L3-4: Introduction to Genetic Engineering

in Plants
 The myth of natural food
The food we
eat comes
from plants
already
extensively
modified from
their original
form.
Even heritage
varieties are
extensively
genetically
modified.

Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation

2
 Mendel and Darwin paved the
way for scientific plant breeding

1822-1884
1809-1882

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Gregor_Mendel_2.jpg/240px-Gregor_Mendel_2.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11264065

3
 Video

How Mendel's pea plants helped us understand

genetics
3 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mehz7tCxjSE
 The development of hybrid corn
led to a big increase in yields
A BxA
♂ ♀
Shull, G.H. (1909) A pure line method in corn breeding. Am. Breed. Assoc. Rep. 5, 51–59 by permission of Oxford University Press.
AxB B The progeny of two genetically
♂ ♀ different parents often show
enhanced growth – this effect is
termed “hybrid vigor”
Hybrid Vigor, or Heterosis, is the
improved or increased function
of any biological quality in a
hybrid offspring as compared
with their parents.
♀Flower
♂Pollen
5
 Hybrid corn was rapidly adopted
because of its increased yields
A BxA Ax B B Even though farmers had to
purchase seed every year,
increased yields more than
offset increased costs
Percentage of total corn acreage

Shull, G.H. (1909) A pure line method in corn breeding. Am. Breed. Assoc. Rep. 5, 51–59 by permission of Oxford University Press; Economic Research Service / USDA

6
Norman Borlaug was a plant breeder, and
“father of the green revolution”
One of the most significant
accomplishments of 20th
century science was the
development of lodging-
resistant, high-yielding semi-
dwarf wheat varieties.

Distinguished plant breeder and Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug 1914-2009

7
 Improved green-revolution plants led to
dramatically increased crop yields
The introduction of
disease-resistant,
semi-dwarf varieties
turning countries from
grain importers to
grain exporters

Dwarf wheat was developed

at CIMMYT – the
International Maize and
Wheat Improvement Center

Source: FAO via Brian0918

8
 Agricultural Research

CGIAR is an
international
organization of
agricultural
research groups

Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo

9
 Rice breeding at IRRI also brought
huge yield increases
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1961 1980 2000
World rice yield (ton/ha) (FAO)

IR8, released in 1966, “…was to tropical rice what

the Model T Ford was to automobiles.” It was
Photo courtesy IRRI known as “miracle rice” because of its high yields.

10
 Crop productivity has kept pace with
population because of increased yields
Population (billions) Crop production (gigaton) Crop area (hectare)
100% >100% ~20%
increase increase increase Crop area has
not increased as
rapidly as crop
production,
because yields
(food per hectare)
have increased

2005

Growing more food without using more land helps

mitigate climate change and slow the loss of biodiversity

Burney, J.A., Davis, S.J., and Lobell, D.B. (2010). Greenhouse gas mitigation by agricultural intensification. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 107: 12052-12057.

11
 What affects yield in a crop variety?
Yield is the most important and complex trait for the genetic improvement of crops.

Yield-related traits are but not limited to the following…

Above ground:

Seed number, seed size, plant architecture, plant height

Below ground:

root structure

Processes:

water utilization efficiency, nitrogen utilization efficiency, nutrient transport,

flowering time, photosynthesis

 Fertilizer: an energy-demanding
limiting resource

•Crops need fertilizer – potassium,

phosphate, nitrogen, and other
nutrients

•Potassium and phosphate are

non-renewable, mined resources

•Synthesis of nitrogen fertilizers

requires huge amounts of energy

Photo credits: Mining Top News; Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, LC-USW361-374

13
 Agricultural fertilizer use is a
considerable source of
environmental pollution
Fertilizer run-off
causes dead zones,
algal blooms that then
decay, reducing
oxygen levels in the
water and making
animal life impossible
Eutrophication

Is there anyway to reduce the use of fertilizer?

Photo courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

14
 Plant nutrient uptake can be improved

More efficient transport systems in the root

can reduce fertilizer needs.

