When AGERI’s research reached the stage of evaluating GMOs, there were no guidelines for handling transgenic material under contained condition. Nonetheless, construction of the biocontainment greenhouse began in 1994, with funding from the USAID mission in Cairo through a sub-agreement between the Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Productivity (ABSP) project at Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Arizona which provided the expertise in facility construction and management.

The construction was completed by July 1995. The facility was then certified by the Chief of Microorganism Branch at USDA/APHIS/BBEP and by a biosafety consultant from ABSP.

His Excellency Dr. Youssef Wally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Research and Land Reclamation; and Mr. Edward Walker, former US Ambassador to Egypt, along with other officials inaugurated the biocontainment greenhouse facility in September 1995. They expressed their admiration of the facility as it is considered the most modern facility of its kind in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Such a facility functions to ensure that genetically engineered plants, plant pathogens and plant pests are contained so they may be studied and manipulated without the risk of environmental impact.

The United States “federal register” (Vol.51, No. 88) defines a BL-2 plant containment facility as a greenhouse with concrete floors, screened windows, fan-intakes with louvres and an on-site autoclave. AGERI’s facility far surpasses those basic criteria.

AGERI’s facility consists of 8 identical chambers and a head house. Each chamber is of area 52 m2. It has a computer-controlled environment, 8 m2 underground collection tanks for treating drainage effluent from the modules, polycarbonate Exolite (TM) panels which are break proof, double entry doors, a generator for emergency power and security fencing. It is cooled by evaporative cooling, heated through the use of steam/hot water exchanger and is designed to operate in the desert where temperature may reach 118 degrees Fahrenheit.

AGERI’s research projects have now reached the stage of evaluating genetically modified organisms. The following requests for small scale field trials have been approved by the NBC:

•  Transgenic muskmelon and squash carrying the coat protein gene for zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV)

•  Transgenic potato transformed with Cry 1a(c) and Cry V Bt Var. Kurstaki delta-endotoxin genes to confer resistance to potato tuber moth (PTM).