4 th BIO-NANO AGRI SUMMIT 2015 Technologies to Transform Agriculture in India September 03, 2015; India Habitat Center, New Delhi

Declining productivity, diminishing food grain production, growing population and food security are the pressing concerns of Indian Agriculture Depleting natural resources – land, water bodies etc. Lack of improved seeds Menace of pest and diseases Effective plant nutrients Abiotic stresses Environmental concerns 90% Declining Per capita Availability of land Rapid Urbanization, Rise of industrial belts, Soil Erosion, Climate change There is need for sustainable technological interventions to address concerns In 2050 Indian population will rise to 1.7 billion while Calorie demand to increase by 60%

Adopting Agro biotechnology in Indian agriculture

Agricultural Biotechnology is key contributor to enhanced food production globally Government support and initiative Public Private Partnership Industry Diversification Skilled human resource pool Policy Momentum Target Areas Crop Protection Crop Nutrition Abiotic Stress Management Quality/Nutrition Enhancement Biotechnological techniques and tools have been used to augment food production, boost productivity through development of technologically improved biotech crops and biological inputs Over the 3.5 decades crop genetic engineering has addressed significant crop improvement needs globally Drivers for growth

Global Biotechnological Interventions in improving Seed traits Yield Enhancement Nutritional quality enhancement Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) Water Use Efficiency (WUE), Climate resilient genotypes Drought and Salinity tolerance, Heat and Cold tolerance Second Generation Traits Insect /Pest Resistance Herbicide Tolerance Virus Resistance Insect Resistance +Herbicide tolerance Disease Tolerance/Resistan ce Cytoplasmic Male Sterility First Generation Traits

Modern Genetic Technologies as New Tools for Crop Improvement Challenge of investments in new platforms and technologies and the dis- incentive to deploy needed significant investments Challenges in regulation of crops bred by new Plant Breeding techniques (as new technologies vary widely in terms of the technologies deployed and their impact on heritable changes in the plant genome) Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) enabled Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) and Genomic selection (GS) Genetic engineering (RNAi) Genome editing (Site specific mutagenesis with nucleases) New Plant Breeding Techniques (Cisgenesis/Intragenesis, Reverse breeding etc) CHALLENGES WITH THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN INDIAN CONTEXT

Impact of Genome Sequencing: Research areas enabled by tomato reference genome and the primary outcomes Research areasOutcomesSpecific examples Assembly guidance and as benchmarks for other genomes Genome and transcriptome assembly Gene prediction Tomato 150 genomes Project, SOL-100 project Gene annotationGene location, structure, and function RNaseq annotation sulfite reductase (SiR) gene; location of alcohol dehydrogenase involved in fruit ripening Epigenetics and expressionGenomic methylation miRNA and transcript identification, Tissue specific expression, Gene and networks prediction, Protein expression SUN, OFP, GABBY transcription factor expression analysis; prediction of regulatory elements for genes involved in tocopherol synthesis. Phenotype to genotypeTrait-specific marker development Gene mapping and expression QTL analysis SNP location, linking with gene function Markers for Terminating Flower (TMF), a gene involved in flowering, Physical locations of SNPs on the SolCAP tomato array Gene familiesGene family prediction Genome distribution Phylogenetic analysis Database framework Identification of Receptor-like Kinases (RLKs); Phylogenies for Ethylene Response Factor (ERF) and ERECTA genes, involved in plant architecture Comparative genomicsGenome polymorphism Candidate gene prediction Resequencing Gene and sequence conservation Comparative mapping Orthologs mapping Mapping S.pimpinellifolium reads to ‘Heinz 1706’ to calculate SNPs Ref: Menda et al; Plant Biotechnology, 30:

Indian Biotechnological Interventions in Seeds Biotech seed industry in India began with the introduction of single gene product with the introduction of Bt cotton in Stacked gene products (Bollgaurd II) were introduced in 2006 to ensure further effectiveness and avoid development of resistance by target pests. Over 15 years, Public research & Indian industry have invested heavily on development of traits addressing biotic and abiotic stresses as well as nutritional quality improvement and yield enhancement Yield Enhancement Nutritional quality enhancement Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) Water Use Efficiency (WUE), Climate resilient genotypes Drought and Salinity tolerance, Heat and Cold tolerance Second Generation Traits Insect /Pest Resistance Herbicide Tolerance Virus Resistance Insect Resistance +Herbicide tolerance Disease Tolerance/Resistan ce Cytoplasmic Male Sterility First Generation Traits However, along with technological development, time to market is CRITICAL..!!

