Scientists at Pakistan’s Punjab University’s Centre for Excellence Molecular Biology (CEMB) have successfully developed Miracle CLCV-Resistant Cotton Plant having a capacity to efficiently resist the growth of cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV).
In Pakistan, CLCV each year damages about three million bales of cotton crop causing a loss of around Pk Rs. 250-300 billion.
To counter this problem, the Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) launched a Pk Rs. 29 million project in 2009, in association with Punjab University’s CEMB and Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS) Punjab University, to evolve a genetically modified organism (GMO) with a capacity to resist growth of virus in cotton crop.
IAS and CEMB helped in integration of the GMO for best cotton varieties of Punjab province. The structure of the GMO was developed in Toronto University using the RNA technique.
Updating the Agriculture Minister Malik Ahmad Ali regarding the new GMO, CEMB scientists informed him that global as well as domestic collaboration, evolved as a part of PARB’s efforts, played a major part in success of the project.
They, however, added that few tests still need to be performed before the GMO can actually be provided to the farmers. The Minister congratulated CEMB scientists – Dr. Idrees Ahmad Nasir and PARB Chief Executive Dr. Saleem Haider and Dr. Mubarak Ali for their achievement.
