As the world’s intergovernmental organisation of scientific and technical nature of recognised competence for its works concerning vines, wine, wine-based beverages, table grapes, raisins and other vine-based products, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has taken a keen interest to fully understand the potential challenges and opportunities associated with the emerging science of Synthetic Biology.
In this context, the OIV has invited Professor Sakkie Pretorius (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) to present a special lecture on “Synthetic genome engineering forging new frontiers for wine yeast” to a joint session of our various Commissions on the 4th of April 2016. This lecture was well-received and sparked the interest of all the attendees to proactively engage all stakeholders of the global wine industry ‒ researchers, industry practitioners, policymakers, regulators, commentators and consumers ‒ in a meaningful dialog about the potential challenges, opportunities and impacts emanating from Synthetic Biology.
To support this important conversation, Professor Pretorius undertook to write a comprehensive review article on this subject.
This paper has now been published in a peer-review journal, Critical reviews in Biotechnology (see attached). This article is an Open Access publication and can be downloaded for free as a PDF from the website:
After an introduction to the OIV and its activities by the different unit heads, they were welcomed by Director General Jean-Marie Aurand, who emphasised the distinctive character of this training programme and the opportunities it offers, thanks to the network of associated universities and companies.
The specific nature of the course is designed to be mono-sectoral, multi-disciplinary, itinerant, international and experiential all at the same time; it also now has one of the most developed networks in the world of wine. Since 1987, almost 500 players and policy makers in the wine world have taken this training programme.
Before this year's class left the OIV headquarters, Jean-Marie Aurand stressed the course's international dimension, which is expressed through a curriculum that every year leads students to discover over 20 key countries on the wine planet, spread over the 5 continents.
