Why do we have genetically modified plants?
- To add or increase desirable traits as traditionally done through selection in breeding
What are some goals for modification?
- Better crops, more nutrition, attractiveness
- Improve agricultural yeild, resistance to disease, insects, herbicide
- Drug production
Why are plants easier to genetically modify than animals?
- Plant cells are totipotent, a single cell can differentiate into different cell types
How to make genetically modified plants
- Know the gene to add or remove to obtain desired trait
- Introduce new gene to plant cell
- Cultivate plant cell into entire plant in tissue culture
- Grow in sterile containers (or agar medium) until transfer to soil
Gene
- Unit of DNA that determines a characteristic
Genetic Modification or Engineering
- Transformation
- Introducing the new gene into plant cell
Ways to do plant transformation
- Ballistic gene gun
- Help from Agrobacterium tumafasciens (more common technique)
Ballistic gene gun
- For plant transformation
- DNA constructs coated on to tiny gold beads are blasted into plant tissue at high speed
Agrobacterium tumafasciens
- Used for plant transformation
- Bacterium that naturally cause crown gall on flowering plants
- Can incorporate own DNA into plant DNA
- Molecular technology combines gene to transofrm with agro DNA to introduce to plant
What was the first genetically modified food marketed?
- 1994 Flavr-Savr tomato
Why was soybean oil genetically modified?
- Soy bean oil modified to contain healthy unsaturated fatty acids
- Pioneer Hybrid: 80% oleic acid vs. 20% traditional
- Monsanto: Stearidonic acid
How easy are plants to transform?
- Variable
- Relatively few plants have been successfully transformed
What is the most prevalent transgenic feature application? What are common crops that utilize this?
- Herbicide resistance
- Soybean, corn, cotton (US, mostly Monsanto products)
Why do people hate Monsanto as the face of industrial agriculture?
- Their practices have resulted in global control over agricultural practice on some major crops
- Controversies from disputes with farmers to patent rights over seeds
Who now owns Monsanto? What are some examples of other agri-chem seed companies?
- Monsanto is now Bayer
- Other companies: Dupont, Syngenta
How did Monsanto begin? How did they become an agri-chem company?
- As a chemical company producing insectiides such as dioxin, DDT, and bovine growth hormone for cattle
- In 1980’s changed to agriculture, buying seed companies and invested in bioengineering research
What was Monsanto’s first agri-chem product?
- Herbicide resistant round-up ready soybean
How was Monsanto successful with it’s agri-chem business?
Seeds and chemicals matched to provide optimum crop performance for the farmer
From 11996 to 2010, GM crops are estimated to have reduced use of other herbicides by how much?
- 37%
Are GM foods directly harmful? What do GM opponents say about it?
- No instances so far where GM has been shown to be directly harmful
- Opponents say there have not been enough studies to prove it is safe though?
Golden Rice, and what was the aim in developing it and how?
- Rice GM to produce beta-carotene (body converts to Vit A)
- Turned on genes to make b-carotene already present in rice
- Aim to reduce Vit A deficiency, especially in young children in developing world
What does Vit A deficiency do?
- Causes blindness and compromised immunity (leading to disease and death)
Who developed Golden Rice? What was their profit?
- Swiss Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer since 2000
- No profit for scientists or funding agencies
- Available free of charge
What has slowed implementation of Golden Rice?
- Fear of GMO in government regulations
- A number of countries ban and restrict growth of GMO
- All agricultural cultivation GMO need subject to approval
Arctic Apples, and where developed
- Non-browning
- Genes that produce enzymes that cause the browning are ‘silenced’
- Developed in Okanagan BC
What gene modification was used in developing Arctic Apples? Who developed it?
- Latest gene modification tech using CRISPR DNA system
- System ability to edit DNA established by Dr. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier in 2012
How was the CRISPR DNA system developed?
- Adapted from bacterial defense system
- Cas9 protein cuts DNA sequence to be manipulated when directed to gene location with guide RNA sequence
What are the benefits of the CRISPR DNA system?
- Powerful and fast gene editing tool
- More precise at locating gene to alter
- Works on any organism
- Can work on multiple genes at once
- Does not import other genes
What has been accomplished using CRISPR?
- Arctic, non-browning, apples
- Correct genes responsible for single-cell anemia
- Muscular dystrophy, cataracts (mostly experimental on mice)
- Limited work being done on human embryos
- Wheat resistant to powdery mildew fungal blight
- Ripening gene in tomato turned off, to prolong shelf-life
- Waxy corn (changed starch content)
- Non-browning mushroom
What is CRISPR currently being sued to develop?
- Improve soybean, rice potato to make more nutritious and drought tolerant
- Remove allergens, like from peanuts
What are some overall perspectives on GM?
- GM is a scientific technology
- Tech and resulting industries will grow
- GMO’s are goods of corporate industry
- Environmental effects cannot be predicted
- Government control is necessary and expected
Why is government control of GMO variable?
- Due to political positions and trends in society
What type of food are GMO’s are limited to right now?
- Processed foods, but will increase in applications
Personal choice of food is what?
- An economic and political action