Sir

Consolidation in the agrochemical and seed industry continues to shorten the list of owners of ‘enabling’ intellectual property for plant genetic modification and molecular biology. Six major groups of multinational companies are poised to develop and patent agronomically important plant genes identified in genome sequencing programmes for crop improvement (see page 396in this issue and ref. 1). The ensuing cascade of patenting will have important implications for technology access and global food security. We report below on the ownership of patent applications with claims for DNA sequences from the world's major crops.

The finding that most patent applications have been filed by industry suggests that a strong advocate for the developing world will be needed to establish partnerships between industry and public laboratories to ensure that the benefits of genetic-modification technology will be widely available. This should be broadly achievable within the current patent regime, but we urge patent holders to be aware of their wider responsibilities when considering licensing terms.

We analysed patent applications with a filing date between 1980 and 1996 that make claims to DNA sequences (GENESEQ and World Patent Index databases, Derwent Ltd). The search, limited to 78 plant species of economic or scientific importance, revealed 601 patent applications containing one or more DNA sequences from 60 species. About half have been granted.

About three-quarters of the applications were filed by 115 companies. Half of this total (48%) were filed by 14 multinationals. Recent corporate acquisitions by Monsanto have resulted in the company having the largest stake, with 69 applications, followed by Zeneca and Novartis.

Twenty-eight per cent of applications were filed by public-sector institutions. Over half of these are US owned. Four US universities and the US Department of Agriculture are in the top ten public institutions. In Europe, it is research institutes rather than universities that have sought to protect their inventions. Although the UK John Innes Institute and Germany's Max Planck and Institut für Genbiologische Forschung institutes have together filed half of the European public-sector total, Europe's stake is relatively low at a quarter of the world public-sector share. Public and private US organizations have 43% of the total, compared to 25% for Europe and 19% for Japan.

Maize was the most heavily patented species, claimed in almost 10% of the total, closely followed by the model plant Arabidopsis. About 40% of the patent applications included claims for cereals and pulses, one-third included fruit and vegetables, while claims to oilseed and model plants occurred in about one-quarter. Species used for fibres, beverages, herbs and spices accounted for the rest (10%). The overall total exceeds 100% because some applications include more than one species. Patent applications were not confined to crop species grown in developed countries. DNA sequences from nutmeg, cinnamon, rubber, jojoba and cocoa have been claimed by inventors from developed countries.

The applications, which rarely claimed more than one sequence, were dominated by genes associated with nutrition (20%), pathogen resistance (20%) and gene regulation (18%) (Table 1). Those in nutrition included genes that determine the amount or type of sugar, starch, oil or protein in the plant, encode enriched proteins, and reduce the level of allogenic proteins in rice. Genes that contribute to pathogen resistance encode a wide variety of enzymes including chitinases. Regulatory DNA sequences in the form of transcriptional promoters are claimed that are in general tissue-specific. The gene sequences regulated by these promoters are also claimed in some cases.

Table 1 Table 1 Predominant functions claimed for plant genes in the 601 patents analysed
Full size table

Plant development and reproduction are of central importance to plant breeders, and 10% of applications fell within this class. Several concern modification of ethylene production and the extent and pattern of flowering. Genes that confer male sterility are of particular value to the breeder, and account for about 8% of applications.

Although much of the controversy surrounding genetically modified crops concerns herbicide tolerance, only 7% of applications relate directly to this trait. These include genes encoding glutathione S -transferase IIIc, acetolactate synthase, lycopene cyclase and a protein conferring glyphosate resistance. The complexity of gene function is well illustrated by the acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene, which confers herbicide tolerance in monocotyledons but is claimed primarily for regulating oil content.