Global interest in sugarcane has increased significantly in recent years due to its economic impact on sustainable energy production. Sugarcane breeding and better agronomic practices have contributed to a huge increase in sugarcane yield in the last 30 years. Additional increases in sugarcane yield are expected to result from the use of biotechnology tools in the near future. Genetically modified (GM) sugarcane that incorporates genes to increase resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses could play a major role in achieving this goal. However, to bring GM sugarcane to the market, it is necessary to follow a regulatory process that will evaluate the environmental and health impacts of this crop. The regulatory review process is usually accomplished through a comparison of the biology and composition of the GM cultivar and a non-GM counterpart. This review intends to provide information on non-GM sugarcane biology, genetics, breeding, agronomic management, processing, products and byproducts, as well as the current technologies used to develop GM sugarcane, with the aim of assisting regulators in the decision-making process regarding the commercial release of GM sugarcane cultivars.

-(Infl uence of air temperature on proteinase activity and beverage quality in Coffea arabica). Fruits were collected from trees of Coffea arabica cv. Obatã grown at Mococa and Adamantina in São Paulo State, Brazil, which are regions with marked differences in air temperature that produce coffee with distinct qualities. Mococa is a cooler location that produces high-quality coffee, whereas coffee from Adamantina is of lower quality. The amino acid and protein contents, amino acid profi le, and proteinase activity and type in endosperm protein extracts were analysed. Proteinase genes were identifi ed, and their expression was assayed. All results indicate that temperature plays a role in controlling proteinase activity in coffee endosperm. Proteinase activity was higher in the endosperm of immature fruits from Adamantina, which was correlated with higher amino acid content, changes in the amino acid profi le, and increased gene expression. Cysteine proteinases were the main class of proteinases in the protein extracts. These data suggest that temperature plays an important role in coffee quality by altering nitrogen compound composition.

LISTA DE ACRÔNIMOS E ABREVIATURASBLAST Ferramenta básica de busca de alinhamentos locais, do inglês, basic local alignment search tool BSA Albumina de soro bovino, do inglês, bovine serum albumine cDNA DNA complementar, do inglês, complementary DNA Da Dalton (1 Da = 1,661 10 -24 g) DNA Ácido desoxirribonucléico, do inglês, deoxyribonucleic acid DTT 1,4-ditiotreitol EST Etiqueta de seqüências expressas, do inglês, expressed sequence tag HPLC Cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência, do inglês, high performance liquid chromatography. MCW Extração com solução de metanol, clorofórmio e água, do inglês, methanol, chloroform and water. PCR Reação de cadeia em polimerase, do inglês, polymerase chain reaction pI Ponto isoelétrico PMSF Fluoreto de fenilmetanosulfonila, do inglês, phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride PVPP Polivinilpolipirrolidona RNA Ácido ribonucléico, do inglês, ribonucleic acid SDS-PAGE Eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida na presença de dodecil sulfato de sódio, do inglês, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis