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Driven by increases in funding, the University of Hawaii is conducting genetically modified crop research on bananas, tomatoes, petunias and lettuce in an effort to develop hardier, disease-resistant plants.

Researchers at UH's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources are trying to develop sugar cane that's genetically modified to produce a vaccine to protect against rotavirus — a viral infection that can cause diarrhea and vomiting in young children.

“There's no question at a federal level ... more funds are being funneled or being targeted to some of these kinds of areas,” said Stephen Ferreira, an assistant specialist for plant and environmental protection sciences at UH. “Ten years ago you could hardly find money to do transgenic work.”

UH research into genetically modified papaya resulted in the development of a ringspot-virus resistant papaya. However, UH's work on papaya and taro has caused a backlash among environmentalists. Cultural concerns about UH's work on genetically modified Hawaiian taro varieties ultimately forced the university to abandon that effort.

Some scientists remain reluctant to go into GMO work because of environmental and cultural concerns, said C.Y. Hu, associate dean and associate director for research at the UH CTAHR. That could hurt Hawaii farmers, should new diseases surface locally.

“If you don't want us to do that, we can accept that,” he said. “But if we don't work on this and a disease comes in, it's going to wipe you out.”

The projects have been going on for several years but have not been widely publicized. Other ongoing transgenic crop research at UH is being conducted on pineapple, orchids, anthuriums and limes.

Apart from papaya, UH's remaining genetic crop research is being conducted in greenhouses or laboratories rather than in open fields, which lowers the risk of environmental exposure.

Opponents of genetic crop research and genetically modified food contend that not enough is known about the long-term impact of such products. They point out that many countries, including Japan, won't import transgenic papaya and that transgenic crops could cross-pollinate with nontransgenic plants and taint Hawaii's image as a clean and natural environment.

So far UH's efforts have met with mixed success.

Hawaii papaya growers now can grow transgenic papayas despite the presence of the damaging ringspot virus. However, genetically engineered papayas have yet to generate the market acceptance and higher sales prices that nongenetically modified papaya command in some markets.

Now the university wants to develop a better banana — one that's engineered to resist infection from the bunchy top virus. Banana plants infected by the bunchy top virus suffer severely stunted growth and produce deformed fruit, or in advanced stages produce no fruit.

The project suffered a setback when UH researchers were unable to license genetically altered banana trees from Australia. As a result, UH researchers now have to develop their own virus-resistant banana, which “is years away,” said Hu. “There's been some success, but it takes time.”

Meanwhile, critics contend the $1.5 million spent so far on transgenic banana research could be better spent developing nongenetic techniques for managing the bunchy top virus.

“I think it's a big waste of money,” said Sarah Sullivan, director for Hawaii Seed, an advocate for sustainable agriculture and a Hawaii that's free of genetically modified organisms. “It's a good example of how unsuccessful GMO research has been.”

Transgenic papaya proponents, which include some UH researchers and farmers, contend that there is no way to control the ringspot or bunchy top viruses without genetic engineering technology.

Said Ferreira, “These sustainable or alternative approaches have not been ignored. They've been studied. There's nothing new they have to offer.”