Assignment: 02

Topic: Role of Biotechnology in combating Food Insecurity

Subject: Global Food Issues
Submitted To: Mr Adeel Ahmed
Group: 9
Members:
Members Topic
19-Arid-1544 Talha Ashraf Background
19-Arid-1518 Itrat Noreen Role of Biotechnology
for food Security
19-Arid-1511 Hafsa Mariam Biotechnological
Approaches
19-Arid-1504 Aqsa Naseem Potential of
Biotechnology in crop
improvement
19-Arid-1523 Khadija Mushtaq GMOs
Talha Ashraf
19-Arid-1544
BIOTECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND
Biotechnology term was used by the first time by KARL ERKEY in 1919. It is
defined as the technology that utilize biological system, living organisms and part of this to
develop different products for example vaccine or different varieties of foods, crops etc. He is
considered as the father of biotechnology.

STAGES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT:

There are three main stages of development of biotechnology that are as follow

 1 Ancient biotechnology: Pre 1800

It includes fermentation, domestication of animals and plants.

 2 Classical biotechnology: 1800 to almost middle of twentieth century

In this stage of development the mostly work done on vaccines, antibiotics and genetics

 3 Modern biotechnology: 1953 to onwards

DNA structure, PCR, Cloning, Human genome project

A global recession and sharply rising food costs in many nations have resulted in an additional
100 million people suffering from poverty and silent hunger compared to last year, making the
entire world dangerously vulnerable. The international food crisis poses a severe threat to
world security and peace. To meet the demand, however, the crop yield will need to be
considerably boosted. Biotechnology is still far from being used to its full potential as a tool to
help solve the problem.
The primary cause of global poverty and food insecurity is thought to be low agricultural
productivity. Rural areas and emerging nations both have high rates of poverty and food
insecurity.
Thus, biotechnology can:
1) Increase agricultural production through the introduction of high-yielding cultivars that are
resistant to biotic and abiotic challenges
2) Reduce damage brought on by pests
3) Enhance food nutritional content, which is crucial in rural areas or developing countries.
The post-harvest approach of wasting less is another essential strategy to promote rising food
yield. By doing this, food insecurity will be lessened or eliminated. In order to provide
wholesome foods in a sustainable manner, it is crucial to take environmental concerns into
account. Research and development in biotechnology have already resulted in notable
products on the market in terms of security and environmental quality, and they will continue
to play a crucial role in boosting and improving food production. Nevertheless, safety is
increasingly a concern. Microorganisms contribute a major role in maintaining the fertility of
land and its outcome.
Itrat Noreen
19-Arid-1518
Role Of Biotechnology In Increasing The Crop Yield Through High
Yielding Varieties Resistant To Biotic And Abiotic Stresses:
Biotechnology has enormous scope and potential for conventional methods of
 Crop improvement
 Crop protection
 Crop quality management
 Improvement of horticultural traits

It extends remarkable opportunities in increasing fruit production by

 Providing new genotypes for breeding purposes
 Supplying healthy disease-free planting material
 Improving fruit quality, increasing durability
 Avalibility of biopesticides
 Biofertilizers
Integration of specially desired traits through genetic engineering has been made possible in
some horticultural crops .Genetic engineering consists of isolating the desired gene, ligating this
gene with the desired vector to form a recombinant DNA molecule, and then transferring this
gene into the plant genome to create a new function. Transgenic technology has been ranked as
the fastest growing technology in agriculture. It refers to a set of techniques used to transfer a
desired gene(s) from any source (plants, animals, microorganisms, or even artificially
synthesized genes) across taxonomic boundaries into a particular plant by unconventional
methods. Moreover, genetic sources of resistance are not limited to closely related plant species.
Combating various types of biotic and abiotic stresses is the basis and core of sustainable
agriculture. Although conventional and marker-assisted breeding are used today to develop more
promising cultivars, in the case of biennial or perennial horticultural crops, especially fruit trees,
such techniques are not feasible due to long sexual generation periods. The main advantages of
transgenic technology are that genes controlling various agronomically important traits can come
from any organism – plants or microorganisms etc. and can be used for plant transformation.
The technique of genetic engineering offers countless applications in the improvement of
horticultural crops for tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress and for quality enhancement. Over
the past two decades, a large number of transgenic horticultural crops have been developed and
more are in the pipeline. A number of genes including natural and synthetic Cry genes, protease
inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors and cystatin genes have been used to incorporate insect and
nematode resistance. To provide protection against fungal and bacterial diseases, various genes
such as chitinase, glucanase, osmotin, defensin and pathogenesis-related genes are transferred
to many horticultural crops worldwide. The RNAi technique has been found quite successful in
inducing virus resistance in horticultural crops in addition to coat protein genes. Abiotic stresses
such as drought, heat, and salinity adversely affect the production and productivity of
horticultural crops, and a number of genes encoding the biosynthesis of Stress-protective
compounds, including mannitol, glycine betaine, and heat shock proteins, in addition to various
transcription factors such as DREB1, MAPK, WRKY etc. Antisense gene and RNAi
technologies have revolutionized the pace of improvement of horticultural crops, especially
ornamental crops for color modification, extended shelf life and reduced post-harvest losses.

