{"id":262581,"date":"2018-09-05T15:07:28","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T18:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=262581"},"modified":"2018-09-05T15:58:16","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T18:58:16","slug":"more-resistant-sugarcane-fields-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/more-resistant-sugarcane-fields-2\/","title":{"rendered":"More resistant sugarcane fields"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil is the world leader in sugarcane production, with 8.9 million hectares planted and an estimated harvest of 647 million metric tons this year. The main reason these numbers are not higher is the sugarcane borer, the larval phase of the moth Diatraea saccharalis<\/em>, the most common pest on sugarcane plantations. The annual losses caused by this insect in Brazil average almost R$5 billion plus the cost of control measures, with an average area of 521,000 hectares affected. In an attempt to resolve this problem, the Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC), a Brazilian company located in Piracicaba, S\u00e3o Paulo State, developed a genetically modified sugarcane variety resistant to the pest. Named CTC 20 Bt, this variety was approved in June of this year by the Brazilian National Technical Biosafety Commission (CTNBio), which is the governing body responsible for assessing the biosafety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Antonio de Padua Rodrigues is the technical director of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), the members of which are responsible for more than half of Brazil\u2019s sugarcane production. He explains that the development of the CTC genetically modified sugarcane reflects the technological advances of the Brazilian sugarcane industry. \u201cWith the definitive arrival of these genetically modified versions on the market, producers will have more profitable sugarcane plantations that will be more resistant to diseases and pests,\u201d UNICA declared in an official statement.<\/p>\n

With the approval of CTNBio, the genetically modified sugarcane will be introduced gradually, and the planted areas will be monitored. The sugarcane will initially be sold only to selected producers mainly from the central-southern region of Brazil (to which this variety is better adapted), and these producers will commit to following standards for control and reproduction without industrialization. For two to three years, all of the sugarcane produced will be used as a seedling. \u201cWe will also develop genetically modified varieties for other regions and different soil types,\u201d says agricultural engineer William Lee Burnquist, director of Genetic Improvement at the CTC.<\/p>\n

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The life cycle of the moth begins when eggs are laid on the leaves of the sugarcane plant. After they hatch, the larvae begin to eat the pulp of the culms (stems). The holes they make weaken the plant, which is then more easily blown over by the wind. This damage also leaves the plant more prone to attacks by fungi such as Colletotrichum falcatum<\/em> and Fusarium moniliforme<\/em>. These species cause red rot, a disease that reduces the purity of sugarcane juice and the quality of both the sugar and alcohol produced from the plant.<\/p>\n

Genetically modified sugarcane was developed to address these problems. \u201cWe introduced the Cry1Ab gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis <\/em>into the plant genome. This is the same bacterium used to develop genetically modified insect-resistant corn, soybeans, and cotton,\u201d Burnquist explains. Cry1Ab is cloned in the laboratory using genetic engineering. Next, gold microparticles are coated with copies of the gene and introduced into the sugarcane genome, which then produces a protein toxic to the moth (see infographic<\/a><\/em>). The modified plant is reproduced in a nursery and then grown in the field. \u201cLarvae are in contact with this toxin as soon as they are born,\u201d says Burnquist. \u201cWhen they hatch, they begin to feed on the plant. They ingest the protein and die before they can bore holes into the stem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, producers fight the sugarcane borer with chemical insecticides and biological control\u2014in this case, small wasps of the species Cotesia flavipes<\/em> are released into fields to parasitize caterpillars (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP, issue<\/em> No. 195<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar<\/span><\/a> Annually, the sugarcane borer causes an average loss of almost R$5 billion and compromises 521,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations in the countryEduardo Cesar<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Research at the center began in 1994, which later benefited from the professional training provided by the Sugarcane Genome Project between 1998 and 2004. Several groups from different universities and research institutions implemented this project, which was financed by FAPESP and the CTC. \u201cThere was a lot of professional training in sugarcane biotechnology at that time. Here at the CTC, many of the professionals were part of the Sugarcane Genome Project at Alellyx [the corporate spin-off of the Genome Project, later acquired by Monsanto] or took classes with those who participated,\u201d says Burnquist.<\/p>\n

At the end of 2015, the company filed a CTNBio application for commercial release. Several subcommittees within CTNBio have analyzed the biosafety of the genetically modified plant. These committees consider the new variety to be safe for the environment, human health, animal health, and the plant itself. CTC studies have shown that the Cry1Ab gene is eliminated from sugarcane derivatives during the sugar and ethanol manufacturing process and does not cause damage to the soil.<\/p>\n

The CTC has already asked authorities in the United States, Canada, and other countries to approve the sale of sugar produced from genetically modified sugarcane, although this approval is not likely to occur for another few years. Of the 150 nations to which Brazil exports this crop, approximately 40% currently have laws limiting or prohibiting sugar from genetically modified sugarcane.<\/p>\n

The new variety was considered to be safe for the environment, human health and animal health<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another study to make sugarcane immune to pests is being performed at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (ESALQ-USP) in Piracicaba. There, since the 1990s, agricultural engineer M\u00e1rcio de Castro Silva Filho has been dedicated to understanding how sugarcane reacts to insect attack (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP, issue<\/em> No. 125<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n

A few years ago, this researcher discovered a sugarcane gene that exhibits antifungal properties. Known as sugarine, this gene stimulates the production of toxic substances that kill the fungi that cause red rot. \u201cWe found that genes that expressed proteins against Diatraea saccharalis<\/em> when larvae attack the plant do so in a systemic way; in other words, all of the tissues in the plant produce these proteins,\u201d explains Silva Filho. \u201cIn the case of sugarine, it is different: the gene is expressed only at the point where the moth larva has attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n

This discovery led the researcher to study the phenomenon. \u201cWe then found that the protein expressed by sugarine affects not the caterpillar but the fungi C. falcatum<\/em> and F. moniliforme,<\/em>\u201d he recalls. \u201cRecently, we discovered that sugarcane varieties with higher sugarine expression exhibit lower levels of fungal infestation. This discovery could aid in the development of more tolerant varieties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annually, the sugarcane borer causes an average loss of almost R$5 billion and compromises 521,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations in the country.<\/p>\n

Published in august 2017<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A variety of genetically modified sugarcane developed by a company from Piracicaba is approved for planting","protected":false},"author":475,"featured_media":262582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[153,212,237],"coauthors":[785],"class_list":["post-262581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-agronomy","tag-biotechnology","tag-genetics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/475"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262581"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=262581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}