1. Green biotechnology in agriculture – food, biofuel and recombinant DNA technologies.  
Domagoj Šimić1, Krešimir Dvojković2, Aleksandra Sudarić3.   1 Agricultural institute Osijek, Department for Maize Breeding and Genetics 2 Agricultural institute Osijek, Department for Breeding and Genetics of Small Cereal Crops 3 Agricultural institute Osijek, Department for Breeding and Genetics of Industrial Plants

2. Green biotechnology Various definitions
Wikipedia; Pejić, Kereša, Šimić, Buhiniček: Biotechnology applied to agricultural processes expanding to
genomics  PRECURSOR: Selection and domestication of plants (breeding)
recombinant gene technologies - applied particularly in plant production  designing of transgenic (GM) plants

3. Agricultural Institute Osijek
Genomics - routinely adopted for developing new varieties of maize, wheat and soybean
Ionomics - detection of chromosome segments in maize associated with biofortification traits in grain to increase the concentrations of bioavailable minerals Fe and Zn  food biotechnology

4. Agricultural Institute Osijek
Ionomics  high-throughput genetic analysis of ion concentrations of 22 elements in maize (mostly beneficial, but also toxic)
Concentrations of almost all elements controlled by multiple genes
Cadmium (Cd) concentration controlled only by 1, 2 genes. Confirmation and validation in two maize populations (Sorić et al., 2009)

5. Quantitative trait loci analysis for cadmium accumulation in maize leaf
B84xOs6-2 population
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QTL Chrom. Pos Left_Mark Supp.IV LOD R^2% add dom
chrom Z
IBM population
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QTL Chrom. Pos Left_Mark Supp.IV LOD R^2% add dom
1 chrom umc
 Candidate gene approach; no positional cloning

6. Cadmium in food
Higher Cd concentrations in wheat and soybean grain (EFSA – European Food Safety Authority, 2012)  fertilization in agriculture (Cd is by-product in mineral fertilizers)
Cd can cause kidney failure and has been statistically associated with an increased risk of cancer
decreasing of Cd concentration in crops by recombinant DNA technologies?

7. Genetically modified (GM) crops for food
Green biotechnology = recombinant DNA technologies in crop plants = GM crops for food
“the speed and precision that they offer over traditional breeding techniques made them indispensable 30 years ago. They still are today.”
30 years of GM crops
GM CROPS:
PROMISE & REALITY A Nature special issue,
2 May 2013 nature.com/gmcrops

8. Food to fuel
Shifting the paradigm in agriculture to biofuel production seems to be promising for green biotechnology
Crop plants - not domesticated for modern biofuel production  energy conversion efficiency?
 quickest, most efficient way to convert to biofuel feedstocks is biotechnologically

9. GM crops for fuel
Recombinant DNA technologies for increasing Cd concentration in maize  phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soil because of intensive fertilization
more fertilization  more biomass and/or higher yields for biofuel production
advocating safe and appropriate use of technology and environmental protection

10. New GM crops for food and fuel
“editing a plant’s own version, rather than bringing in an external gene”, Nature, 2013
= cisgenesis  transgenesis (EU)
Equivalent to traditional plant breeding but recombinant DNA technologies are applied
Maize Cd genes for Cd accumulaton in maize
Mario Franić talk - tomorrow