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Supreme Court questions Centre on GM mustard

  • January 12, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Supreme Court questions Centre on GM mustard

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Biotechnology

Context:

  • The Supreme Court questioned the government on whether the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had considered the reports of the court-appointed Technical Experts Committee (TEC) on the biosafety of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 before approving it for environmental release.

Details:

  • The government responded the GEAC was a statutory body and the committee had examined relevant scientific data before giving the go-ahead for the environmental release.
  • ‘Transgenic’ refers to an organism or cell whose genome has been altered by the introduction of one or more foreign DNA sequences from another species by artificial means.

About Hybrid Mustard DMH-11:

  • Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11(DMH-11), is a genetically modified hybrid variety of the mustard species Brassica juncea.
  • It was developed by Professor Deepak Pental from the University of Delhi, to reduce India’s demand for edible oil imports.
  • DMH-11 contains two alien genes isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillusamyloliquefaciens that enable the breeding of high-yielding commercial mustard hybrids.
  • DMH-11 was created through transgenic technology, primarily involving the Bar, Barnase and Barstar gene systems.
  • The Barnase gene confers male sterility, while the Barstar gene restores DMH–11’s ability to produce fertile seeds. The insertion of the third gene Bar, enables DMH – 11 to produce phosphinothricin-N- acetyl-transferase, the enzyme responsible for Glufosinate resistance.
  • About Mustard:
    • Mustard is a largely self-pollinating crop, which makes the development of hybrids (which typically yield more than normal varieties) difficult in the natural course.

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):

  • It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
  • It is responsible for the appraisal of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
  • The committee is also responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.
  • GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.

Source: The Hindu

Science and tech Supreme Court questions Centre on GM mustard

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