Genetically Modified Food

ARISE August 6, 2007

Outline
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) Review of reading, why GM? How to make a GM organism Techniques Homework for tonight

Have you ever eaten genetically modified food?

Can you tell the difference between a genetically modified organism and a non-GM organism? Do GM foods taste any different? Could they?

http://www2.cast.ilstu.edu/ksmick/250/250lablink.htm

What is genetic modification?

Does genetic modification only happen in plants?
No, the first gene was transferred into bacteria.

What are some reasons for genetic modification?

Express recombinant insulin in bacteria

What are some of the benefits and some of the disadvantages of GM foods?
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/Avery.html http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/R/RecombinantDNA.html#cloning

How long have humans been genetically modifying organisms?

What about in the lab? How long have scientists been modifying organisms? How is modern technology used to genetically modify organisms?

Teosinte

Why would we want to modify an organism?

Better crop yield, especially under harsh conditions Herbicide or disease resistance Nutrition or pharmaceuticals, vaccine delivery In 2004, approximately 85% of soy and 45% of corn grown in the U.S. were grown from Roundup Ready seed.
http://www.oercommons.org/courses/detecting-genetically-modified-food-by-pcr/

Roundup Ready Gene

The glyphosate resistance gene protects food plants against the broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, which efficiently kills invasive weeds in the field. The major advantages of the "Roundup Ready system include better weed control, reduction of crop injury, higher yield, and lower environmental impact than traditional weed control systems. Notably, fields treated with Roundup require less tilling; this preserves soil fertility by lessening soil run-off and oxidation.

How to make a GM organism

Clone gene into vector (i.e. plasmid) with restriction enzymes and other molecular techniques Transform into organism or into biological vector (agrobacteria or virus) Infect plant with bacteria Select for transformants with herbicide
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/

Many of the same techniques are used to make a genetic modifications as to detect one
Restriction enzymes Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Gel electrophoresis Transformation

Homework
Read through the GM unit and the lesson plans List three concerns you have about implementing this unit into your classroom Also read through the lab protocol and bring any questions you have tomorrow