GMO Rice, Approved

The Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry has approved the commercial use of HIZ039, a genetically engineered rice developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and licensed by the Philippine Rice Institute (PhilRice).

To enhance the mineral content of each grain, HIZ039 combines genes of rice and Malus baccata, a wild Asian apple species otherwise known as the Siberian crabapple.

Unlike conventional fortification methods that usually occur after milling, HIZ039 as a variety was created by using Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated plant transformation to introduce specific expression cassettes into the rice genome.

It starts with the nas2 gene from regular rice  or Oryza sativa which produces nicotianamine synthase 2 which enhances the plant’s internal transport system so it can efficiently mobilize the iron and zinc into the roots and leaves.

The next step is the fer gene from the Malus baccata, it produces ferritin, which acts as a special storage protein.

The last one is the aph4 gene from Escherichia coli, which serves purely as a selectable marker which is also known as hygromycin phosphotransferase during development to identify which cells successfully inherited the other genes.

HIZ039 is biofortified to contain more than three times the iron and more than double the zinc when compared to regular rice.

It also aims to help combat anemia, micronutrient deficiencies and other dietary problems, aimed to help 30-50 percent of the daily iron and zinc requirements for preschool aged children and pregnant and lactating mothers.

Even with all those possibilities, the genetically modified organisms (or GMO) has faced major pushback from groups like MASIPAG, regarding safety of GMO food.

Although it has received a biosafety permit, HIZ039 will not immediately be distributed by farmers since it must still demonstrate cultivation traits preferred by farmers, disease resistance, and verify grain quality before it receives final approval for cultivation, which, according to the researchers, may take at least one to two more years.