Role Of Biotechnology In Controlling Pests:

Biotechnology can be broadly defined as:
“a method of creating or modifying a product, improving plants or animals, or developing
microorganisms for specific purposes using biological systems, living organisms, or their
derivatives”.
However, it can be described as the regulated and deliberate manipulation of biological processes
to achieve effective control of insect pests.
 From insect resistance breeding to transgenic introgression of new genes,
biotechnological interventions in insect pest control to protect crop yield have been
enormous.
 Various biotechnological approaches include gene transformation, genome editing, RNA
interference, marker-assisted selection, anther culture, embryo culture, protoplast fusion,
somaclonal variation, etc.
 Agricultural productivity gains are satisfactory with the use of genetically modified
plants and reliance on insecticide application. On crops diminishes over the years.
 The implications of the development and commercialization of genetically modified
(GM) corn have been profound, and in 2011 the area planted in the United States of
America (US) with at least one genetically modified trait represented more than 88% of
excess acreage.
 The Infestation of any pest depends on the development of the culture and also on the
intensity of the infestation, which can significantly affect the productivity of the same.
 Chemical control is the primary measure used to prevent immediate damage that reaches
the level of economic damage. Many times insecticides do not have the desired efficacy
and are high in cost as multiple applications are usually required.
Insecticides used in pest control, as exemplified in corn, often have low selectivity and can
therefore affect the population of natural enemies, promote the reproduction of pests and even
the recovery of others. Thanks to these factors, the search for alternatives that could minimize or
even replace conventional insecticides has intensified, and currently new tactics include a range
of alternatives:
 Resistant plants
 Selective insecticides
 Parasitoids
 Entomopathogenic microorganisms
Among the entomopathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), notable for its widespread use in the
control of pests of the order Lepidoptera, especially in the culture of maize.
Currently, transgenic production is widespread in almost all agricultural areas of the planet, and
with the adoption of biotechnology, producers achieve higher productivity and lower use of
insecticides.
An example of this is the use of gene technology (Cry) bacteria (Bt) in the control of major
pests of maize. The spread of Bt gene technology aims to make the environment more
sustainable and reduce the concentration of inert products in food rationally using insecticides.

Role Of Biotechnology In Increase Nutritional Value:

Biotech crops can increase the profitability of agriculture by increasing crop quality and in some
cases can increase yields.
 The use of biotechnology offers enormous scope and potential to conventional methods
of crop improvement, crop protection, crop quality management and improvement of
other horticultural traits.
 It extends remarkable opportunities in increasing fruit production by providing new
genotypes for breeding purposes, supplying healthy disease-free planting material,
 improving fruit quality, increasing shelf life, availability of biopesticides, biofertilizers,
etc.
 Integration of specially desired traits through genetic engineering has been made possible
in some horticultural crops.
 Genetic engineering consists of isolating the desired gene, ligating this gene with the
desired vector to form a recombinant DNA molecule, and then transferring this gene into
the plant genome to create a new function.
Transgenic technology has been ranked as the fastest growing technology in agriculture.
 It refers to a set of techniques used to transfer a desired gene(s) from any source (plants,
animals, microorganisms, or even artificially synthesized genes) across taxonomic
boundaries into a particular plant by unconventional methods.
Unlike conventional breeding, which involves the random mixing of tens of thousands of genes
present in both resistant and susceptible plants, recombinant DNA technology enables the
transfer of only the desired genes to susceptible plants and the preservation of valuable economic
traits. Furthermore, genetic sources of resistance are not limited to closely related plant species.
Combating various types of biotic and abiotic stresses is the basis and core of sustainable
agriculture. Although conventional and marker-assisted breeding are used today to develop more
promising cultivars, in the case of biennial or perennial horticultural crops, especially fruit trees,
such techniques are not feasible due to long sexual generation periods. The main advantages of
transgenic technology are that genes controlling various agronomically important traits can come
from any organism – plants or microorganisms etc. and can be used for plant transformation.
Some of these crops can simplify work and improve safety for farmers. This allows farmers to
spend less time managing crops and more time on other profitable activities.