15
Yuan, L., Loque, D., Kojima, S., Rauch, S., Ishiyama, K., Inoue, E., Takahashi, H., and von Wiren, N. (2007). The organization of high-affinity ammonium uptake in Arabidopsis roots depends on the spatial arrangement
and biochemical properties of AMT1-type transporters. Plant Cell 19: 2636-2652.
 Perennial plants uptake water and
nutrients better than most crop plants

Scientists are crossing crop

plants with perennial
plants to reduce crop
dependency on fertilizers
and water

Wes Jackson of the Land Institute

holding a perennial wheat relative
Thinopyrum intermedium

Photo credit: Jodi Torpey, westerngardeners.com

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Plant growth is often limited by
drought stress
Projected Water Scarcity in 2025

http://www.mdpi.com/water/water-08-00235/article_deploy/html/images/water-08-00235-g002-1024.png
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 Drought stress is compounded by increasing
global temperatures
Land & ocean temperature depart from average (1981-2010) Feb. 2017

In warm regions,
crop yields can drop
~3 – 5% with every
1°C increase in
temperature.

T° ↑
water availability ↓
Yield ↓

Gornall, J., Betts, R., Burke, E., Clark, R., Camp, J., Willett, K., & Wiltshire, A. Implications of climate change for agricultural productivity in the early twenty-first century.
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201702#temp Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. B: 365: 2973-2989.m

18
Even mild drought stress
reduces yields
Mild drought stress reduces the rate of photosynthesis
and growth, whereas extreme drought stress is lethal

http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wual/files/styles/x_large/public/201610/drought_corn.jpg

19
We need plants that grow well even
under stressful conditions

Heat and drought

reduce plant
yields

20
We need plants that grow well even
under stressful conditions

Heat and drought

reduce plant
yields

More forestland must be

cleared to grow more
crops

21
We need plants that grow well even
under stressful conditions
Heat and drought
reduce plant
yields

Removing trees to make

way for crops puts more
CO2 into the atmosphere

More forestland must be

cleared to grow more
crops

22
 DEAR PLANT SCIENTISTS

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?

23
 What can plant scientists do?

Drought-
resistant

Wild-type
Well-watered 10 days drought 20 days drought After re-watering

Altering a single gene can increase plant drought tolerance

Yu, H., Chen, X., Hong, Y.-Y., Wang, Y., Xu, P., Ke, S.-D., Liu, H.-Y., Zhu, J.-K., Oliver, D.J., Xiang, C.-B. (2008) Activated expression of an Arabidopsis HD-START
protein confers drought tolerance with improved root system and reduced stomatal density. Plant Cell 20:1134-1151.

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Around one billion people are chronically hungry, and more than two
billion people do not get adequate vitamins or minerals in their diet

25
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/WFP-0000071530.pdf
Improved nutrient content in plants
can help alleviate malnutrition
Subsistence level diets are usually
nutrient-poor.
Our bodies need vitamins and
minerals as well as calories.
Malnutrition is primarily a
Hunger
disease of poverty.
Vitamin A deficiency Anemia (young children)

Image sources: Petaholmes based on WHO data; WHO

The practice of fortifying foods with vitamins (such as
folate and vitamin A) and micronutrients (such as iron,
zinc, and iodine) has dramatically reduced malnutrition
in much of the world.
Photo credit: © UNICEF/NYHQ1998-0891/Giacomo Pirozzi

27
How can plant biologists prevent
starvation and malnutrition?
 Yield
 Stress
– abiotic stress:
high wind, salinity, extreme temperatures, drought, flood
– biotic stress:
bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, harmful insects, weeds
Develop plants that
 require less fertilizer or water
 are drought or stress tolerant
 are pathogen resistant
 are more nutritious
(fortified food with Vit A and iron)
http://www.sogoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Nuts.jpg 28
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/c99969361d16025dce0d3994ec0ab3bb?width=1024
Advances in Genetic Technologies
Contribute to Plant Improvement
Genetic modification arose as a consequence of cultivation

Many of our crops are products of

extensive genomic rearrangements

The food we eat comes from plants already

extensively modified from their original form

Even heritage varieties are extensively

genetically modified
Photo by Hugh Iltis; Reprinted from Doebley, J.F., Gaut, B.S., and Smith, B.D. (2006). The Molecular Genetics of Crop Domestication. Cell
127: 1309-1321, with permission from Elsevier.
Genetic Modification of Plants is not new
... BUT do we need transgenic plants? ......

