Agricultural Applications of Biotechnology and the Potential for Biodiversity Valorization in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region harbors major centers of origin and diversity for a number of organisms that support current world food production and industry. Agriculture and biodiversity are closely linked to biotechnology; the sustainability of protected biodiversity areas depends to a large extent on what transpires in intervened adjacent areas. Sound agricultural intensification can prevent further deterioration of protected landscapes. In traditional agricultural areas, modern biotechnology offers an opportunity not only to increase productivity and significantly reduce the use of off-farm chemical inputs, but also to enhance natural agro-biological systems. Biotechnology has now become a preferred tool for adding value to biodiversity by allowing more effective identification and utilization of genes and derived products. Recent advances in genomic, proteomic and metabolomic research offer unprecedented opportunities for the search, identification, and commercial utilization of biological products and molecules in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, agricultural, and environmental sectors. This is crucial in a region where the agro-industry sector contributes 25% to the internal gross product (IGP), where the population is forecasted to reach 663 million (about one tenth of the world total) by 2020 (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 2003), and where there is also a growing demand for food quantity and quality, for preventive control of human diseases, for mitigation of environmental degradation, and for increasing income by tackling new markets competitively. Some studies on the status of plant biotechnology in the LAC region have been carried out (Table 1). The work of Roca, Amezquita, and Villalobos (1986), which included 23 countries and 82 groups, showed that the majority were involved in tissue culture research, with a smaller proportion (20%) initiating DNA-based applications, including molecular markers and genetic engineering. Ten years later, the Technical Cooperation Network on Plant Biotechnology for Latin America and the Caribbean (REDBIO) carried out another study of 15 countries, including 152 laboratories; an increased attention to plant genetic engineering and other DNAbased applications were highlighted in this study (Izquierdo, Ciampi, & De Garcia, 1995). More recently, Trigo (2000) described the institutional and humanresource capacities among 292 groups in 13 countries, and Dellacha et al. (2003) described the status of the biotechnological industry in LAC, including 430 firms, mostly in the agro-industrial area. These studies showed that the most advanced groups were in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and Argentina, with important highlights found in Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica. A striking observation was that existing groups still need to take full advantage of strategic alliances for acquiring and sharing resources, knowledge, and products. W. Roca, C. Espinoza, and A. Panta Genetic Resources Conservation and Characterization Division, Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP), Lima, Peru This article provides a brief account of key developments in agricultural applications of biotechnology in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries; it also focuses on the potential of developing value-added products from the biological diversity harbored in the region. Most agricultural biotechnologies involve tissue culture and DNA-based markers for germplasm conservation, production of disease-free planting material, and assistance to genetic improvement. More recently, LAC countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Uruguay have commercially grown transgenic crops. Advanced biotechnologies, such as genetic sequencing and microarray genomics, are differentially utilized in some LAC countries, with Brazil being at the forefront, for characterization, mapping, and trait screening for important crops and pathogens. There is great potential for the integration of these technologies with chemical analyses in bioprospecting biodiversity. Implementation of effective regulatory frameworks for access, genetic resource benefit sharing, and biosafety need urgent attention in most countries.