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Hafsa Mariam
19-arid-1511
Biotechnological Approaches To Combat Food Insecurity:
Scientific discoveries and technological advancements helped to improve and promote crop
development. An important event that lead to the birth of agricultural biotechnology was the
introduction of corn in Americas, European countries in 1492. Rest of the world adapted to the
plant according to their growing condition. At this point, the crops were started transporting
across the world and were grown in different diversity conditions. Biotechnological crops
prepared through scientific researches and use of technology are expected to reduce poverty
by half by accomplishing the latest Millineum Goal Development through their increased crop
productivity.
Basically two main biotechnological approaches are used:
1) Traditional approaches
2) Modern approaches

TRADITIONAL APPROACHES:
From several thousand years, the farmers are using the techniques to alter the genetic makeup
of the plant by looking for the best features in plants like increased production, faster growth,
increased seed size, ripeness in fruits, pest and disease resistance. They are doing so by using
the techniques that are being used since the birth of agriculture. they usually save the best
seeds having all the qualities mentioned above and grow them next year for boom production.
the flaw in this regard is in these conventional methods that they can’t fulfill the global
demands according to increasing population, decreasing cultivable land and water resources.
These approaches include:

 Selective breeding
 Fermentation techniques
 Mutation breeding
SELECTIVE BREEDING
selective breeding is one of the conventional approach of biotechnology used in agriculture that
was to enhance the crop production and to improve its quality. This traditional breeding has
been used for centuries. In this type of breeding, two compatible cross breeding mates are
selected to produce new variety with desirable characteristics. For example, an apple called
honeycrisp apple is famous for its yummy flavor and texture due to crossbreeding of parents.
this happens by placing pollen from one plant on the female of another plant which eventually
leads to hybrid containing a genetic information, passes from parent plants to offsprings. Cross
breeding can only be used for closely related species that’s why farmers select the plant with
desired traits and continue to breed them.

FERMENTATION TECHNIQUES
Fermentation is another traditional approach of increasing the prepared food product to
combat food insecurity. This is mainly done by converting the raw meat, fruits and vegetables
into sausages, jams, jellies and pickles respectively. the conversion takes place by changing the
sugars, starches of the food into acetic acid and alcohol respectively by using microorganism.
Various types of fermentations are employed including:

