The issue of patentability of micro-organisms has remained controversial largely because it concerns the high-profile pharmaceutical industry which views these organisms as sources of future drugs. The controversy did not subside even after a technical experts group on patent law issues, headed by R A Mashelkar, opined in its revised report submitted in March that the exclusion of micro-organisms from patenting would be violative of the trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPs) agreement.
Many feel that microbes, being live forms, should not be patented as these are the creations of nature and not of man. However, what is not fully appreciated is that the microbes are equally, if not more, important for agriculture and allied fields where they are already being used for different purposes. Besides being an invaluable source of genes having different characteristics, these microbes can be used for developing resistance in crops against pests, diseases and other stresses like drought, heat, cold, soil salinity and the like. These are also utilised as bio-fertilisers for fixing atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, promoting plant growth, improving soil health, degrading biomass into valuable manure and other purposes.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which most countries including India are signatories, categorically states that nations have sovereign rights over their native biological resources and are responsible for conserving and using these resources in a sustainable manner for the benefit of the present and future generations.
Going by this convention, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has already taken measures to preserve agriculturally important microbes. India is known to be the native place of billions of diverse microbes, many of which are not found elsewhere in the world. A National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Micro-organisms (NBAIM) has been set up at Mau Nath Bhanjan in Uttar Pradesh.
According to its Director Dilip K Arora, it has already created a repository of over 2,800 microbes, including fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes. It has undertaken several exploration missions to collect and preserve agriculturally important microbes from different parts of the country.
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Most importantly, the bureau is endeavouring to get back the microbial cultures of Indian origin being maintained in other countries. Currently, it is in the process of repatriating over 1,800 fungal species of Indian origin from the UK.
Of all the microbes, nearly 87 per cent are beneficial to humans; only 3 per cent are harmful as they are disease-causing pathogens, according to Professor Arora.
The microbial collection of the NBAIM has organisms that serve as bio-control agents for tackling diseases, bio-pesticides for killing pests in an environment-friendly manner, plant growth promoters for raising crop yields, egg parasites for checking pests, bio-fertilisers for enhancing availability of nitrogen and phosphates, and others that act as enzymes, antibiotics, toxins, etc.
The use of Rhizobium in transferring nitrogen from air to the soil has been known for decades. But in recent years several other forms of microbes have also been identified and put to use for enhancing soil fertility.
Many of these microbes can enhance crop yields by 10 to 15 per cent by adding to the soils about 10 to 15 kg nitrogen per hectare, Professor Arora maintains. Microbes have also been discovered which can convert phosphate into readily usable form through a process called phosphate solubilisation.
ICAR has launched an all-India coordinated research project on biological nitrogen fixation to further promote microbial application for this purpose. Besides, there is also an inter-institutional project on bio-fertilisers to develop superior microbial strains for fixing plant nutrients into the soil.
Interest in unravelling the microbial genes through genomics is growing the world over. “Since the publication of the first complete microbial genome in 1995, more than 100 microbial genomes have been fully sequenced and published. Another 300 microbial genome-sequencing projects are estimated to be in progress worldwide”, points out Professor Arora. “Every genome that has been sequenced to date has provided new insight into biological processes, activities and potential of these species that was not evident before”, he adds.
The measures taken to collect, preserve and analyse the microbes that can be potentially useful in agriculture seem to ensure that most of the country’s microbial wealth is well protected and that it will not be stolen or patented abroad.