Tuesday November 17, 2009
Molecular technology to boost rice yield
PETALING JAYA: Molecular Assisted Selection (MAS) technology will be used to boost rice production, Malaysia Biotechnology Corp (BiotechCorp) chief executive officer Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood announced.
He said the technology involved the use of DNA markers to select the desired plant varieties in breeding programme.
The technology acquired from DNA Landmark of Canada would be useful to produce better crop varieties and enhance yield.
A sub-licence has been granted to Mardi (Malaysia Agriculture Research and Development Institute) to carry out the programme, starting with rice crops, he said.
“Other crops would be included in a few years,” he said when briefing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Biotechnology International Advisory Panel (IAP) members at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.
He said an exclusive global licence for nano-technology platform from Nanobiotix of France had also been acquired to enable application of high-level nano-technology.
Universiti Sains Malaysia was granted a sub-licence to commercialise at least two applications namely drug delivery system for tuberculosis and diagnostic kit for tropical diseases. The applications should be ready by next year.
The IAP members consist of global experts representing institutions and multinational companies.
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