 Lactic acid,
 Alcoholic and
 Acetic acid fermentation.
MUTATION BREEDING
Farmers usually travel long distances inspecting their fields to look for the plants that are
distinctively showing the desirable characteristics. the traits that arise occasionally and
spontaneously through a process called mutation. The potential of recognizing desirable traits
and incorporating them into future generations is very important to reduce food insecurity. The
natural process of mutation is very slow and unreliable to produce plants that farmers want. in
recent years, chemicals are employed to increase the mutation process. Mutation breeding
efforts continue around the world today. In the 73 years of mutation breeding, a total of 3,218
varieties obtained through mutation breeding have been registered in the IAEA database.
Staple crops such as rice has registered 824 varieties, barley, wheat, maize, common bean,
tomato, potato, sugarcane, soybean, as well as other important crops that were improved to
possess agronomically-desirable traits.
MODERN APPROACHES:
Modern approaches include genomics, molecular breeding and genetic engineering.
GENETIC ENGINEERING:
In living organisms, the traits are determined by the sequence of DNA base pairs. Agronomical
biotechnology works by taking one or more specific genes from living organisms and then
incorporating them into the genome of other organism. This is known as recombinant DNA
technology. The first product was synthetic insulin. Rennin was the first enzyme produced from
GMO modified source yeast, appointed and approve to be used in foods. Renin is used to
produce cheese obtained from cows stomach linings. In agronomical biotechnology, plant’s
genome is involved to make changes. Once the desirable trait containing gene is identified, it is
extracted and incorporated into another genome referred later as transgenic crop.
STACKED TRAITS
Some of the crops like corn, cotton, and soy bean are engineered with stacked traits containing
herbicide and insect tolerance traits. For one trait, stacking the different genes resists the pest,
and tolerate more herbicides. With genetic engineering, more than one trait can be
incorporated into a plant and are called stacked
traits. These are currently corn, cotton, and soybean crops with both herbicide and insect
tolerance traits. Transgenic crops with combined traits are also available commercially such as
the herbicide tolerant and insect resistant maize and cotton. Stacking different genes for one
trait makes the crop more durable to resist the pest/disease and tolerate more herbicides.
Examples of these products include:
 Rice with increased levels of iron and beta carotene.
 Long life banana that ripes faster on the tree and can therefore be harvested earlier.
 Maize with better-quality feed value.
 Late ripening papaya; papaya ringspot virus resistant papaya
  Tomatoes with great levels of flavonols
 Drought tolerant maize and wheat
 Maize with better-quality phosphorus availability
 Arsenic-tolerant plants
 Insect resistant eggplant and rice
 Edible vaccines from fruit and vegetables
 Low lignin trees for paper making among others.
MOLECULAR BREEDING
Molecular breeding is the use of genetic manipulation at DNA level to enhance the desirable
traits in plants and animals. it works by genetic engineering, genetic manipulation, molecular
marker assisted selection. It should be well-known, however, that molecular breeding through
marker assisted selection is fairly imperfect in scope compared to genetic engineering or
modification because:
1) It only works for traits already present in a crop.
2) It can’t be used efficiently to breed crops which have long generation time (e.g. citrus)
3) It cannot be used effectively with crops which are clonally spread because they are sterile or
their offsprings does not look like the parent. This includes many staples such as yams, bananas,
plantain, sweet potato, and cassava.
GENOME EDITING:
Genome editing also named gene editing is a assemblage of technologies that give scientists the
ability to modify an organism's DNA. These technologies permit genetic material to be added,
removed, or altered at specific locations in the genome. Numerous approaches to genome
editing have been established. A renowned one is called CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for
clustered frequently interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.
The CRISPR-Cas9 system has made a lot of enthusiasm in the scientific community because it is
faster, inexpensive, more precise, and more effective than other genome editing methods.
 Genome Editing System
A naturally occurring genome editing mechanism used by bacteria as an immunological
defence, CRISPR-Cas9, was modified. Bacteria that are virus-infected seize tiny bits of the
viruses' DNA and splice it into their own DNA in a specific pattern to form sections known as
CRISPR arrays. The bacteria can "remember" the viruses thanks to the CRISPR arrays (or closely
related ones). In the event of a subsequent virus attack, the bacteria create RNA segments from
CRISPR arrays that can recognise and bind to particular sections of the viral DNA. The virus is
then rendered inoperable by the bacteria's employment of Cas9 or a related enzyme to split the
DNA.
GENETIC TRANSFORMATION
The expression of foreign genes in a host organism is a process known as genetic
transformation. The existence of extrachromosomal, or episomal, genes in nuclei that may
endure if the imported DNA has a replication mechanism can cause this expression. However,
extrachromosomal expression frequently occurs briefly because cell division dilutes the DNA.
The integration of foreign DNA into somatic chromosomes, which can last the entire lifetime of
the organism but are not inherited, might also lead to expression. Alternately, germ-line
transformation—the incorporation of foreign genes into the germ-line genome—can result in
their stable inheritance.. This is the most common type of genetic transformation in plants. A
stable transformation is shown as below:

RNA INTERFERENCE:
A conserved biological response to double-stranded RNA, known as RNA interference (RNAi) or
post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), promotes resistance to both endogenous parasite
and exogenous harmful nucleic acids and controls the expression of protein-coding genes.
Sequence-specific gene silencing is a natural process that has the potential to revolutionise
experimental biology and have significant applications in functional genomics, therapeutic
intervention, agriculture, and other fields.

Anther Culture
Another culture is the development of haploid and dihaploid plants by regenerating plants from
haploid microspore cells. In the other cultivation of buckwheat, there are not many reports on
plant regeneration.

Embryo culture
Embryo culture is the culture of isolated immature or mature embryos. Immature or mature
embryos are separated and cultured in this way. Zygotic or seed embryos are frequently
employed in plant tissue culture for explant purposes, such as to start callus cultures. When
nutritive tissue and endosperm were present in the seed during development, this embryo
developed normally. However, crossing between the two dissimilar species caused the
endosperm tissue to deteriorate, which impedes embryo development and makes it impossible
for a viable plant to grow. The embryo was cultured in order to recover such a hybrid embryo.

