Our idea was to identify the biochemicals responsible for triggering this process . Therefore , a lot of research was going on with my collaborators , Dr Matthew Paul and Dr Benjamin Davis . We identified the Trehalose-6- Phosphate ( T6P ) as a molecule that triggers this starch production process .
special interview
Our idea was to identify the biochemicals responsible for triggering this process . Therefore , a lot of research was going on with my collaborators , Dr Matthew Paul and Dr Benjamin Davis . We identified the Trehalose-6- Phosphate ( T6P ) as a molecule that triggers this starch production process .
working on this invention for close to 9 years now . There were lot of failures in this journey . The success didn ’ t come early . We made molecule and failed because those were not well taken by the plant . Since , we were making something outside the plant , it all depended on whether plants were happy to take it or not .
What is noteworthy is that this method does not rely on genetic modifications to create super-yields or combat climate change and therefore offers a viable alternative to GM technology . The process ensures that there is no adverse impact on either plant or animal health or on the environment , making it more acceptable to countries such as India that have been mindful of genetic modification technology being introduced in agriculture . This is also a marked improvement over current hybrid technology used by agri-scientists .
The genetic engineering is the process where scientists permanently delete few genes . And then they introduce few more genes to get desired features . While they delete the so called unwanted genes which are claimed to be no feature , those could be found to be useful after twenty . It is irreversible .
However , as compared to it , we can reverse back here in our case . Since , you insist on a name of the process , we may give it a fancy name , we can call it chemical genetics approach . Our process is far reliable than the genetic modification approach .
Why did you choose wheat as a crop for carrying out research ? Why is it important ?
You know in India as well as the globe , wheat is the primary food item . Also , the wheat is having more starch and we were trying the starch synthesis process . Although the Arabidopsis thaliana was used initially as it is followed as a standard in laboratory , we later shifted to wheat after validation .
The discovery is also important given the fact that average yields for wheat in India is below that of average yields seen in other countries . For example , India ’ s average yield is 39 percent lower than China ’ s . Except Punjab and Haryana ,
54 BioVoiceNews | May 2017