Image credits: P. Cos, Cacaphony, USDA, CIMMYT

31
 Can we rely on natural isolates?

Tapioca (cassava)
standard white variety
Scientists have identified a
variant that produces much
more vitamin A than the
standard variety
Newly discovered
yellow variety

Neutral/ natural selection takes ages!

Welsch, R., Arango, J., Bar, C., Salazar, B., Al-Babili, S., Beltran, J., Chavarriaga, P., Ceballos, H., Tohme, J., and Beyer, P. (2010) Provitamin A accumulation in cassava (Manihot esculenta) roots
driven by a single nucleotide polymorphism in a phytoene synthase gene. Plant Cell: tpc.110.077560.

32
Do we need these genetically biofortified
foods?

Let us consider some more examples!

Iron-enriched rice

Wild-type (top) and

antioxidant-enriched
tomatoes
Vitamin A–enriched rice
Photo: Golden Rice Humanitarian Board © 2007; Credit: ETH Zurich / Christof Sautter; Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers, Ltd: Butelli, E., et al., Nature Biotechnology 26 (2008), 1301 - 1308 .

33
 Example - Traditional method:
Introgression of a disease resistance gene

We want to
add a
disease
resistance
trait to an
“elite” tomato Disease
resistant gene
plant
Elite tomato Poor tomato but
Disease sensitive disease resistant

34
 Example - Traditional method:
Introgression of a disease resistance gene

You cross the two

plants
Some of their
progeny inherit the
disease resistance
trait, some don’t
How can you tell the
difference?

Photo by Stephen Ausmus USDA

35
 Example - Traditional method:
Introgression of a disease resistance gene

No, half of its genes are

from the poor tomato!

Is this an elite,
disease-resistant
hybrid?

36
 Example - Traditional method:
Introgression of a disease resistance gene

You have to
repeatedly cross
back to the elite
tomato, and identify
disease resistance
plants by
backcrossing

37
 Example - Traditional method:
Introgression of a disease resistance gene

What can be done to

accelerate the
breeding program?

After many
generations,
elite disease
resistant
tomato

38
Importance of new technology
Modern plant breeders use molecular
methods including DNA sequencing and
proteomics as well as field studies

Photo credits Scott Bauer USDA; CIMMYT; IRRI; RCMI; Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy

39
 Advances in genetic technologies
contribute to plant improvement

• Marker Assisted Selection

• Genome-wide association
studies
• Recombinant DNA
technology and transgenic
plants

Photo credit: IRRI

40
What can speed up the breeding process?

• The process of developing new crop varieties

can take almost 25 years.
• Biotechnology has considerably shortened the
time to 7-10 years for new crop varieties to be
brought to the market.
• One of the tools which can make it easier and
faster for scientists to select plant traits is
Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS).
• Why so much faster?
Reference: https://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/pocketk/19/default.asp
 Phenotype vs. Genotype?

Selecting for DNA

markers is faster
than selecting for
phenotype

The genotype is the set of genes in our DNA

The phenotype is the physical which is responsible for a particular trait.
expression, or characteristics, • MAS is selecting against genotype
of that trait.
• Traditional breeding is selecting against phenotype
Photo credit LemnaTec; Anderson, L.K., Lai, A., Stack, S.M., Rizzon, C. and Gaut, B.S. (2006). Uneven distribution of expressed sequence tag loci on maize pachytene chromosomes. Genome Research. 16: 115-122.

42
 MAS is a shortcut
• Markers =segment of DNA located near
the DNA of desired gene
are transmitted by standard laws of
inheritance from one generation to next.
• Since markers and the gene are close
together on same chromosome, they tend
to stay together as each generation of
plants is produced
• This is called genetic linkage
• This linkage helps scientists to predict whether a plant will
have a desired gene
• If researchers can find the marker for the gene, it means the
desired gene itself is present
Source: http://usda-ars-beaumont.tamu.edu/dblhelix.jpg
 How markers work:
Each generation, genes reassort or shuffle

Markers let us “see”

which genes each Phenotype?
individual has inherited

44
 Video
How To Do a Marker Assisted Selection Experiment
5 min
Traditional breeding takes 12-15 years requiring field trials in disease
challenge.

