Challenges facing European agriculture and possible biotechnological solutions.
| Title: | Challenges facing European agriculture and possible biotechnological solutions. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Ricroch A; a AgroParisTech, Paris and Université Paris-Sud, Collége d'Etudes Interdisciplinaires , Sceaux , France .; Harwood W; b Crop Transformation Group, John Innes Centre (JIC) , Norwich Research Park , Norwich , UK .; Svobodová Z; c Institute of Entomology BC AS CR, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia , České Budějovice , Czech Republic .; Sági L; d Plant Cell Biology Department, Center for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences , Martonvásár , Hungary .; Hundleby P; b Crop Transformation Group, John Innes Centre (JIC) , Norwich Research Park , Norwich , UK .; Badea EM; e Biotechnology and Biosecurity Department , Institute of Biochemistry of the Romanian Academy , Bucharest , Romania .; Rosca I; f University of Agronomic Science and Veterinary Medicine-Bucharest , Bucuresti , Romania .; Cruz G; g APOSOLO - Associação Portuguesa de Mobilização e Conservação do Solo , Évora , Portugal .; Salema Fevereiro MP; h Laboratory of Plant Cell Biotechnology , ITQB - Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa ITQB/IBET - Apt 127 , Oeiras , Portugal .; Marfà Riera V; i CRAG - Centre de Recerca en AgriGenòmica, Campus UAB - Edifici CRAG, Bellaterra - Cerdanyola del Vallès , Barcelona , Spain .; Jansson S; j Umeå Plant Science Center, Umeå University , UMEÅ , Sweden .; Morandini P; k Department of Biosciences , Biophysics Institute of the National Research Council (CNR), Università di Milano , Milano , Italy .; Bojinov B; l Faculty of Agronomy , Agricultural University of Plovdiv , Plovdiv , Bulgaria .; Cetiner S; m Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences , Sabanci University , Istanbul , Turkey .; Custers R; n VIB , Ghent , Belgium .; Schrader U; o InnoPlantae.V., OT Gatersleben , Stadt Seeland , Germany .; Jacobsen HJ; p Institut für Pflanzengenetik, Leibniz Universität Hannover , Hannover , Germany .; Martin-Laffon J; q Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire Végétale - CNRS , CEA, INRA, Université Grenoble-Alpes , Grenoble , France , and.; Boisron A; r INRA, Direction de la Valorisation, Information Scientifique et Technique , Versailles , France.; Kuntz M; q Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire Végétale - CNRS , CEA, INRA, Université Grenoble-Alpes , Grenoble , France , and. |
| Source: | Critical reviews in biotechnology [Crit Rev Biotechnol] 2016 Oct; Vol. 36 (5), pp. 875-83. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Jul 01. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article; Review |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8505177 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1549-7801 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 07388551 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Crit Rev Biotechnol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: London : Informa Healthcare; Original Publication: Boca Raton, Fla. : CRC Press, c1983- |
| MeSH Terms: | Agriculture/*methods; Animals ; Biotechnology ; Crops, Agricultural ; Europe ; Farmers ; Genetic Engineering ; Humans ; Research ; Stress, Physiological |
| Abstract: | Agriculture faces many challenges to maximize yields while it is required to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. In the present study, we analyze the major agricultural challenges identified by European farmers (primarily related to biotic stresses) in 13 countries, namely Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, UK and Turkey, for nine major crops (barley, beet, grapevine, maize, oilseed rape, olive, potato, sunflower and wheat). Most biotic stresses (BSs) are related to fungi or insects, but viral diseases, bacterial diseases and even parasitic plants have an important impact on yield and harvest quality. We examine how these challenges have been addressed by public and private research sectors, using either conventional breeding, marker-assisted selection, transgenesis, cisgenesis, RNAi technology or mutagenesis. Both national surveys and scientific literature analysis followed by text mining were employed to evaluate genetic engineering (GE) and non-GE approaches. This is the first report of text mining of the scientific literature on plant breeding and agricultural biotechnology research. For the nine major crops in Europe, 128 BS challenges were identified with 40% of these addressed neither in the scientific literature nor in recent European public research programs. We found evidence that the private sector was addressing only a few of these "neglected" challenges. Consequently, there are considerable gaps between farmer's needs and current breeding and biotechnology research. We also provide evidence that the current political situation in certain European countries is an impediment to GE research in order to address these agricultural challenges in the future. This study should also contribute to the decision-making process on future pertinent international consortia to fill the identified research gaps. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Automated literature analysis; biotic stress; breeding; cisgenesis; marker-assisted selection; oligonucleotide directed mutagenesis; patent; text mining; transgenesis |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20150703 Date Completed: 20170210 Latest Revision: 20260128 |
| Update Code: | 20260130 |
| DOI: | 10.3109/07388551.2015.1055707 |
| PMID: | 26133365 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article; Review