Next Generation Biological Control: The Need for Integrating Genetics and Evolution

Biological control is widely successful for controlling pests, but effective biocontrol agents are now more difficult to obtain due to more restrictive international trade laws. Coupled with increasing demand, the efficacy of existing and new biocontrol agents needs to be improved with genetic and genomic approaches. Although they have been underutilised in the past, applying genetic and genomic techniques is becoming more feasible from both technological and economic perspectives. We review current methods and provide a framework for using them, incorporating evolutionary and ecological principles. First, it is necessary to identify which biocontrol trait to select and in what direction. Next, the genes or markers linked to these traits need be determined to better target their selection, followed by how to implement this information into a breeding program. Choosing a trait can be assisted by modelling to account for the proper agro-ecological context, and by knowing which traits have sufficiently high heritability values. We provide guidelines for designing genomic strategies in biocontrol programs, which depends on the organism, budget, and desired objective. Genomic approaches start with genome sequencing and assembly. We provide a guide for deciding the most successful sequencing strategy for biocontrol agents. Gene discovery involves quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses, transcriptomic and proteomic studies, and gene editing. Improving biocontrol practices include marker-assisted selection, genomic selection and microbiome manipulation of biocontrol agents, and monitoring for genetic variation during rearing and post-release. We conclude by identifying the most promising applications of genetic and genomic methods to improve biological control efficacy.

The impact of exchange rate on price and export of agricultural production

In today’s world of swiftly increasing global economy and continuously changing international trade laws and technology exchange rate plays a pivotal role in the production, price formation, export and import of agricultural products. For many years exchange rate as an integral part of agricultural economics has been ignored. The present study was intended to investigate exchange rate as an impacting factor on the agricultural production. It also considers the researches that have been carried about the impact of the exchange rate on prices and export of agricultural products, theirs analyses and how much impact it has in the situation of Uzbekistan.

State civil disobedience: A republican perspective

The article deals with the question of whether or under which circumstances it is reasonable to interpret some forms of illegal state action as civil disobedience and whether republican political theory can make a difference to the justification of those actions. It is argued that the theory of freedom as non-domination and the interpretation of the right to participation as the “right of rights” in a legitimate state provide a better justificatory scheme for cases in which developing or emerging countries break international trade laws for the purpose of protecting constitutional rights than Rawls’ theory of civil disobedience, because it takes the problem of power asymmetries in international relations and the status of social rights more seriously. However, these republican standards do not offer different practical solutions for a specific type of state disobedience, humanitarian intervention, because transferring the standards of non-domination and the fundamental right to participation to international relations would lead to a “maximalist” interpretation of human rights, which would undermine the function of such interventions as an instrument of last resort against oppressive governments.

International trade legal issues induced by biotechnology and the countermeasures

Genetically modified products have gradually entered people’s life because of the rapid development of biotechnology. With the perfection and progress of relevant technologies, genetically modified products are successfully commercialized and flourish in the international market for its special advantages. But the safety of genetically modified products has not been confirmed; hence disputes of international trade emerge. To ensure the health development of international trade of genetically modified products, different countries and regions set up different degrees of legislative limitation. Through discussing the legal system of international trade of genetically modified products, this study introduced the status and characteristics of international trade of genetically modified products, analyzed the legal causes for trade disputes, and proposed corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for perfecting system. Developing countries should positively coordinate to perfect transgenosis related system, participate in the formulation of new trade rules, promote the construction of international trade laws to seek welfare, and drive the orderly development of genetically modified products.

Asbestos Poisons World Trade Organization Atmosphere

In September 2000, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel published its findings in the dispute between Canada and the European Union/France over France's ban on the import and use of chrysotile (white asbestos). The panel upheld the French ban, established that the use of chrysotile is a health risk and the idea of “controlled use” a fallacy, and used (for the first time) an exception clause in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that permits trade-restrictive measures to protect human life or health. At the same time, the panel concluded that the French ban violated international trade laws by treating chrysotile products less favorably than domestically produced alternatives. Some WTO watchers believe that with asbestos as the precedent for bans on toxic substances, the regulation of other, much less well-established, toxic exposures could prove much more difficult. Now the French ban has been upheld, chrysotile producers will increasingly target developing countries. Canada is appealing the WTO decision.