Peanut elite variety (high yield but disease-susceptible)

cross with unadapted variety (disease-resistant)
but progeny looks similar at seedling stage.
However difference in 1 nucleotide (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism,
SNP) allows detection by DNA analysis of seedlings.
Handled 384 samples at one time in genotyping.
SNP exploited to select disease-resistant plant at seedling stage
reducing cost and time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMSy-Wj45g
Example: Introgression of a disease
resistance gene
The resistant gene is flanked by markers and

Identify those with

markers -
= progenies with
disease-resistant gene

It is faster and easier

than infecting them to
check for the disease-
resistant phenotype

46
 Example: MAS as a tool in production
of submergence tolerant rice (Sub1)

Many rice-growing regions are prone to flooding. July 2010

In Pakistan in 2010 a huge, deadly, flood
submerged 17 million acres (69,000 km2) and
destroyed much of the harvest

50 km

Sept. 2010

Photo credits: Abdul Majeed Goraya / IRIN; NASA Goddard

47
 Submergence-tolerant rice can survive
floods as long as 17 days

Sensitive rice – cannot

survive prolonged flooding

FLOODING Water
retreats

Submergence-tolerant
Sub1 – growth arrests
during flooding, enhancing
survival

48
 Swarna – Swarna-Sub1 Submergence
high tolerant parent
yielding,
flooding
sensitive
MAS allowed the Sub-1 trait to
be rapidly introgressed into
Swarna
Swarna-Sub1 rice accounted for
over ¼ of the rice planted in
India in 2010

Xu, K., Xu, X., Fukao, T., Canlas, P., Maghirang-Rodriguez, R., Heuer, S., Ismail, A.M., Bailey-Serres, J., Ronald, P.C., and Mackill, D.J. (2006). Sub1A is an ethylene-response-factor-like gene that confers
submergence tolerance to rice. Nature 442: 705-708. Photo couresy of Adam Barclay CPS, IRRI Photo.

49
 Production of Swarna–Sub1:
Cross Swarna with Sub1 donor
12 chr-specific markers have located Sub1 to chr. 9

Two chr. 9 markers, RZ698 & A209rf,

Sub1 flanking Sub1 were used to identify
tolerant progenies
Swarna

After several
generations,
Swarna-Sub1

50
 Video
Time-lapse video shows flood-tolerant Scuba Rice (50 s)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJsNwYX1Nc0

The Sub1 gene

--identified by researchers at the International Rice Research
Institute -IRRI; http://www.irri.org - and University of California--
enables rice to survive complete submergence for up to 17 days--
seeing is believing!
To show the effect of the Sub1 gene in what is called "Scuba
Rice", this time-lapse video was done over a 127-day period from
14 June to 16 October on the IRRI farm
 Advances in genomics technologies
facilitate breeding for complex traits

•Molecular breeding and

mapping tools are
developed for many species

•Genome sequence data are

available for more than 20
plant species

•Genome-wide association
studies help match genes to
traits
Anderson, L.K., Lai, A., Stack, S.M., Rizzon, C. and Gaut, B.S. (2006). Uneven distribution of expressed sequence tag loci on maize pachytene chromosomes. Genome Research. 16: 115-122.

52
 Genome Sequencing
• Whole genome sequencing (also known as WGS, full genome
sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire
genome sequencing) is the process of determining the
complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome

• First plant genome took 10 years to finish & cost ~ US$100M

to sequence
Maize
Genome sequence data are available for many important plants
54
Phenotype analysis Genome-wide methods
make it possible to identify
genes associated with
complex traits, like yield or
water use efficiency

Gene
discovery

Genotype analysis
Association analysis
e.g. Cluster analysis

e.g. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism

55
 From Phenotype to Genotype
• Restriction Fragment Length
Polymorphism (RFLP) is a
difference in homologous DNA
sequences that can be detected
by the presence of fragments of
different lengths after digestion
of the DNA samples in question
with specific restriction
endonucleases
Picture sources: last slide and wikipedia
• Cluster analysis or clustering is
the task of grouping a set of
objects in such a way that objects
in the same group (called a
cluster) are more similar (in some
sense) to each other than to
those in other groups (clusters).
 Advances in genomics technologies
facilitate breeding for complex traits

•Molecular breeding and

mapping tools are
developed for many species

•Genome sequence data are

available for more than 20
plant species

•Genome-wide association
studies help match genes to
traits
Anderson, L.K., Lai, A., Stack, S.M., Rizzon, C. and Gaut, B.S. (2006). Uneven distribution of expressed sequence tag loci on maize pachytene chromosomes. Genome Research. 16: 115-122.

