BTI Scientist Dan Klessig Speaks at a Biotechnology Conference in Tunisia

At an October program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to Tunisia, Daniel Klessig, Phd., a BTI scientist, along with three other experts from American Universities visited Tunisian research centers and spoke at a conference highlighting biotechnology’s potential to mitigate climate change. Klessig visited the Sfax Biotechnology Center and the Borj Cedria Biotechnology Center, where researchers are producing transgenic wheat, grape vines, and other crops engineered to withstand drought, salinity, and other common threats to Tunisian agriculture.

In addition, an October conference on “The Contributions of Plant Biotechnology in Confronting Climate Change,” hosted by the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, drew some 200 attendees. U.S. and Tunisian researchers presented talks on advances in biotechnology in addressing plant disease, mitigating global warming, and adapting crops to marginal soils. The researchers highlighted the merits of agricultural biotechnology and called for a science-based legal and regulatory framework to harness its benefits.