PNRI Hosts Regional Workshop on Receptor Binding Assay for Red Tide
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The participants of the Regional Workshop on Receptor Binding Assay (RBA) Method Validation and Related Statistical Approaches
IAEA expert Ms. Maria-Yasmine Bottein (extreme right) with some workshop participants visiting the PNRI RBA laboratory
PNRI Hosts Regional Workshop on Receptor Binding Assay for Red Tide
Taking another step in improving the detection of the dreaded red tide among countries in Asia and the Pacific, the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) hosted a Regional Workshop on Receptor Binding Assay (RBA) Method Validation and Related Statistical Approaches at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center in Quezon City.
Two experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and 19 representatives from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Palau, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the week-long workshop held from April 24 to 28. The event also incorporated the Third Coordination Meeting for IAEA Project RAS 7026, under which the workshop was conducted.
The project aims to spread the use of RBA as a more efficient detection method for harmful algal blooms (HABs), more commonly known as red tide, which poses a serious threat to the health and livelihood of people in coastal areas.
Being an archipelagic country, the Philippines contributed greatly in the development of the method, with PNRI being designated as an IAEA Collaborating Center for Harmful Algal Blooms in 2005 and 2010. PNRI’s research work on the RBA method particularly involved its applications for paralytic shellfish poisoning caused by consuming mussels contaminated with saxitoxin from algal blooms.
The RBA method was approved in 2011 by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and was recently transferred by PNRI to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as an update to their older Mouse Bioassay method.
For this year, the workshop aimed to sustain the HAB studies in the Asia-Pacific Region and expand the RBA method to other types of toxins. An important aspect of these efforts is the continued validation of the method for specific types of toxins such as such as the ciguatoxin responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning.
The workshop also emphasized the provision of comparable quality of data among the participating countries and the need for statistical approaches to deal with uncertainties in the researchers’ data. These will be taken into consideration in a harmonized and standardized measurement approach for the RBA method. Each participant also reported its overall progress on the status of HAB studies in their respective countries.
Learn more about PNRI's research and development on the Receptor Binding Assay (RBA) technology for Harmful Algal Blooms, more commonly known as "red tide" in this episode of APRUB (NET 25) featuring PNRI Chemistry Research Section Senior Science Research Specialist Mr. Rhett Simon Tabbada.
PNRI GSRGP Grantee Wins 1st Place at PSSST Conference
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Congratulations to PNRI Graduate Student Research Grant Program grantee Mr. Gerald Dicen, an MS Environmental Science student from Ateneo de Manila University, for bagging the 1st Place Best Paper Award in the Senior Category during the 20th Philippine Society for Soil Science and Technology, Inc. (PSSST) Annual Meeting and Scientific Conference held from May 10-12, 2017 in Cebu City.
The paper entitled "Preservation of Organic Carbon in Mangrove Sediments by Reactive Iron" was the result of a collaborative effort between the Ateneo de Manila University - Environmental Science Department and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.
Mr. Roland Rallos, a Science Research Specialist of the PNRI Agriculture Research Section, served as one of Mr. Dicen's advisers and co-authors.
The PNRI GSRGP is a 15-month research grant program implemented by PNRI and funded by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD)
http://www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/ind…/pnri-research-grant-program
(Photos from ADMU School of Science and Engineering)
instructors Complete the SNST and CNT Courses at PNRI
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High school and college instructors graduated from the Seminar on Nuclear Science for Teachers (SNST) and Course on Nuclear Technology (CNT) conducted from April 17 to May 12, 2017 at the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI)
Mutant Adlai as Alternative Staple Food Crop for Filipinos
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Left: A PNRI researcher inspecting the putative mutant adlai at the PNRI experimental field
Right: Adlai seeds exposed to 100 and 200 gray (Gy) of gamma radiation
Mutant Adlai as Alternative Staple Food Crop for Filipinos
Agriculture research specialists from the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) continue to improve its mutant varieties of Adlai or Job’s Tears, an alternative source of food to its better-known cousin crops such as rice and corn.
Adlai is twice as rich in protein as rice, and is known among indigenous communities throughout Asia as a source of flour, coffee, tea, wine, beer and vinegar, among other products. It has anti-tumor and other medicinal properties which can help mitigate the symptoms of allergies, and diabetes. Moreover, Adlai is also known for its resilience against extreme conditions brought about by climate change.
PNRI researchers are currently breeding mutant crops of the Ginampay variety of Adlai. The putative mutants are already in the fifth generation. After irradiating the seeds with doses of 100 to 200 gray (Gy), they are planted and grown for further observation. The Adlai crops are to be developed up to the eighth generation to complete the mutation breeding process. The experimental crops matured up to 28 days earlier than the unirradiated variety, while also being 17-24% shorter.
Using gamma radiation, PNRI has been working since 2013 to improve the agronomic traits of Adlai by making mutant varieties that yield more grain and mature earlier, while also having shorter heights to make the crops more resistant to lodging during typhoons.
Aside from developing mutant varieties, PNRI also conducted studies to improve the fertilizer, soil nutrient and water management practices for Adlai. The field experiments were done in partnership with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) under an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) project on “Enhancing Productivity of Locally-Underused Crops Through Dissemination of Mutated Germplasm and Evaluation on Soil, Nutrient and Water Management Practices”. These improvements will also complement the Food Staples Sufficiency Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), which encourages the diversification of staple food crops beyond rice by increasing production, ensuring market availability and lowering its prices.
Learn more about PNRI's mutation breeding research on adlai, an alternative staple food crop, in this episode of DOSTv, featuring Senior Science Research Specialist Ms. Ana Maria Veluz of the PNRI Agriculture Research Section