Protoplast fusion
A cutting-edge method for transferring genes to produce a desired level of quality and quantity
is protoplast fusion. In this method, parasexual hybrid protoplasts are created by fusing two
separate genetically derived protoplasts from different somatic cells. It is possible to transfer
genes from one species to another that reflect advantageous traits including increased
bioproduct productivity, enhanced protein quality, and resilience to heat and cold. In T. reesei
strain PTr2, for example, intra-strain protoplast fusion was accomplished utilising lysing
enzymes, 0.6 M KCl as an osmotic stabiliser, and 40% polyethylene glycol with STC (sorbitol,
Tris-HCl, CaCl2) buffer. Most of the fusants (80% of the fusants showed greater enzyme activity
and two fusants, SFTr2 and SFTr3) demonstrated quicker mycelia growth, profuse sporulation,
and high levels of extracellular carboxymethyl cellulase.
Somaclonal Variation
The variance found in plants derived from plant tissue culture is known as somaclonal
variation. Rearrangements of the chromosomes are a significant cause of this variance.
Although not exclusively present, somaclonal variation is more prevalent in plants that have
grown from calluses.
NAME: AQSA NASEEM
ARID NUMBER: 19-ARID-1504

POTENTIAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN IMPROVEMENT OF THE

MICRONUTRIENT CONTENT OF CROPS:
The 20th century has witnessed tremendous advances in food biotechnology, including
improvements in techniques to monitor food safety and nutritional quality. As we know, global
food issue and food insecurity is greatest challenge for humans and great threat for human
health. According to Global Nutrition Report 2014, approximately 800 million people in the
world are undernourished means they do not consume an adequate number of calories and
nutrients. While half of the world’s population is malnourished which is also an alarming
situation. Many of people are suffered from hidden hunger means they are deficient in
micronutrients. Deficiencies in micronutrients specifically iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, vitamin A,
D and E are very common.

The United Nations 2nd Sustainable Development Goal was set to eradicate the extreme
hunger and malnutrition from world. This goal could be addressed by biofortification of crops
which is application of biotechnology.

AIM:

The aim of biotechnology via biofortification according to World Health Organization:

“To increase the nutrient content in crops during plant growth rather than through manual
means during processing of crops.”

BENEFITS:
Biofortification of crops is beneficial in a way:

 Crops which lost their nutrient content during the time of food processing,
transportation, preservation, storage and cooking as vitamins and minerals are very
sensitive to temperature, light intensity, and change in pH of food and soil condition. So
biofortification is solution of this problem.
 For poor people who cannot afford to diverse their diet and get high quality food. So, it
has potential to reach the poorest community of society.
 People who find it difficult to change their dietary habits and stick to some specific kind
of diet.
 People who lack access to nutritional program run by different agencies.
  Children with food aversions.
 Old people who are unable to eat food due to tooth loss and chronic health conditions.

Agronomic practice, conventional breeding techniques or use of biotechnology such as genetic

modification can be used to biofortified of crops.

 Agronomic practices refer to the application of fertilizers in order to increase the

micronutrient content in plants which are grown poor soil conditions which has low
micronutrient availability.
 Conventional breeding relies primarily on selection, using natural processes of sexual
and asexual reproduction in order to create desired genotypes and phenotypes for
specific purposes.
 Genetic engineering refers to the process of introduction of novel trait into a crop by
through manipulation of its genetic makeup and these are termed as genetic modified
crops or transgenic crops. So, biotechnology practices are used to made advances in
generating crops, which are biofortified for vitamins, minerals and other biological
compounds that tend to play an important role in human health.

BIOFORTIFICATION OF DIFFERENT CROPS:

BIOFORTIFICATION OF RICE:
Biofortification process has helped us to increase the content of mineral and vitamins of staple
foods through biotechnology techniques. Micronutrient fortification in staple foods have shown
more potential to combat widespread micronutrient deficiency. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is staple
food and half of the world’s population has been used it many parts of the Asia. Vitamin A, Fe,
and Zn, folate deficiencies are most widespread in world but their deficiency can alleviate by
biofortification of them into rice. Rice is good source of carbohydrate but always lack
micronutrient so they are fortified by:

IRON FORTIFICATION IN RICE:

 Rice has long been held as suitable target for iron biofortification because iron
deficiency anemia highly prevalent around the world. Rice is staple food for an
estimated 3 billion people around the world so iron fortified in rice is best approach.
 How iron fortification is done: Iron is fortified by expressing the soyabean ferritin gene
in rice under the control of rice endosperm specific glutelin promoter, GluB-1.
 One study concluded that iron fortified rice increased hemoglobin and hematocrit level
in women with iron-deficient anemia and improve birth weight in linear fashion.