57
1:22 / 10:48

GWAS
• Genome-wide association studies (GWA studies,
or GWAS)
• GWAS is a method for the study of associations
between a genome-wide set of single-nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs) and desired phenotypic trait

If interested in details of GWAS and SNPs:

• 5D - Genome-wide association studies, part 1
(human) -11 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNpYzOr7I94
 SNP
• A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a substitution of a single
nucleotide at a specific position in the genome, where each variation
is present to some appreciable degree within a population (e.g.>1%).
• SNP markers in QTL/gene discovery and plant breeding

Picture source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Single-nucleotide-polymorphisms-SNPs-from-a-single-SNP-to-an-

SNP-profile_fig1_51751873
 Quantitative Trait locus (QTL)
• A Quantitative Trait locus (QTL) is a locus (section of DNA)
which correlates with variation of a quantitative trait in the
phenotype of a population of organisms.
• QTLs are mapped by identifying which molecular markers
(such as SNPs or AFLPs) correlate with an observed trait.

• A quantitative trait is a measurable phenotype that

depends on the cumulative actions of many genes and the
environment.
• These traits can vary among individuals to produce a
continuous distribution of phenotypes.
• Examples include height, weight and yield.
 GWAS vs. QTL Mapping
• The basic difference between GWAS and QTL mapping is that GWAS

studies the association between alleles and and a binary trait, such

as disease or flower color, while QTL analysis deals with the

contribution of a locus to variation in continuous trait like height

and yield.

• Thus GWAS normally deals with frequencies (i.e. is the frequency of

disease greater in those with the minor allele compared to the

major allele at locus X), whereas QTLs deal in correlations (is the

number of minor alleles at locus Y correlated with height).

 Advances in genetic technologies
contribute to plant improvement

• Marker Assisted Selection

• Genome-wide association
studies
• Recombinant DNA
technology and transgenic
plants

Photo credit: IRRI

62
 INTRODUCTION TO PLANT GENETIC
ENGINEERING

i) What are transgenic plants?

ii) How are they produced?
iii) Advantages in carrying out plant genetic
engineering over traditional plant breeding
iv) Factors affecting foreign gene expression
v) Barriers to commercialization
vi) Examples of genetically engineered crops
 INTRODUCTION TO PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING

i) What are transgenic plants?

Genetically transformed

Foreign gene (desirable trait - plant/animal/microbe) incorporated

into plant genome

ii) How produced?

Combination techniques
- molecular biology (introduce recombinant gene)
- tissue culture (regenerate plantlets from transformed cells)
 Source of gene Once a gene is
(disease-resistant introduced into the
plant) plant genome it
functions like any
Gene of interest other gene

Isolate gene of
interest using
molecular Recombine into
biology methods recipient plant DNA
Techniques plant tissue culture
Plant cells are totipotent (can regenerate)

Millet regeneration in millet: auxins to root, cytokinins to shoot

Chrispeels, M.J. and D.E. Sadava. Plants, genes, and agriculture.
 Tobacco calli

Start culture with undifferentiated callus

calli (plural), callus (singular) 67

Tissue culture
Plant cells
are totipotent
It means they
can regenerate

Cell Callus

Root & Shoot

Plantlet

Plant

Chrispeels, M.J. and D.E. Sadava. Plants, genes, and agriculture 68

 Cytokinin high
auxin low
Cytokinin to shoot Cytokinin high
Send out auxin high
shoot

Increasing Cytokinin concentration

Callus

importance
of plant
hormones
Cytokinin low
auxin high
Send out root
The ratio is
important Cytokinin low Minimal cell Auxin to root
auxin low proliferation

Increasing Auxin concentration

Chrispeels, M.J. and D.E. Sadava. Plants, genes, and agriculture 69

Cereal
regeneration

b) Embryogenesis after
bombardment

c) Regeneration

d) Transgenic cereal

Barcelo P et al.
Plant Journal 5: 583-592
iii) Advantages in carrying out plant genetic
engineering over traditional plant breeding
Goal to increase food (population)

