[en] The application of the definitions on access to genetic resources (AGR) contained in national or community legislation may affect the scientific research (non-commercial and commercial). Two moments are defined, between 1995 and 2013 with the implementation of decision 391 of 1996, resulting from the application of the convention on biological diversity (CBD) in 1992, and from 2013 to today, with the decrees derogating from the ARG and resolutions of the ministry environment and sustainable development ARG that specified activities. The vision is that of a biotechnologist, which will focus on technical and scientific elements. In the first phase no exceptions are raised, any research that uses genetic resources and use conventional or molecular tools needed ARG contract. Scientists ignored the rule, which resulted in illegal to operations, but had no practical effect for most, except the national university of Colombia received an administrative penalty. In the second phase the non-commercial scientific research in four areas (ecology, biogeography, systematics and evolution) is excluded, and activities of ARG to molecular tools are limited. These details are expected to solve the illegality of a wide range of scientific research activities, but the weight of the processes of scientific research for commercial purposes is maintained.

[en] The transgenic crops were the result of the application of recombinant DNA technology in agriculture. These crops were developed by transfer of foreign genes (transgenes) from any biological origin (animal, plant, microbial, viral) to the genome of cultivated species of plants. The crops genetically modified (GM) have been used in the world since 1996; up to December 2010 they counted to a billion hectares planted throughout the period. In just the past year 2010 148 million hectares were planted, grown by 15.4 million farmers in 29 countries. GM crops that are used in global agriculture are mainly soybean, cotton, corn and canola, which express transgenes derived from bacteria, and confer resistance to lepidopteron insects (ILR) or herbicide tolerance (HT; glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium). the first transgenic varieties containing only a single transgene, or simple event, while the current varieties express several transgenes, or stacked, conferring resistance to different species of Lepidoptera and coleopteran insects and tolerance to two different herbicides. In 2010 were planted in Colombia, 18.874 hectares of GM cotton, 16.793 hectares of GM corn, and 4 hectares of GM carnations and GM roses. GM corn and GM cotton were planted in Sucre, Cesar, Cordoba, Huila and Tolima. GM corn was planted in Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Meta, Cundinamarca and Santander. Carnations and roses were planted in Cundinamarca. GM maize and GM cotton expressing ILR and HT features, as simple events or stacked. In the case of GM carnation and GM roses, these genotypes that express the color blue. Academia has tried to organize the debate on the adoption of GM crops around the analysis of biological risks and environmental vs environmental and economic benefits. Biological hazards are defined by the possible negative effects on human consumers or negative effects on the environment. The environmental benefits are related to reduce use of agrochemicals (insecticides and herbicides), and the economic benefits from the reduction in losses due to insect and weed competition to reduction of production costs.

[en] Here in Colombia have been reported efforts on the development of genetically modified (GM) crops, like: rice, cassava, cotton, potato, sugar cane, coffee, corn, soy, stevia and chrysanthemum, by five research center (CIAT, Cenicana, Cenicafe, CIB, Corpoica) and three universities (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad Javeriana, Universidad de Antioquia). to get to the commercial release of gm varieties, real public policies on science and technology are needed, giving sufficient and timely funding, as well as to solve problems with the tangle of patents that limit or prevent the development of biotechnological innovations, and it is also required suffice funding to go through the regulatory issues, which significantly increase the cost of those developments.

[en] As a first approach in obtaining a transgenic drought and glufosinate ammonium tolerant maize line, genes and regulatory elements for the in silico design of the expression cassettes were selected through analysis of scientific literature and databases of genes and patents. Gene sequences were modified based on the criterion of maize codon usage to optimize their expression. The constructs designed with DNA 2.0 Software, were synthesized by a specialized company. The presence of the transgene and the expression of mRNA were demonstrated by PCR and RT-PCR in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. A preliminary experiment in vitro under simulated drought conditions in MS medium with 10 % PEG (PM 6000) showed no noticeable increase in drought tolerance of the transformants, possibly because the codon usage of the design does not promote gene expression in the model plant.

[en] In 2009, 4088 hectares of genetically modified (GM) cotton were planted in Tolima (Colombia), however there is some uncertainty about containment measures needed to prevent the flow of pollen and seed from regulated GM fields into adjacent fields. In this study, the gene flow from GM cotton varieties to conventional or feral cotton plants via seed and pollen was evaluated. ImmunostripTM, PCR and ELISA assays were used to detect gene flow. Fifty six refuges, 27 fields with conventional cotton and four feral individuals of the enterprise Remolinos Inc. located in El Espinal (Tolima) were analyzed in the first half of 2010. The results indicated seed mediated gene flow in 45 refuges (80.4 %) and 26 fields with conventional cotton (96 %), besides pollen mediated gene flow in one field with conventional cotton and nine refuges. All fields cultivated with conventional cotton showed gene flow from GM cotton. Two refuges and two feral individuals did not reveal gene flow from GM cotton.

[en] The potato plant is the fourth most important crop in the world. In Colombia around 2.8 million tons are produced annually economically supporting 90000 families. In the country, the major economic impact in the crop is caused by Tecia solanivora that originates loses up to 100% in the tuber production. The genetic plant breeding related to the introduction of Cry genes which codify insecticidal crystal proteins is an alternative for reducing the insect attack in commercial crops. In this work, the insertion, transcription and expression of Cry1Ac gen was characterized in different tissues and three development stages of two transgenic lines of Solanum tuberosum variety Diacol Capiro that were previously transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens method. The characterization was realized by PCR, RT-PCR and ELISA techniques. The gen insertion and transcription was confirmed using primers for Cry1Ac gen that amplified a specific band of 766 bp. The protein expression levels were higher than 45 µg/g and were not significantly different between the analyzed lines or the three development stages. Furthermore, taking into account some relevant phenotypic features, no significant differences were found between transgenic lines and controls. The results suggest that monitoring and biosecurity assays are necessary with this vegetal material because their high level expression inside all the tissues analyzed that could affect non-targeted insects.