Pakistan approved CEMB’s two Bt Cotton varieties

Lahore—National Bio-safety Committee, Pakistan Environment Protection Agency, Ministry of Environment in its 7th meeting approved two varieties of Bt. Cotton. These varieties containing traits of insect resistance have been developed after several-year thorough research by Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB), said Punjab University spokesman here Tuesday. Prof. Dr. Tayyab Husnain of the CEMB presented the case before the committee, which approved the two cotton varieties with a lot of appreciation and pride.

For the first time in Pakistan, genetically modified plant varieties are developed indigenously and approved by Government of Pakistan. CEMB-01 variety contains single gene, while CEMB-02 contains double Bt genes which gives excellent protection against lepidopteran insects. These varieties would be available during next cultivation season after approval of Punjab Seed Council, whose meeting is scheduled in February, 2010, he added. The PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran and CEMB Director Dr Amin Athar congratulated the CEMB faculty members and especially those scholars, who worked on this project.