The development of a DNA test for porcine stress syndrome is the first real breakthrough in DNA biotechnology to have major implications for the pig breeder. EST is another name for gene fragment which can be used to discover the exact position of the gene but not what it does. The fear is that EST patents will make it more difficult to eventually patent the entire gene when it is proven useful. Many believe the NIH will ultimately be granted patenting rights. The plant carries the protein arceline which blocks the digestive system of the weevil.
Farmers expect to save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
The seeds from the plant were saved in a lab twenty years ago by USDA scientist H.S. Gentry. Wild plants must be collected and securely conserved if we are able to develop environmentally safe agriculture. The Community Farm Alliance in Kentucky included a piece on biotechnology research going on at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture in their newsletter last month. Instead, researchers are working on peppers in Italy and spraying fields with diseases to try to induce resistance to other diseases. Kentucky farmers need research that is practical and which will make plants resistant to disease without requiring sprays.