Safe application While, the world over, the products of modern biotechnology were commercialised in 1996, the idea was
construed in Uganda in 1992 when scientists at Makerere University proposed research with a GM-derived
bovine somatotropin, a hormone, to enhance beef and milk quality in cattle. Herbert Oloka, who works at the Programme for Biosafety Systems, says between 1995 and 2001, the first
clinical trial for genetically engineered HIV vaccine, ALRVAC VCP205, was conducted in Uganda. This was
the first of its kind in Africa as scientists in the agricultural sector also commercialised products of tissue
culture banana. This resulted into creation of the national biosafety committee housed at the Uganda National Council for
Science and Technology, with the main aim of ensuring safe application of the technology.
