News on GM Potatoes from Europe

A team of scientists from The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) and The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) have developed a new method to accelerate isolation of plant disease resistance genes and - using their new method - a brand new source of blight resistance genes in Solanum americanum, a wild relative of the potato.

Research to develop potatoes with sustainable resistance against phytophthora via genetic modification with genes from wild potatoes and good resistance management ended with the publication of the scientific results. The approach resulted in potato plants which require 80% less chemical control.

Bill Gates, who is a major backer of food biotechnology, has spoken passionately how food biotechnology can help the people of Africa fight the numerous challenges they face.

Research shows that crops with stacks of two or more resistance genes from closely related species, introduced into the crop via for instance genetic engineering, combined with the simultaneous introduction of resistance management, can ensure the long-term resistance of these plants to economically significant and aggressive diseases.

Scientific results of the potato field trials in Flanders and the Netherlands demonstrate that gene stacking is necessary for a strong and lasting resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans).

Researchers in the United Kingdom aim for a new commercial potato that resists many of the worst vulnerabilities of potato crops around the world.

Syngenta reacts to the acquisition offer of Monsanto reported in the media in this response dated May 8, 2015

Researchers from Ghent University and the International Potato Center have discovered that sweet potatoes naturally contain genes from a bacterium. Because of the presence of this 'foreign' DNA, sweet potato can be seen as a 'natural gmo'.

Colorado potato beetles are a dreaded pest of potatoes all over the world. Now, scientists from the Max Planck Institutes of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm and Chemical Ecology in Jena have shown that potato plants can be protected from herbivory using RNA interference (RNAi).

In the presence of HRH King Willem Alexander, the Dutch Government through Minister Kamp honored Solynta as Dutch National Icon for its breakthrough discovery ”Hybrid Potatoes from True seeds'.

Europe's second-highest court on Friday overturned a decision by the European Commission to allow the cultivation and sale of a genetically modified potato developed by German chemicals group BASF.

Irish Research Institute Teagasc hopes to begin planting out more than 5,000 potato plants in the next two weeks, in the second phase of its study into the environmental impact of blight-resistant genetically modified (GM) potatoes.

Interest in natural products has grown markedly in recent years. This has been reflected in a number of ways in new product activity, such as the use of all natural colors, flavors and other raw materials and in the growing use of GMO-free labeling.

An international team of scientists headed by Wageningen University has discovered a genetic mechanism which allows potato plants to develop tubers during the long days of spring and summer in northern latitudes.

The ever changing story of Europe's relationship with biotechnology took another twist recently when the giant German chemical firm BASF announced it was halting the development of all its GM potato varieties in Europe.

The trial of eleven protesters who in 2011 destroyed a field of genetically modified potatoes started before Dendermonde magistrates on Tuesday.

The Polish government has banned cultivation of certain genetically modified (GM) strains of maize and potatoes, according to a government statement on January 2.

The European Food Safety Authority has concluded that a recent paper raising concerns about the potential toxicity of genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 and of a herbicide containing glyphosate is of insufficient scientific quality to be considered ...