In her speech, Prof. Dr. Sevil Sağlam Yılmaz stated that the world population has more than tripled in the last 75 years and that, according to United Nations estimates, the population is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050. She emphasized that this dramatic increase requires not only an increase in production volume but also the development of more efficient, resilient, and sustainable production systems. She noted that biotechnology could be an effective tool in addressing these issues.
Referring to historical developments in plant biotechnology, our professor stated that research in this field has a history of more than a century worldwide, and has gained significant momentum in our country, especially in the last 25-30 years. He emphasized that plant biotechnology studies in our country began in the 1980s with tissue culture applications; in the 1990s, the focus was on establishing infrastructure in the fields of molecular biology and genetics; and in the 2000s, gene transfer, molecular breeding, and genome editing techniques came to the fore. Prof. Dr. Sevil Sağlam Yılmaz stated that tissue culture studies first began at universities in Turkey, noting that there are various research institutes conducting research in this field in our country and companies operating in this field in the private sector.
Emphasizing that tissue culture is a fundamental and indispensable step in transgenic plant production, our professor provided information about transgenic plants cultivated worldwide, the countries where these plants are grown, and their cultivation areas. He also mentioned the 48 transgenic products imported into Turkey between 2012 and 2022 and their characteristics.
Our faculty member stated that the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory of the Agricultural Biotechnology Department is located within our faculty and mentioned the BAP and TÜBİTAK projects carried out in the laboratory with undergraduate and graduate students. He concluded his presentation by addressing the structural problems, regulatory and biosafety obstacles, and deficiencies in breeding-biotechnology integration that may be encountered when conducting research in the field of plant biotechnology.
During the question-and-answer session, participating faculty members also shared their views on potential problems. The program concluded with the presentation of a certificate of appreciation by Associate Professor Ramazan Ayrancı, Vice Dean of our Faculty.