VITAMIN A FORTIFICATION IN RICE:

 Vitamin A which is essential for health but its precursor beta-carotene cannot be
synthesized by humans which lead to its deficiency. So, it is fortified in rice and known
as Golden Rice.
 How vitamin A is fortified in rice: Golden rice first generation was generated by
overexpressing of two genes from daffodil plant (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) and from
bacterium Erwinia uredovora. The most current golden rice is GR2, where maize gene is
substituted by daffodil gene.
 Studies showed that beta-carotene derived from Golden Rice was just effective as pure
B-carotene and in fact more than beta-carotene from spinach in providing vitamin A to
children.

ZINC AND LYSINE FORTIFICATION:

 Similarly, zinc is fortified in rice by agronomic biofortification and plant breading

approaches to increase its nutritional quality. Increasing the zinc content of cereal
grains is important for improving human nutrition and metabolism.
 Lysine is an essential amino acid but it is limiting in rice so it is biofortified in rice by
collaboration of DuPont (one of the largest producers of chemicals and science-based
 products) and IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) where Dupont agreed to
provide specific genes to IRRI to boost quality and diversity of hybrid rice.

BIOFORTIFICATION OF MAIZE:
 Maize is different from rice as it is capable of producing beta-carotene and its content is
highest among maize as compared to other cereal but their content can vary between
maize varieties. Also, storage and processing of cereals negatively impact their
carotenoid content. So, beta-carotene is biofortified either by conventional breeding
or by genetically engineered to increase its level. Studies concluded that consumption
of transgenic maize which biofortified with beta-carotene in form of porridge by North
American women resulted in greater conversion of beta-carotene in to retinol.

BIOFORTIFICATION OF POTATOES:
Potatoes are also fortified by carotenoid astaxanthin, synthesized from precursor beta-
carotene, is produced by some bacteria, algae and several fungi and plants. Astaxanthin is an
antioxidant and protect cells from damage, improve immune function system, improve skin
health. As astaxanthin available in few natural resources so it is biofortified in potato tubers and
they produced high levels of astaxanthin precursor compounds.
BIOFORTIFCATION OF SORGHUM AND MILLET:
Sorghum and millet are used as staple foods in Sub-Sahara Africa but has low level of lysine,
iron, zinc and vitamin A. Which lead to deficiency among this population. So, Africa Biofortified
Sorghum (ABS) project initiated to enhance bioavailable content of vitamin A, Zn, Fe. There is
considerable increase in Fe and zinc content by 50% in sorghum, increase in lysine by 80-100%,
increase in tryptophan and threonine by 20%.

Millet provides up to 75% total calories intake in Asia and Africa and it contain high level of
proteins and micronutrient content but the problem is millet also carry an abundance of anti-
nutrient factors such as phytates and tannins. These anti-nutrient factors reduce millet
nutritional bioavailability. So, biofortification in millet is achieved through two strategies:

 Enhancement of accumulation of nutrients in milled grains

 Reducing the antinutrient to increase bioavailability of minerals.

Effort must be made by genetic engineering technologies including RNA interference and gene
editing to reduce the action of anti-nutrients.

FORTIIFCATION OF LYSINE IN CROPS:

 Lysine is an essential amino acid and required to maintain human health but it is limiting
in rice but it can be improved by genetic engineering. Lysine deficiency is predominant
in developing countries where cereal crops are consumed as staple foods and low lysine
content, so it is necessary to fortified lysine in staple diet.
 How fortification in done: Introduction of two bacterial genes DHDPS
(dihydrodipicolinic acid synthase) and AK (aspartokinase) enzymes encoded by
Corynebacterium dapA gene and a mutant Escherichia coli lysC gene has enhanced
lysine content in rice as well as about fivefold in canola, corn, and soyabean.