Breeding
• Sexual incompatibility
between gene pools
• Undefined/undesired
traits
• Back crossing costs
time: 10-15 years
GE
• No such barrier
• Well defined genes
• Faster selection:
~ 3 years

71
Why are GM methods used sometimes
and molecular breeding others?
Molecular breeding

1. Desired trait must be 2. Genetic resources 3. Plant should be

present in population must be available propagated sexually
GM

1. Gene can come from 3. Plant can be

2. Genetic resources not propagated vegetatively
any source required
Photo credits: Gramene.org ETH Life International
72
GM Example: Disease resistant banana by
introduction of a gene from pepper

Resistant Susceptible
Banana bacterial wilt is destroying
plants in eastern Africa. Transgenic
plants carrying a resistance gene from
pepper are resistant to the disease
Tripathi, L., Mwaka, H., Tripathi, J.N., and Tushemereirwe, W.K. (2010). Expression of sweet pepper Hrap gene in banana
enhances resistance to Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. Molecular Plant Pathology 11: 721-731.
GM Example: Insect resistant peanut through
introduction of a bacterial gene Bt
Wild-type peanut plant Peanut plant expressing the Bt gene

Photo by Herb Pilcher USDA

74
 Genetic engineering is another
breeding method

Recombinant DNA (or

GM) allows a single
gene to be introduced
into a genome. This
method can be faster
than conventional
breeding

Elite tomato Poor tomato but

disease resistant

Elite, disease resistant tomato

75
How do we optimise the expression of
these good genes if they can be identified
and cloned?

….What are the factors

affecting foreign gene expression?
iv) Factors affecting foreign gene expression

• Phylogenetic distance
Bacterial genes - own promoters – silent
Animal pre-mRNAs - inefficient splicing & polyadenylation
Monocot pre-mRNAs - may not work in dicots
USE cDNA instead !

• Transcription
Efficiency varies with promoter

• Homologous co-suppression
Foreign gene inactivation (gene silencing)

• Position effects
Expression influenced by chromosomal location
77
v) Examples of genetically engineered crops

The history of plant transformation

1983 Tobacco
1984 Carrot, Lotus
1985 Oilseed rape, petunia
1986 Alfalfa, Arabidopsis, cucumber, tomato
1987 Asparagus, cotton, flax, horseradish, lettuce, poplar, potato, rye, sunflower
1988 Cauliflower, celery, eggplant, corn, orchard grass, rice, soybean, walnut
1989 Apple
1990 Buckwheat, birch, chrysanthemum, citrus, clover, grapevines, mustard,
papaya, strawberry
1991 Carnation, cowpea, kiwi, melon, plum
1992 Sugarbeet, wheat
1993 Pea, barley
Chrispeels, M.J. and D.E. Sadava. Plants, genes, and agriculture

78
 Examples of crops
that can be transformed and regenerated

Food
Fiber Legumes
Cereals Horticultural Crops Pastures Trees
Crops and
Oilseeds
Rice Cotton Flax Carrot Petunia Alfalfa Poplar
Corn Canola Cauliflower Potato White Apple
Wheat Soybean Celery Sugar clover Walnut
Barley Sunflower Cucumber beet Orchard
Rye Bean Lettuce Tobacco grass
Pea Melon Tomato
Chrispeels, M.J. and D.E. Sadava. Plants, genes, and agriculture

79
 Examples of GE crops
Cultivar Trait
Alfalfa Herbicide tolerance, virus resistance
Apple Insect resistance
Cantaloupe Virus resistance
Corn Herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, virus resistance
Cotton Herbicide tolerance, insect resistance
Cucumber Virus resistance
Oilseed rape (canola) Herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, modification of seed oils
Papaya Virus resistance
Potato Herbicide tolerance, virus resistance, insect resistance
Rice Insect resistance, modified seed protein storage
Soybean Herbicide tolerance, modified seed protein storage
Squash Virus resistance
Strawberry Insect resistance
Sun flower Modified seed protein storage
Tomato Virus resistance, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, modified ripening
Walnut Insect resistance
80
 Transgenic crops continue to be
developed and adopted
Global area of biotech crops, 1996-2017: Industrialized
and developing countries (million hectares) Soybean – Herbicide tolerance,
enhanced C3 crop photosynthesis
and yields (94.1 million hectares)
Maize - Resistant to herbicide and
pests (59.7 million hectares)
Cotton - Bt cotton (24.1 million
hectares)
Rice - Resistant to pest, drought
and salinity
Ground nuts - Resistant to
peanut clump virus
Potatoes with high protein
content.
24 countries which have adopted biotech crops Tomatoes - Fungal resistance
Sugarcane - Resistant to the
fungal disease red rot
Developing countries Industrialized countries Total

In 2017, global area of biotech crops was 189.8 million hectares, representing an increase of 3% from 2016, equivalent to 4.7 million hectares.

