Hendrex John A.

Olaviaga BS ECE
Biotechnology in Plant Science

1. Distinguish between traditional plant breeding and genetic engineering of plants. Give
examples for each type of breeding.

- To contextualize, according to statistical study conducted by Richard Molinar a

Farm advisor from UC cooperative Extension, the very reason of realizing the
advantages and benefits of genetically Engineered product is mainly because of the
growing need of the people over the past few years to develop and offer farmers and
consumers a better variety of products such as better tasting, better looking, longevity,
disease resistant and insect resistant crops. Because of the capability of modifying such
a variety of crops for example, these had led to numerous comparisons and studies
regarding the traditional way of breeding and the genetically engineered process. Let me
further explain.
To start, Traditional plant breeding basically uses the old and conventional way of
breeding where it primarily relies on using the natural processes such as involving two or
one parents to produce an offspring that are either genetically identical or unique with
each other. This process is also known as sexual and asexual reproduction. In most
cases, the traditional way of breeding often takes at least 10 years before you are
actually able to produce the desired variety. One example of this is producing a
nematode resistant breed of alfalfa plant. This will happen through collecting pollen from
a very particular alfalfa plant for example then transferring this to a pistil of another
variety of the same breed. The resulting seed here will be evaluated and will undergo
tests such as field pots and greenhouse tests to see whether this breed can have a
nematode resistance.
Genetically engineered products on the other hand can be very complex
compared to the conventional way. In developing a genetically engineered breed, this
may include DNA transferring within the plant cell of a particular plant. In most cases,
after such a process, the cells will then undergo tissue culturing where they will be
developed into a plant and the seed that these plants will produce will then inherit the
new variety of DNA which has the capability to sustain a particular characteristic such as
growth capabilities, longevity, resistance, and etc. One example of this is in the 1980s
where a group of scientists were able to make use of a reverse orientation copy of a
gene named “antisense” which can be found in tomatoes. This process is basically
taking out a particular gene in the chromosome of a plant and then putting it back again.
The result of this experiment slowed down the process of ripening of the tomato which
basically increased the shelf life of this breed drastically.
2. Explain the processes of micropropagation and tissue culture

- Micropropagation is known for its capability to produce a huge amount of

plantlets from small plant parts in a less required time. In this process, a small part of a
plant tissue will undergo tissue culturing in an sterile environment which would eventually
develop into a new plant or known as plantlets. The thing here is that these offspring that
were developed using this method are the exact copy of the parent plant and are called
somaclones. One advantage of using this method is that the offspring can inherit the
desired character of the parent plants.
Tissue culture on the other hand is a part step of micropropagation where in plant
cells were placed in an sterile environment or an artificial place suitable for growing a
large quantity of plants.

3. Explain Hydroponic and Aquaponic Practices

- Hydroponic is basically a type of growing plant without the use of soil. This
method makes use of various chemical nutrients and water alone often known as a
water based solution. The roots of the plants in this process are directly suspended in
the solution basically giving them the access to all necessary nutrients needed for them
to grow. The remaining parts of the plants also have access to natural oxygen making
the growth seem normal and no issue at all.
Aquaponics on the other hand actually involves growing plants and fishes at the
same time in the same environment. This is also considered and known as a sustainable
process. This is because in this process, the waste coming from the fishes are being
converted into nitrates due to the existence of bacteria in the surrounding environment.
These nitrates are the things that are being utilized by the plants, basically cleansing the
water, taking away any harmful contaminants that can cause harm to the fishes. This
method creates an efficient growth cycle for the plants and fishes also known as the
process of nitrogen cycle.