Chapter IV. Use of Biotechnology

Chapter IV USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGIES

Biotechnology concerns the use of living organisms (micro-organisms, plants and animals) for industrial, agronomic or medicinal applications. In many cases, they ensure an improvement in the productivity of species, the enhancement and conservation of the potential of local genetic resources. For the latter, exposed to genetic erosion, biotechnologies are a powerful tool that can be used, among other things, for their multiplication and preservation. However, the uncontrolled use of these constitutes a threat to the maintenance of biological diversity. The risks of “genetic pollution” and erosion of local genetic resources can often be significant.

4.1 LEVEL OF USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGIES

In Mali, the exploitation of biotechnology is still embryonic and concerns the areas of:

• agronomy (with symbiotic systems, micropropagation techniques at the Agro-Physio-Genetics and Plant Biotechnology Laboratory of IPR/IER);

• animal health (cryogenics and artificial insemination of cattle, especially in the peri-urban area of ​​Bamako at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Sotuba); and

• human health (several applications in the laboratories of the INRSP, the Traditional Medicine Division and the Faculty of - Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology).

Efforts must be made to strengthen technical and institutional capacities and adapt the legislative and regulatory framework in order to derive the best benefits from biotechnology.

4.2 OPPORTUNITIES FOR USING BIOTECHNOLOGIES

In the field of domestic animal resources, cryogenics is one of the methods used for the conservation of the semen of elite breeders. Embryos, ova, tissues and cells can be preserved by this process in order to preserve domestic animal and plant breeds and endangered fish species.

Artificial insemination techniques have improved the production of milk and meat from local breeds of cattle, especially in large cities such as Bamako, Ségou, Sikasso and Mopti.

Fish with their short reproductive cycles are excellent subjects for genetic studies because they produce lots of eggs that can be fertilized in vitro. In the field of aquaculture, genetic manipulations can be envisaged to obtain male monosex populations with greater productivity, hybrids with increased performance and polyploid individuals of large size, rapid growth and great ecological adaptability.

For millet, awn-tolerant local varieties tolerant to seed-eating birds, stem borers, downy mildew, striga and drought could serve as gene donors to other varieties. As for sorghum, the grain qualities of local varieties and the adaptability of wild sorghum to fluctuations in agro-ecological conditions are assets to be enhanced by biotechnologies.

The tolerance to blast of wild rice ( Oryza longistamina and Oryza barthii ) and the technological quality of the grains of Oryza glaberrima in addition to its hardiness are all assets to be exploited.

With regard to cotton, the technological quality of the fiber (length of the fiber) of local varieties and their tolerance to insects and diseases can be exploited to contribute to the improvement of cotton production and the reduction of the abusive use of pesticides.

Micro-propagation techniques are a safe way of propagating important local species such as potato, mango, banana, forest species and forage species. They can be used for the preservation of wild grasses, endangered medicinal plants and endemic species. On the gum tree, the technique has made it possible to obtain clones of high-performance individuals for the production of gum.

Biotechnology could be a great contribution to sanitation (waste treatment) through the use of genetically transformed micro-organisms to degrade pollutants. Some genetically modified micro-organisms can be used for the production of ferment to enhance certain local products such as "Soumbala", local beers, cheeses, milk, etc.

4.3 RISKS RELATED TO THE USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGIES

The essential objective of the use of biotechnology is the efficient exploitation of the genetic heritage available. However, the approach is not without risks for these genetic resources and for the environment. The risks incurred, the most important for Mali are:

• the “pollution” of local genetic resources: the introduction of exotic species is often followed by cross-fertilization with neighboring local species, which can lead to the modification of the genome of the latter, which thus loses their potential characteristics;

• the extinction of local species: the increasingly massive introduction of exotic varieties, often more productive but less well adapted, leads to the populations abandoning local resources that are more adapted to fluctuations in ecological conditions. Furthermore, genetic pollution, when continuous, can contribute to the disappearance of certain local species;

• the appearance of ecological problems: the development by transgenesis of varieties resistant to herbicides or insecticides tends to amplify the use of these environmentally polluting pesticides;

• problems related to ethics: genetic manipulation, in particular the transfer of genes from certain species to others, can be frowned upon for religious or cultural considerations. For example, human gene transfers to food plants or animals may be the cause of their rejection by consumers for ethical reasons.

From the foregoing, gene transfer must be subject to systematic control to preserve a certain ethic and avoid genetic drift. The centers of strategic interest for gene transfer for Mali concern, among others, the medical, agronomic (resistance to enemies) and nutritional (lysine, tryptophan) fields. However, the technical and structural means of Mali do not allow, in the current state of things, to ensure the control of the risks related to the use of biotechnology.