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Authorities say germ plasm hasn't been smuggled from Kerala

The Kerala Agriculture University has come out with a white paper denying the allegation that a foreign institute clandestinely patented the germ plasm of the Vechur cow.

The Vechur species, the smallest cattle in the world, has its origin in Kerala.

The white paper dismissed reports that the Roslin Institute of the Edinburgh University, which cloned the sheep ''Dolly,'' had patented a protein gene-construct present in the milk of the Vechur cow.

Nor has anyone patented the Vechur species, it clarified.

The controversy arose when environmentalist Dr Vandana Shiva of the New Delhi-based Research Foundation for Science and Technology alleged that the institute had worked with a KAU faculty member to smuggle the germ plasm out of the country.

The allegation attracted serious attention from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research. The KAU is working on an ICAR-funded project for conserving the Vechur cattle.

UNI

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