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Power-Packed Potatoes
New Delhi, May 18: Scientists here have developed potatoes with higher yield and protein content using genetic engineering and claim the product has been found to be safe.
New Delhi, May 18: Scientists here have developed potatoes with higher yield and protein content using genetic engineering and claim the product has been found to be safe.
"The product has cleared tests related to toxicity and other side effects and is undergoing final field trials," director national centre for plant genome research, professor Asis Datta, whose team is behind the new potato, told reporters.
The new potato has a gene from Amaranthus Hypochondriacus, popularly known as 'ram dana'. The plant is rich in protein, Datta said.
Datta, who holds the patent for this gene, isolated it from Amaranthus hypochondriacus and introduced it in potato plant with an aim to increase protein. The new plant also had higher yield, besides protein content, he said.
Introduction of a gene isolated from an edible plant would be safe as compared to bacterial gene, director Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Dr S Nagarajan, said.
"Since the gene used to increase protein content of the potato comes from an edible plant, the chances of toxicity and other side effects are very low".
Datta said the yield depends on the conditions of the land where the potato is grown. "During the field trails we have seen that in some places the yield goes as high as 40 tonnes per hectare while in some areas it is 30 tonnes per hectare," he said. Normally the yield is about 25 tonnes of potato per hectare.
The gene could have been used in other crops as well but Datta chose potato because it is consumed among all classes and it has very low protein content.
Bureau Report
"The product has cleared tests related to toxicity and other side effects and is undergoing final field trials," director national centre for plant genome research, professor Asis Datta, whose team is behind the new potato, told reporters.
The new potato has a gene from Amaranthus Hypochondriacus, popularly known as 'ram dana'. The plant is rich in protein, Datta said.
Datta, who holds the patent for this gene, isolated it from Amaranthus hypochondriacus and introduced it in potato plant with an aim to increase protein. The new plant also had higher yield, besides protein content, he said.
Introduction of a gene isolated from an edible plant would be safe as compared to bacterial gene, director Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Dr S Nagarajan, said.
"Since the gene used to increase protein content of the potato comes from an edible plant, the chances of toxicity and other side effects are very low".
Datta said the yield depends on the conditions of the land where the potato is grown. "During the field trails we have seen that in some places the yield goes as high as 40 tonnes per hectare while in some areas it is 30 tonnes per hectare," he said. Normally the yield is about 25 tonnes of potato per hectare.
The gene could have been used in other crops as well but Datta chose potato because it is consumed among all classes and it has very low protein content.
Bureau Report