BULLETIN 1
Philippines’ 21st National Biotechnology Week Highlights the Use of Artificial Intelligence

 

Photo Source: Facebook Page of DepEd Philippines
The Philippines' 21st National Biotechnology Week (NBW) kicks off on October 28, 2025, at the Century Park Hotel, Malate, Manila, with the theme “#gAInBiotech: Growing AI, Nurturing Biotechnology.” Previously held every November, NBW was moved to the fourth week of September as declared in the Presidential Proclamation No. 921 (s. 2025). Hosted by the Department of Education (DepEd), this year's three-day celebration features forums, exhibits, competitions, and other activities from October 28 - 30, 2025.
“This year's theme highlights an exciting innovation: the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in biotechnology,” said Dr. Carmela C. Oracion, Assistant Secretary and OIC-Undersecretary of the Learning Systems Strand in DepEd, during the opening ceremony. Dr. Oracion said that AI is helping scientists to design new medicines in just a fraction of the time it used to take. “It is a game changer not only in medicine, but also in agriculture and environmental protection,” she added.
As AI becomes part of modern life, Mr. Janir T. Datukan, Assistant Secretary of the Learning Systems Strand in DepEd, reminded the participants that new innovations and discoveries like AI will never replace humans. “They can augment what we are doing, but they can never replace us,” he said. Mr. Datukan emphasized that what we can do is to enhance the power and skills of AI to further improve systems and practices.
During NBW's opening ceremony, messages of support were delivered by Dr. Paul C. Limson, Director of the Department of Agriculture - Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO); Forester Conrado B. Marques, Assistant Director at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) - Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB); Asec. Elizabeth N. Lopez-De Leon, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); Asec. Farwa M. Hombre, Undersecretary of the Department of Health (DOH); Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis, Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr., Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The annual celebration of NBW follows the Presidential Proclamation No. 1414 (s. 2007) that promotes safe and responsible use of modern biotechnology and its products as a means to achieve and sustain food safety, equitable access to health services, a sustainable and safe environment, and industry development. This year's NBW is attended by the government, state universities and colleges, non-government organizations, professional associations, and the private sector.
Visit the NBW Booth Exhibits at the Grand Ballroom in Century Park Hotel. To learn more about the events and activities of the 21st NBW, visit the Facebook page of National Biotechnology Week.
See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21576

 

BULLETIN 2
EFSA GMO Panel Releases Scientific Assessment of GM Soybean MON 94637

 

 

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) GMO Panel has released its Scientific Opinion on the safety of genetically modified (GM) insect resistant soybean MON 94637. The scope of application covers import, processing, and food and feed uses within the European Union (EU) for soybean MON 94637 and does not include cultivation in the EU.
According to the Scientific Opinion, none of the identified differences in the agronomic/phenotypic and compositional characteristics tested between soybean MON 94637 and its conventional counterpart need further assessment. The GMO Panel did not identify safety concerns regarding the toxicity and allergenicity of the Cry1A.2 and Cry1B.2 proteins as expressed in soybean MON 94637 and found no evidence that the genetic modification would change the overall safety of soybean MON 94637 as a food or feed. The consumption of soybean MON 94637 and its food and feed products does not pose a nutritional concern for humans and animals, and no post-market monitoring of food/feed is considered necessary.
Following the submission of dossier GMFF-2023-21116 under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 from Bayer CropScience LP, the GMO Panel found that the post-market environmental monitoring reports (PMEM) and reporting intervals are in line with the intended uses of soybean MON 94637. The GMO Panel concludes that soybean MON 94637 is as safe as its conventional counterpart and the tested non-GM soybean varieties with respect to potential effects on human and animal health, and the environment.
For more information, read the Scientific Opinion in the EFSA Journal.
See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21570

 

SCIENTIFIC NEWS
A comprehensive catalog of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) genome
Hiruni A Thanthirige, Nilni A Wimalarathna, Anushka M Wickramasuriya
BMC Genomics; 2025 Mar 17; 26(1):256. doi: 10.1186/s12864-025-11414-2.

 

  

ABSTRACT
Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have emerged as the marker of choice in breeding and genetics, particularly in non-model organisms such as black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), a globally recognized spice crop. This study presents a comprehensive catalog of SNPs in the black pepper genome using data from 30 samples obtained from RNA sequencing and restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, retrieved from the Sequence Read Archive, and their consequences at the sequence level.
Results: Three SNP calling and filtering pipelines, namely BCFtools, Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK)-soft filtering, and GATK-hard filtering, were employed. Results revealed 498,128, 396,003, and 312,153 SNPs respectively identified by these pipelines, with 260,026 SNPs commonly detected across all methods. Analysis of SNP distribution across the 45 scaffolds of the black pepper genome showed varying densities, with pseudo-chromosomes Pn25 (0.86 SNPs/kb), Pn8 (0.74 SNPs/kb), and Pn7 (0.72 SNPs/kb) exhibiting the highest densities. Conversely, scaffolds Pn27 to Pn43 exhibited minimal SNP distribution, except Pn45. Approximately 34.80% of SNPs exhibited stronger genetic linkage (r2 > 0.7). Moreover, SNPs predominately mapped to downstream (≈ 32.54%), upstream (≈ 22.52%), and exonic (≈ 16.20%) regions of genes. Transition substitution accounted for the majority (≈ 57.42%) of identified SNPs, resulting in an average transition-to-transversion ratio of 1.36. Notably, 56.09% of SNPs were non-synonymous, with a significant proportion (≈ 53.59%) being missense mutations. Additionally, 12,491 SNPs with high or moderate impacts were identified, particularly in genes associated with secondary metabolism and alkaloid biosynthesis pathways. Furthermore, the expression of 675 genes was potentially influenced by local (cis-acting) SNPs, while 554 genes were affected by distal (trans-acting) SNPs.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study underscore the utility of identified SNPs and their targets, especially those impacting important pathways, for future genetic investigations and crop improvement efforts in black pepper. The characterization of SNPs in genes related to secondary metabolism and alkaloid biosynthesis highlights their potential for targeted breeding aimed at enhancing the yield, quality, and resilience of this economically important crop in diverse environmental conditions.
See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40098071/

 

  

 

 

Figure:
Dendrogram of 30 black pepper samples based on SNP data derived via GATK4 (hard-filtering)