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Moderated conference on GMOs in the pipeline, hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum in 2012

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Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:26:30 +0100
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My name is Carlos Scotto from Lima, Peru. I am a Professor at the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal (UNFV) and Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. I am an Animal Genetic with a Masters Degree in Animal Production and a PhD in Science Biology. I also am an expert in my country in the field of biosafety hydrobiological, and CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) with objective of implementing the biosafety with transgenic fish.



Responding to Message 12 by Jim Murray: Even though the transgenic salmon grow at a faster rate (50% faster), Peru does not have the water conditions to handle it, nor does there exist a market for salmon since 70% of the aquaculture has been implemented towards trout. In the case of phosphates for pork it wouldn’t apply either; in the case of lysozyme and the alpha lactoalbumin in Peruvian goats it wouldn’t be successful due to the fact that that livestock are used for subsistence and due to its market being small and for the low income. I think that the crucial point is that the GMOs made around the world are not applicable to countries like Peru because they do not solve specific problems of our countries. [In Message 12, Jim Murray provided additional information (following up on his original Message 1) on "four potential genetically engineered (GE) animals that are currently available and might be useful in developing countries" i.e. the AquaAdvantage salmon, EnviroPig, alpha-lactalbumin pigs and lysozyme goats...Moderator].



I think the GMOs should be investigated and then prioritize one of them to solve a specific problem before introduction and production. In my case, there are two GMOs in Peru. The transgenic papaya with resistance to the papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) disease, produced at the Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA) with public funds. The other is the introduction of fluorescent transgenic fish (zebrafish) discovered in my laboratory in the year 2006 (see references below). Initially, the Green fluorescent protein (GFP) introduced was green but to this date there are other colors being commercialized. In my lab we managed to synthesize them even though the literature indicated it wasn't possible and it was even possible to hybridize them with zebrafish not transgenic.



Furthermore, today in Peru, transgenic zebrafish are commercialized at a price of one U.S. dollar; five years ago, the price of a non-transgenic zebrafish was one third of the dollar. However, since November 2011 in Peru there is a law (moratorium) that prohibits releasing GMOs until 2021. In my lab we have advanced molecular analyzes and even manage to build a mechanism to produce fluorescent fish, both native and introduced to give them greater economic value. I am convinced that ornamental fluorescent fish will have a greater acceptance than the transgenic salmon destined for human consumption for example. However, we must take appropriate biosecurity measures to prevent the "gene flow" from harming the biodiversity, although, I think a plausible alternative would be to ensure the "sterilization" of these fish to avoid damage to the fauna of native fishes.



Blgo. Mg. Carlos Scotto Espinoza. 

Jefe del Laboratorio de Mejora Genética y Reproducción Animal

De la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas de la UNFV.

Jirón Río Chepén s/n. El Agustino. 

Lima

Peru

Celular: 972520959

RPM: *885750

RPC: 992044182

e-mail: carlosscottoespinoza (at) yahoo.com



References



Scotto, C. 2010. Peces transgénicos fluorescentes en el perú: bioseguridad y análisis de riesgos pendientes. The Biologist, Vol. 8, Nº. 2, págs. 235-243. http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4004870

Scotto, C. 2012. Reproducción e hibridación de peces transgénicos fluorescentes en cautiverio: un alcance prospective. Scientia Agropecuaria, Vol. 3, Nº. 1, págs. 89-93. http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3892284  



[To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] For further information on this FAO Biotechnology Forum, see http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/ ]



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