Abstract
Dear Colleagues:
The ability of plants to use carbon dioxide, water, and light to generate a diverse spectrum of structural carbohydrates and important metabolites is core to our efforts to expand the global bioeconomy. Humans' ability to domesticate and cultivate plants was core to the establishment of civilization around the world, and the many diverse products that we obtain from plants have driven global commerce. Looking to the future we must find additional ways to leverage the photosynthetic capacity of plants to provide more food, fiber, energy, and biochemicals to meet the needs of an expanding global population. Fortunately, research and innovation in plant biotechnology continue to create novel solutions to fulfill these needs and to address challenges of more efficient use of nutrients and water, better control over plant pathogens and insects, and the creation of more value-added products. This issue of IB focuses on research and institutional responses to expanding the role of plant biotechnology in leveraging the photosynthetic capacity of the planet.
Helping us to understand the challenges driving future development in plant biotechnology is Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera of Hunter-Cevera and Associates (Ellicott City, MD). Dr. Hunter-Cevera has had a long and distinguished career as a basic plant scientist and a biotechnologist. She has pulled together an “In Depth” special section focused on the interactions between plants and microbes to drive innovation in food and agricultural biotechnology. A key contribution to this section is the roundtable discussion she moderated entitled “Opportunities and Challenges Driving the Future of Plant Biotechnology.” For this roundtable discussion she reached out to Dr. Yuri Gleba, Co-founder and CEO, Icon Genetics (Munich, Germany), Co-founder, Phytomedics (Jamesburg, NJ), and Founder, Nomad Bioscience (Munich, Germany); Dr. Robert Goodman, Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (New Brunswick, NJ), and Dr. Hal S. Padgett, CEO & CSO, Novici Biotech LLC (Vacaville, CA).
The members of the roundtable capture both the academic and commercial perspectives on the evolving opportunities for plant biotechnology. Also, Dr. Hunter-Cevera used her guest editor role as an opportunity to provide an overview of the exciting research underway that is expanding our understanding of plant-microorganism interactions, and a set of original research articles that address these interactions and the role of plants as biomolecular factories for producing new natural products. We thank Dr. Hunter-Cevera for her leadership in developing this special section in this issue of IB.
Land grant universities in the United States have played a major leadership role in leveraging the photosynthetic capacity of plants for food, fiber and energy. This leadership role was catalyzed by federal policy, The Hatch Act of 1887, which was responsible for creating a national network of state agricultural experiment stations (SAES). These SAES were expected to be local innovation centers for driving agricultural development in the US, through fundamental and applied research and outreach to farmers and other stakeholders. Given the historical and current contributions that SAES have made in leveraging plant photosynthetic capacity to drive agricultural development, we reached out to Dr. Steven G. Pueppke, Associate Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies, and Director, Global and Strategic Initiatives, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) to help tell the story of how SAES are driving biotechnology innovation as part of their continuing mission to serve local agriculture. Dr. Pueppke and several SAES directors from across the country tell a compelling story during their roundtable discussion on “The Evolving Role of Agricultural Experiment Stations at Land Grant Institutions in Driving Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Development and Deployment.” This roundtable discussion is not just a historical perspective; it is a thought-provoking discussion about current and future industrial and academic partnership, and the broader mission of SAES. Dr. Pueppke's Catalyzing Innovation feature article, “The State Agricultural Experiment Station System Meets Biotechnology: A Perspective,” provides additional insight in to mission, culture, and stakeholder needs that drive the SAES mission today and that influence the nature of partnerships with industry.
Understanding how policy and regulatory issues influence the biotechnology innovation space continues to be part of our mission at IB and this issue is no exception. We are fortunate to have an IB INSIGHTS – 10th Anniversary Special Report from Lynn L. Bergeson, Bergeson & Campbell, PC (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Washington, DC), Charles M. Auer, Charles Auer & Associates, LLC and B&C (Washington, DC), and Oscar Hernandez, Oscar Hernandez & Associates, LLC (Woodbridge, VA) entitled “Creative Adaptation: Enhancing Oversight of Synthetic Biology under the Toxic Substances Control Act.” Ms. Bergeson is a frequent contributor to IB on issues related to policy and regulations, and once again she and her colleagues have provided our readers with considerable insight on how these issues influence our collective ability to drive industrial biotechnology innovation.
Meeting the food, fiber, and energy needs of an expanding global population will continue to be challenging. However, there continues to be something new growing under the sun in biotechnology innovation that gives us hope!