PARC signed a letter of intent with Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Co., Ltd. this month on promoting MNP marker Technology in Pakistan, a method to identify plant varieties.
MNP marker Method is to identify seed varieties at the molecular level, being applied to help detect counterfeits and quickly clarify the intellectual property owners of imported germplasm resources, experts said.
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) signed a letter of intent with Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Co., Ltd. this month on promoting MNP marker Technology in Pakistan, a method to identify plant varieties, reported on Wednesday.
The method, developed by Jianghan University, China, can identify seed varieties at the molecular level and construct the DNA database of seeds, thus helping better protect owners’ Intellectual Property Right and reducing counterfeit and adulteration of seeds. According to Mr. Zhou Xusheng, Director of Pakistan Business of the company, fake, low-quality seeds have been undermining Pakistan’s crop production.
With MNP marker method, the authenticity of seeds will be detected more easily and efficiently. For imported germplasm resources, the technology can quickly clarify the intellectual property owners, distinguish essentially derived varieties from counterfeits, and encourage innovation in the seed industry.
This MNP technology can be applied to multiple crops, be it vegetative or generative propagation, such as potato, sugar cane, rice, maize, soybean, cotton, peanut, millet, and vegetable crops etc. Moreover, according to Mr. Zhou, it will facilitate new variety approval, guide seed breeding, and promote seed quality and protection. The method, MNP marker, can obtain identifications for crop varieties with much higher efficiency and 99.98 percent accuracy. Using the method, a person can identify 1,033 markers of rice cultivars. The efficiency is a thousand times higher than traditional identification methods.
By using an MNP-fingerprint database, seed breeding companies can decide whether to give up on less innovative varieties and adjust their research to avoid unnecessary investment.
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) is the apex national organization working in close collaboration with other federal and provincial institutions in the country to provide science based solutions to agriculture of Pakistan through its statutory functions.
Originally published at Pakistan Today