Forum Pakistan

The importance and potential of biotechnology was realized as far back as 1959 when Pakistan's fir t Commission on Science and Technology emphasised the need for setting up research organisations in areas of vital importance to national development. Biotechnology has since been promoted in practically every science policy document. Pakistan's commitment to this field has been reflected in a eparate allocation of the development budget to biotechnology in the Eighth and Ninth five year Plans.

The National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) is the country's major biotech research establishment, concentrating on research into plant, environmental, and medical biotechnology. NIBGE has produced some impressive re ults in a short time. Most recently scientists at the Institute have found a biotechnology-based solution which may help to eliminate Paki tan's recurring cotton leaf-curl virus (CLCV), which has been a recurring problem
NIBGE undertook a rewarding programme of reclaiming nearly 11 million acres of saline and sodic soils by biological methods. This technology developed by NIBGE has now been exploited by the International Atomic Energy Agency for initiating an integrated model project for eight countrie . NIBGE is also researching the use of biotechnology to extract minerals and fossil fuels. It has developed methods to extract copper and uranium using bacteria. This technique has potential applications in the development of the Saindak mines in *Balochistan, Pakistan' biggest copper mining project.

Biotechnology also has environmental applications.
NIBGE has helped industry in the area of effluent detoxification and waste management through the use of microbes. Industrial effluent tends to be discharged into sources of potential drinking water. Microbe can be used to clean up textile industry effluents, which have a high concentration of dyes, and which are carcinogenic. Different micro-organisms developed by the Institute not only degrade the dyes, but also make them colourless, allowing them to be recycled.
Biomedical and Genetic Engineering Division

Pakistan has one outstanding organisation devoted to research into human genetics, one of the most costly areas in molecular biology. A group of scientists at the In titute of Molecular Genetics in Islamabad have identified the gene responsible for Retinitis Pigmentosa, a hereditary degenerative disease, which leads to complete loss of sight. More than 3,000 lymphoblastoid cell lines have been prepared from Pakistan and other populations of clinical and anthropological interest. Thi is the largest collection of human cell lines in the world. Duplicates of these cell lines have been banked at CEPH, Paris, France and the department of Biochemistry at Oxford University, with the financial support of the Wellcome Trust, UK. The descent of various Pakistani and world populations has been examined for genetic relationships using Y-chromosomes (patrilineal) and autosomal microsatellite markers.

The Centre for Advanced Molecular Biology (CAMB) was established in 1981 at Punjab University. During the past ten years the Centre has discovered forty-five new restriction enzymes which interfere with DNA replication. CAMB has also pioneered DNAbased methods for the pre-natal diagnosis of Betathalassaemia. Methods for early detection of tuberculosis, hepatitis, and breast cancer have also been developed. In 1988 the status of the Centre was upgraded to a Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Biology. In addition to the above mentioned organisations biotechnology is being taught at general as well as agricultural and medical universities.