NUTRITIONALLY ENHANCED TOMATO:

FOLIC ACID FORTIFICATION: Folic acid deficiency is a global health problem that affects mainly
women over the age of 30, and also it is main factor causing of anemia in pregnant women in
underdeveloped nations. In food, most of the folic acid occurs as folate. So, scientist biofortified
the folate in tomatoes. And studies showed tomatoes are also suitable crop for iodine
biofortification.

CAROTENOID FORTIFICATION: Similarly, tomatoes are good sources of carotenoid, during

ripening season of tomatoes, lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeathanthin are produced in
tomato. So, due to biotechnology several transgenic lines are developed to increase carotenoid
expression. Such as the Red Setter line overexpresses Lycopene beta-cyclase (Lcy-b) which
increase the beta-carotene concentration in tomato. Another transgenic line high Delta
overexpresses lycopene epsilon cyclase (Lyc-e) to increase lutein content.

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED OIL CROPS:

Oil crops are developed to provide the world with sufficient nutrients. Omega-3 fatty acid is
highly beneficial for human health specially for brain and cardiovascular health and function.
Seafood is good source of omega-3 fatty acid but we con not meet the requirement of
population’s omega-3 due to ecological issue so for this purpose, “designer oilseed” plants
have been genetically modified to synthesize omega-3 fatty acid in abundance amount in crop
plant.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORTIFICATION AND BIOFORTIFICATION:
 Food fortification is process which involves enhancing the nutritional content of food
during processing stage.
 Biofortification is process where nutritional value of crops is being improved during the
plant growth through genetic modification and selective breeding.

CHALLENGES FOR BIOFORTIFICATION:

  Biofortification is done for the wellbeing of people and people should consume these
products to alleviate the symptoms of nutrient deficiency but sometimes this
biofortification also suffer from drawbacks as fortified compound at high level may alter
taste, appearance, and also cause effect on shelf life of food making the product
unacceptable to consumer and people hesitate to purchase it.
 Biofortification is effective if farmer adopt this at large scale but mostly in developing
countries farmer not have basic knowledge about these biofortified crops and their
cultivation.
 The initial cost of could also be a barrier for people to implement this strategy on large
scale and in developing countries government not provide financial support to generate
biofortified crops and not supporting programs to explore more techniques to increase
micronutrient content through biotechnology.

BIOFORTIFICATION STATUS IN PAKISTAN:

Nutrition deficiency leads to many health problem and cause development issue such as
stunting and wasting. Pakistan ranks among those countries who have highest prevalence of
vitamin A and zinc deficiency.

 CIMMYT INITIATION OF MAIZE BIOFORTIFICATION IN PAKISTAN:

International Maize and Wheat Improvement initiated biofortified maize crop in hope of
increasing yield and also increasing total protein and micronutrient level for over 50 years. This
program is working through United States Agency for International Development which provide
fund to Agriculture Innovation Program (AIP) which is working in collaboration with Pakistan
Agricultural Research Council and other stakeholders in public and private sectors. AIP has
been testing CIMMYT-biofortified maize since 2014 to ensure will grow in local condition to
combat zinc and vitamin A deficiency in Pakistan. They selected maize fortification because
maize demand in Pakistan has more than triple since the 1990s and now utilizing by farmers
and consumers in various forms.

 ZINC BIOFORTIFICATION VARIETIES INTRODUCED BY HARVESTPULS:

Harvest plus is crop science institute which helps Research and Development Institution of
Pakistan to breed, test and release varieties of high zinc wheat which is developed via the
partnership with CIMMYT. As zinc deficiency is highly prevalent in Pakistani papulation about
22.1% as Pakistan’s staple food is wheat is lowest bioavailable in zinc. Due to support of Harvest
Plus, Pakistan National and Provincial Wheat programs is successful in release of two zinc wheat
varieties which are:

o Zincol-2016
 o Akbar-2019

These interventions are taken to lowering the risk of dietary zinc deficiency in rural and
marginalized communities.

