Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1999

t h em higher i n y i e l d and more resistant to disease. Howeve r the effects of the revolution have graduall y levelled off: pesticides have been found to be ha rmf u l to the environment, wa t e r sources are l a c k i ng or h a v e b e e n contaminated, the total area o f arable land has s h r u n k , f e r t i l i ze r s are expensive an d n o t sustainable. Role of Biotechnology in the Second Green Revolution Hen ce a second gree n r e v o l u t i on i s de s pe r a t e ly needed , one t h a t solves the p r o b l em of f eed i ng the earth b y means of biotechnology. Unlike i n breeding, there is no sexual barrier i n gene transfer; any gene can be transferred directly int o any crop. Even animal genes can be inserted into plants. Thus a mu c h larger gene pool is available fo r crop imp r ovemen t . Us i ng the o ld me t hod, back- crossings, it ma y take several generation s to select the r i g h t o f f s p r i ng s w i t h desirable genes. But w i t h sex out of the wa y, the time is s h o r t e n e d , a n d scientists can c o n t r o l precisely the n umb er and k i n d of genes to transfer int o the offsprings. The increase i n huma n population entails also g r e a t er b u r d e n o n m e d i c a l care. B i o t e c h n o l o g y can be u s e d to p r o d u ce medicinal product s and h i gh - va l ued health p r o d u c t s , such as vaccines a nd a n t i v i r al proteins, u s i ng plant s as chemical or d r ug factories. An ordinary tomato [left) and a genetically modified tomato [right] Four Focus Areas The A o E project w i l l capitalize on the e x i s t i n g s t r e n g th a n d e x p e r t i se of t he University i n plant and f unga l research and on the rich germplasm and vast agricultural lands of China t o address the specific needs of the region. Upstream research and produc t d e v e l o pme n t w i l l be carrie d o u t i n H o n g Ko ng whereas downstream p r oduc t i on w i l l be carried out on the ma i n l a n d . Prof. Su n h i ms e lf has h a d ex t ens i ve ma n a g eme n t e x p e r i e n c e i n i n d u s t r i a l r e s e a r ch a n d deve l opment w o r k i ng fo r the A RCO Plant Cell Research Institute i n the US i n the 80s. He was also the first biologist i n the w o r l d to successfully clone a plant gene i n 1980. H is project w i l l concentrate on four research areas: (1) I m p r o v i n g the y i e l d a nd n u t r i t i o n a l quality of crops, particularly that of super h y b r id rice. (2) Fun c t i onal g e n om i c s—f i n d i ng out the functions of genes, after cloning, by using D N A chips to identify useful genes and molecular markers . (3) U s i n g p l a n ts as b i o r e a c t o r s or d r u g f a c t o r i e s, a n d a p p l y i n g p l a n t gene transfer and tissue culture, to p r oduce high-value pharmaceutical products. (4) Fungal b i o t e c h n o l o g y—p r o d u c i n g , b y cell culture, natural f oo d colouring and pharmaceuticals or nutraceuticals, e.g. p r o d u c i n g a c a r b o h y d r a t e - p r o t e in complex f r om lingzhi that can boost the i mmune system and fight cancer. Prof. Sun explains that plants are ideal bioreactors as they are no t at risk of animal v i r a l or ba c t e r i al c o n t am i n a t i o n the w a y h u m a n or a n i mal cells are. They are also cheaper. On the other hand, they have all the functions that h i gh l i v i ng organisms have, and w h i c h microbes an d bacteria do not. Besides they can be p r oduced on a massive scale, i n pounds and kilograms, as opposed to milligrams as i n the case of other microbial and animal cells. U s i ng B i o t e c h n o l o g y t o F e e d , C u r e , a n d I m p r o v e Life