UPLB Research and Extension News

The Philippines hopes to have a genetically modified sweet potato in the next five years. Scientists from the Visayas State University (VSU) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB) are now working on the development of virus resistant sweet potato (VRSP) through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.

Sweet potato is a popular cash crop abundantly planted to more than 120,500 hectares in the Philippines. Of fifteen known sweet potato viruses worldwide, eight of these can be found in the country. The most widely spread and important among these, is the sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) which is associated with leaf curl, a disease known as 'Kamote Kulot' in Luzon.

"Currently, we already have our gene of construct for the VRSP, and it is being validated. The transformation and tissue culture components are under optimization and hopefully, we expect to have the field trials of VRSP by 011," shares Ms. Lolita Dolores, a virologist and project leader from UPLB-IPB, during the Training-Workshop on Risk Assessment and Social
Marketing of Public-Sector Biotech Product held at Sabin Resort Hotel, Ormoc City, Leyte on 13-14 May 2009.

The workshop was organized by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture through Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA-BIC), Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD), Program for Biosafety Systems Southeast Asia (PBS SEAsia) , and the VSU as part of the capacity building initiatives for the scientists and regulators in the region.

The VRSP project is being supported by the DOST-PCARRD and ISAAA Southeast Asia.

For additional information regarding the VRSP project initiatives in the Philippines, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.searca.bic.org