References:

o https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812104-7.00019-8
o https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/156482650002100421
o https://austinpublishinggroup.com/agriculture-crop-sciences/fulltext/aacs-v3-
id1038.pdf
o Losso JN, Karki N, Muyonga J, Wu Y, Fusilier K, Jacob G, Yu Y, Rood JC, Finley JW,
Greenway FL. Iron retention in iron-fortified rice and use of iron-fortified rice to treat
women with iron deficiency: A pilot study. BBA Clin. 2017 Sep 8;8:78-83. doi:
10.1016/j.bbacli.2017.09.001. PMID: 28966915; PMCID: PMC5608553.
o https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5179503/
o https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/bio-fortification/
o https://www.cimmyt.org/news/maize-biofortification-fights-malnutrition-in-pakistan/
o https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.591722/full
o https://www.harvestplus.org/countries/pakistan/

Khadija Mushtaq
19-Arid-1523

Gmos Food
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism used for the welfare of mankind
and to protect to certain diseases and pests , environment or severe conditions
like drought or floods.
Gmos Controversies:
Genetically modified food controversies are disaggrement on the foods that are
genectically modified whether they are good healthy for manking or not.The
disputes followed by public governmental regulators, non-governmental
organizations, and scientists.
The key areas of controversy are related to certain aspects that ;
 the effect of genetically modified crops on health and the environment,
 food should be labeled
 the role of government regulators
 objective of scientific research and publication.
Effect Of Gmos On Environmental:
Research indicates that GM crop technology can result in a net increase in
herbicide use and can foster the growth of herbicide resistant weeds. In addition,
there is concern that the use of GM crops may negatively impact the agriculture
ecosystem. a reduction in insect biodiversity when crops are resistant to insects.
unanticipated effects on other crops or animals. creating more weeds or harder-
to-kill invasive species. transmission of GMO genes to wild plants and animals.
Effect on health:
Allergic reaction:
It is says that GMO foods can cause an allergic reaction, but this will only happen
if the genetic change in GMO triggers the
production of an allergen.
For EXAMPLE, if scientists combine a gene
from a Brazil nut with a soybean that a
person with a nut allergy could have an
allergic reaction to products made with the
soybean. Its genetic material was altered by the insertion of a gene from the
Brazilian walnut coding information for synthesis of high quality protein with a
favourable ratio of amino acids. The new protein in soy caused allergic reactions
in people who were allergic to Brazilian nuts and consumed soy, which was
proven by immunoassays.Its means that GMO food can cause allergic problem so
safety should be maintained before launching to the market.
Cancer:
Some gmo foods can cancerous to the body as it produce the carcinogenuic
product in body.Some scientist disagree from this point.but there is ni specific
evidence.
Antibacterial resistance:

Some GMOs causew antibiotic resistance as they contain specific genes from
plant and animals that are resistant to certain bacteria so medicines used aginst
specific bacteria cannot work.

Changes in human DNA:

As it is thinks that GMO based food can change the body metabolism because
GMO and body natural gut compete for each other.Some people have also raised
questions that gmo based product are destroyed by the intestine or destroyd by
small intestine.

Toxicity for body organs:

In 2009, it is says that GMO foods might cause problems in the liver, kidney,
pancreas, and reproductive system. They did not have evidence to support this
and called for further studies.

DISADVANTAGES OF GMOS:

 a negative impact on insects and other species by using insect resistant pest
and insects cannot take there food from plant and they die.
  decrease in no of plant because many plants are used in GMO and
multiples copies are produced from that gene so there is no need to grow
them and there is specific loss of biodiversity

Why people don’t want to use gmo:

The biggest fears are the possible negative consequences on human and animal
health that include allergic reactions, antibiotic resistance, toxic effects on various
organs, mutations, affect on pregnancy,
offspring ,toxicity, damage to individual
organs, gene transfer and differences in
nutritional value. c Consumers are unsure
and confused as to whether consuming GM
foods is harmful to their health or not.
According to a Pew Research Center survey
conducted between October 2019 and
March 2020, 48% of respondents said GM
foods are harmful, 13% responded GM foods are safe, while 37% of respondents
could not express their opinion due to lack of knowledge about it. Numerous
studies have been undertaken to examine the effects that GM foods and feeds
exert on humans and animals

THE REGUlATORY AUTHORITIES:

Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Purpose of regulatory authorities:

GMO developer submits food safety assessment data and information to FDA.
FDA evaluates the data and information and resolves any issues with the
developer. Consultation is complete once FDA has no more questions about the
safety of the human and animal food made from the new GMO plant variety.

Public concern:

As the public concern over GM food focused only on human and animal health, as
well as on environmental safety, labelling and consumer choice, ethics, food
safety, poverty reduction and environmental conservation. What effects will GM
food/feed have on the environment? What are the dangers to human health?
Are we challenging 61st International Meat Industry Conference, effect on
Earth and Environmental “Mother Nature” with these innovative technologies?
These are the questions that we will leave to evolution itself to answer.