Source: ISAAA Brief 53-2017

81
 GMO crops globally

GROW AND
IM P O R T

IM P O R T

https://gmoanswers.com/sites/default/files/Info_GM_World_Map_071017_v5%20%281%29.jpg
 GMOs around the world

Monsanto Roundup Ready crops: Ringspot virus resistant

Glyphosate (herbicide)-resistant

resist blackspot bruising, browning

Insect resistant (Bt) and contain less asparagine

https://gmoanswers.com/article-what-gmo
 A naturally transgenic crop
Small RNA sequence analysis showed
that Agrobacterium-derived T-DNA
became incorporated into the genome

Genetically-modified thousands of
years ago by soil bacterium
Agrobacterium rhizogenes
Hexaploid sweet potato
(Ipomoea batatas).
Horizontal gene transfer provides a
source of genetic diversity.

“Man has been eating this GM sweet potato for millennia”

84
Kyndt, T. et al. PNAS 2015 112 (18) 5844-5849 Jones, J. 2015 Nature Plants 1:15077
 Barriers to commercialization
• Proprietary protection
– Patents before commercialization

• Regulatory approval
– US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)
– Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
– Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• Public perception
– Need to educate the public re: GM crops

85
So …do we need transgenic plants?

• To feed a growing population competing for

Water – need drought-tolerant crops
Food – need nutritionally enhanced / biofortified crops
Energy – making of biofuels

86
 Do we need transgenic plants?

30 - 40%
Chrispeels, M.J.
planted is lost !
and D.E. Sadava.
Plants, genes, and
agriculture.

How to prevent loss?

Use of synthetic chemicals: insecticide, pesticide, herbicide
Environmental unfriendly!

Are there natural traits against insects, diseases and weeds?

87
 Is GM food safe to eat?
YES
GM is a safe and
beneficial tool in the
quest to sustainably feed
the growing population
All GM plants are subject to
extensive testing and
regulatory oversight and no GM biofortification can
detrimental health effects ensure that all children
have been identified get adequate levels of
protein, vitamins and
mineral nutrients.

Genetic Modification and Food Quality: A Down to Earth Analysis. Robert Blair and Joe M. Regenstein.
Chapter 12 Overall conclusion (2015) John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of scientific studies usually cited as evidence of adverse effects of GM food/feed
Miguel A. Sanchez and Wayne A. Parrott. Plant Biotechnology Journal (October 2017) 15, pp. 1227–1234. Photo credit: Neil Palmer/ CIAT

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 Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine
GM organisms From yeast cells - available since 1981
& Recombinant human growth hormone
their products From E. coli, Somatotropin, 1981
Normal growth and development
include
GM foods … Recombinant human insulin
and others… From E. coli
Treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes
- 1st FDA approved rec product (1982)

Flavr Savr tomato Recombinant chymosin

1st FDA approved GM food From E. coli
& sold (1994) ~60% hard cheese production in US
1st commercial GM food additive
- 1st FDA approved product for food (1990)

Recombinant blood clotting factor VIII

From mammalian cell lines -1992
Treatment of hemophilia 89
 DISCUSS: Which of these
genetically-engineered products
are acceptable to you?
And why?

1. Recombinant vaccines (Hepatitis B) from GM microbes

2. Human insulin, human growth hormone from GM microbes
3. Cotton from GM cotton
4. Milk, meat from cows fed on GM corn
5. Tofu made from GM soy
 Discussion
• Describe the genetic technologies that contribute to
plant improvement.

• What are the barriers to GM commercialization?

• If molecular breeding already speeds up the breeding

process, why do we still need GM technology?

• What are the factors that affect foreign gene

expression in GM plants?