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GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

By arshadchaudry | July 22, 2006 | archive, textbook One Comment

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(August 2004) Generally, this term refers to food crops that have been altered using a variety of molecular biology techniques in order to provide them with either new or enhanced characteristics. Examples of such enhancements of modifications are herbicide tolerance, pesticide resistance, greater nutritional content or increased tolerance of cold temperatures. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can also be referred to as transgenic organisms. Transgenic simply means that the organisms genes come from more than one source. The idea of enhancing desired traits in food crops is not new. Upon domestication of many plants, farmers used the process of artificial selection to grow plants with desired qualities. However this method can be time consuming and it is very difficult to introduce new traits into a specific population. In contrast, using genetic engineering, scientists can take the gene that controls the trait from one organism and insert it into another organism that does not have the gene. This creates an organism with the desired characteristic quickly and easily. A common example of genetic engineering is the insertion of Bacillus thuringiensis genes into corn to make Bt corn. Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium that naturally produces a protein that is lethal to insect larvae. By transferring the genes that encode this protein into corn, scientists have created a type of corn that produces its own pesticides, making it resistant to insects such as the European corn borer. Transferring the gene Taking a gene from one organism and inserting it into another is essentially a process of cutting the gene which codes for the trait of interest from the foreign organism and pasting this gene into the genome of the organism that you want to alter. Let us use the insertion of B. thuringiensis genes into corn as an example. In order to cut out the gene of interest in the bacteria, its total DNA is isolated. Special enzymes, called restriction endonucleases, act as scissors to cut out the desired gene. These enzymes are sensitive to the DNA sequence and will only cut DNA at specific spots. There are many different enzymes that cut in different places, so the enzyme used depends on the sequence of DNA surrounding the desired gene. Once the gene is cut out, scientists must make an expression cassette. This consists of additional DNA surrounding the gene so that the corn cell knows where the gene of interest begins and ends. The part that tells the corn cell where the gene begins is called the promoter and the end, the terminator. Once the expression cassette has been made, it is inserted into a plasmid. The plasmid is a parasitic circle of DNA present in bacteria. By putting the cassette into a plasmid, millions of copies of it can be made. These copies are then introduced into the host cell and get inserted into the genome. Cells which have successfully incorporated the foreign gene into their genome are then expanded in cell culture and used to generate new plants.

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/genetically-modied-foods/

Jan 29, 2014, 12:39:05 PM

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Figure 1. General schematic of GM crop production

The ethics of GM Foods GM foods have been the subject of much controversy. Advocates feel that GM foods will help provide food to the worlds continually expanding population. Since the number of people on earth keeps increasing (over 6 billion, and expected to double within 50 years), and the amount of land suitable for farming remains constant, more food must be grown in the same amount of space. Genetic engineering can make plants that will give farmers better yields through several different methods. Crops can be harmed or destroyed by many different factors. Insects, weeds, disease, cold temperatures and drought can all adversely affect plants resulting in lower yields for the farmer. Genetic engineering techniques can be used to introduce genes, creating plants that are resistant or tolerant to these factors. Bt corn is an example of the introduction of a pest resistance gene. Monsanto has created strains of soybeans, corn, canola and cotton that are resistant to the weed-killer Roundup. The weed-killer can be sprayed over the entire crop, killing all plants except the transgenic crop intended to be grown. Scientists have also taken a gene from a cold-water fish and introduced it into potatoes to protect the seedlings against sudden frost. These methods all create plants that are more likely to survive and be healthy, thereby increasing the production of farmers fields. Genetic modification can also be used to change the properties of the crop, adding nutrients, making them taste better, or reducing the growing time. A good example of adding nutrients to food is the development of golden rice. Many countries in the world rely on rice as their primary food source. Unfortunately, rice is missing many essential vitamins and minerals, so people whose diet is based on rice are often malnourished. One of the most severe consequences of this is blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences genetically engineered rice, making it high in vitamin A. The group hoped to distribute the rice for free to any third world country requesting it. Golden rice is a controversial subject in its own right. Its development was a breakthrough for biotechnology as it was the first time 3 genes were introduced simultaneously (generally, only one gene is transferred at a time). Mammals make vitamin A from beta-carotene, which is not found in polished white rice. A precursor to beta-carotene (geranyl geranyl diphosphate, or GGPP) is present, but three additional chemical reactions must be carried out to transform GGPP into beta-carotene. The gene transfer was successful, resulting in rice that is high in beta-carotene and is actually yellow coloured. On the surface, this seems like the solution to vitamin A deficiency.

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/genetically-modied-foods/

Jan 29, 2014, 12:39:05 PM