Late Blight Resistant Potato: The lost opportunity! India Bangladesh Indonesia USA Transformation initiated Event Developed Product Deregulated Safety package approved Will be deregulated soon At standstill Along with technological development, time to market is CRITICAL..!! Simplot (USA) developed GM potatoes by proprietary Innate™ technology using DNA from related species of potato Aug 28, 2015: APHIS USDA determines the non- regulated status for late blight resistance, low-acrylamide potential, reduced black spot bruising, and lowered reducing sugars for Simplot Innate™ potato

Modern Technologies for Biological Inputs Harpin protein signals, Promoter technology, Rhizobia + plant signal molecules, Natural signaling compound Signal molecules Induced Systemic Resistance, Induced Gene Expression Triggers Technology (iGET) New/Multiple mode of action Combinational strains, Biostacked products, Bioactive compounds, Combination of biological and chemical products Combinational product Encapsulation Technologies, Storage stable formulation Improving shelf life NEW TECHNIQUES NEW APPLICATIONS Seed Treatment: Catalytic Seed treatment Seed Coating: Chitosan based coating: Yield Enhancing Agent Slow release technology Novel delivery mechanism Foliar spray

Way forward for agricultural biotechnology Public private partnership (PPP) Promoting pooling of resources for result oriented research through effective PPP Promoting cross-fertilization of knowledge and capabilities can drive new innovative business models and attract investment Capacity building On various aspects of biological input validation and deregulation Building capacity of national level safety assessment of labs Infrastructure improvement and quality compliance Existing units should be accredited Testing laboratories need to be developed as per GLP standards and accedition secured Effective communication All stakeholders on modern biotechnology can be an effective tool for increasing agricultural productivity, and thereby economic growth Help to make informed decisions Educate the end users through public and private sector initiatives Successful innovation needs right policies, infrastructure and market structure..!! Communication of the fundamental societal need for adapted genotypes, developed by plant breeding, but based on the power of a genomics and a systems biology approach

AGRO Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology applications in agriculture Nanotechnology encompasses the production, characterization and application of materials with dimensions measured at nanometer scale (10 -9 ), typically less than 100 nm. Enhanced properties exhibited by nano sized particles and materials enable widespread potential applications Increased focus on agricultural input use efficiency Focus on reducing impact to the environment and human health Improvements in manufacturing processes - e.g. avoiding volatile organic solvents NANOTECHNOLOGY: DRIVERS FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE

Agricultural input efficiency Nanofertilizers for efficient use and slow release of nutrients. Ex. Nano -5 (Uno Fortune Inc) & NanoGro (Agro Nanotechnology Corporation) as plant growth regulators Nanopesticides - pesticides encapsulated in nanoparticles for controlled release, nano- emulsions for greater efficacy Ex. Allosperse® delivery system by Vive Crop Protection, Nano Revolution an Adjuvant for herbicides from Max Systems LLC Efficient utilization of natural resources Nanomaterials for soil and water conservation. Ex. Geohumus ® - a soil enhancer with water storage capacity; NanoClay from Desert Control Inc. Nanosensors for precision agriculture Improve quality of agriculture produce Nanosensors for pathogen and contaminant detection Nano-barcodes for identity preservation and tracking Agricultural waste management Production of nano materials from agricultural waste. Ex: CIRCOT (India) has developed technology for production of nano cellulose from agricultural residues. Potential applications of nanotechnology in agriculture

Challenges in commercialization and market adoption of nanotechnology based products Regulatory guidelines are still evolving, no standardized protocols for toxicity testing and evaluating environmental impact of nanomaterials Long gestation periods, cost of equipment etc pose challenge for sustained funding for nanotechnology research and commercialization efforts Scale of operations in agriculture pose a different set of challenges when compared to nanotechnology applications in other industries Challenges in technology transfer to industry - lack of adequate infrastructure capabilities for prototyping, scale up, characterization of nanomaterials, toxicity and safety assessment Corporate and venture capitalists investments in nanotechnology in agriculture is still very nascent. Public acceptance risks/ safety concerns on the use of nanotechnology and nano- products

Way forward and recommendations Regulations: Development of Indian regulations and standards for nanomaterials or nano-enabled products will help a long way in shaping the nanotechnology industry in India and attracting investments into this industry Building scientific capabilities: through creation of interdisciplinary research units for basic and applied research and investments in human resource development; International collaborations/ MoUs with global nanotechnology research institutes Partnerships: Schemes for public private partnerships having consortia of companies and public institutions; few such consortia already exist like Genesis (France), InnoCNT (Germany) and NanoNextNL (the Netherlands). In US, NSF designated a consortium as the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) comprising of 13 leading public universities Infrastructure: Industry cluster models/ nanotech parks with facilities for characterization of nanomaterials, toxicity testing, scale up and manufacturing should be developed. Facilitating Technology Transfer: Strengthening of the technology transfer framework for nano -enabled products/ technologies and enhancing the IP protection will attract both industry and investors.

Proposed Regulatory Framework in India Source: CKMNT, Report on Regulatory Framework for Nanotechnology: A global perspective

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