Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre (ABBC), Malaysian Palm Oil Board

Full name:	Advanced Biotechnology & Breeding Centre (ABBC), Malaysian Palm Oil Board
Date of Birth:	–
Affiliations (at the time of the award):	ABBC is a division under Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) that undertakes research activities through five Units: Breeding and Tissue Culture, Bioinformatics, Genomics, Functional Biotechnology and Metabolics.
Field:	Biotechnology: oil palm germplasms

Summary of body of work recognised by MSA: The Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre (ABBC) is recognised for its foresightedness in prospecting oil palm germplasms that have become an essential resource in driving the socioeconomic value of the oil palm industry nationally and globally.

Latest Biography/Profile of Organisation:

The oil palm sector is a pillar of Malaysian economy and plays a critical part in feeding and fuelling the world’s rising population. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board, MPOB, formerly known as Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia, PORIM, has been the key technology player in the expansion of the oil palm industry. MPOB, a government research institute serves by promoting and developing Malaysian oil palm sector objectives, policies, and priorities. This organisation comprises six (6) research and development divisions to address issues and current needs of the oil palm industry. One of these divisions is the Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre (ABBC). ABBC was officially constituted as a Division on 1 July 2011 and is a division that drives new research areas which are underpinned by multi-disciplinary approaches. Recent advances in biotechnology, especially in the areas of genomics and genetic engineering, have opened opportunities and expedited progress in crop improvement.

This research centre has made significant contributions towards generating a pool of creative talent through a variety of activities and research to serve as prime movers of research, development, innovation and commercialisation (RDICE) in the palm oil sector. In 2018, MPOB was recognised as one of the top 15 institutions in Malaysia in terms of domestic patent counts, with 317 patents issued between 2001 and 2017. In May 2021, MPOB was named one of the top 20 local institutions having patents with commercialisation potential. The Journal of Palm Oil Research (JOPR), a peer-reviewed oil palm journal published by MPOB since 1989 which was formerly known as ELAEIS, is classified among the top 15 Malaysian journals with an impact factor of 1.594 as of 2021. Another accomplishment in 2019 was when JOPR won Malaysia CRÈME Journal Award by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, in the Science, Technology and Medicine, a recognition accorded to high performing scholarly journals in the country.

ABBC’s contributions were recognised for its foresightedness in prospecting oil palm germplasms that have become an essential resource in driving the socioeconomic value of the oil palm industry nationally and globally. These collections have enabled breakthroughs in crop improvement and trait development, leading to ground-breaking discoveries and commercialisation. Currently, ABBC’s DNA gene bank is home to the world’s most extensive collection of oil palm germplasm for conservation and oil palm molecular-based research.