Genetic Engineering: The Benefits Of Genetic Engineering

In our modern society, humans are constantly trying to find ways to improve. One of the improvements made recently is genetic engineering. Genetic Engineering is the deliberate manipulation of an organism’s genome, with an intention to change its genetic makeup. Genetic engineering can be used to alter the genes of plants, animals, bacteria and even humans. Scientists can apply genetic engineering in a multitude of fields, like agriculture, healthcare, and various commercial fields. DNA used in genetic engineering can be obtained by copying genetic material from an organism from genetic cloning, of DNA can be artificially synthesized. Gene segments are inserted into an organism’s DNA by replacing a gene with another, named “knockin”. Genes

Genetic engineering can be used to increase yield, prevent diseases and pests, and improve crop quality. Most applications for genetic engineering into the agriculture field involves modifying the crops to increase yield. For example, DroughtGard®, a hydroefficiency trait from the Bacillus subtilus bacterium, reduces the impact of “drought stress” in corn. Not only does this product allow crops to grow in dryer environments, ‘Genuity’, the company responsible for the DroughtGard® trait, claims that using their hybrid corn increases yield, giving the customer a five bushel-per-acre advantage over a leading competitor. Farmers can also purchase seeds of GM crops that produce the proteins to repel pests, or result in the death of pests. Using these seeds instead of organic seeds cuts the need to use pesticides, reducing costs, and work required, greatly increasing profits. For example, Bt Corn is a type of genetically modified maize, that produces δ-endotoxins originally from Bacillus thuringiensis, its donor bacteria. These endotoxins act as an insect repellant, preventing the corn from being eaten by insects. In places where resources to control pests and weeds are scarce, plants with these genetic modifications can massively increase yield. For example, after India started growing insect-resistant cotton, average yield increased more than 50%. Genetic engineering can also increase

For example, genetic engineering can be used to produce fibres for multiple uses, neutralize hazardous chemicals, reducing the need for fossil fuels. Genetic engineering can be used to produce new types of textile fibres. Producers can insert genes into bacteria, and make amino acids. These amino acids are then woven together to make fibers. Another way of making genetically engineered fibres is to express other proteins into keratin fibres, using transgenesis, the act of introducing a gene into a living organism, so its offspring inherits its trait. Genetic engineering can also be used to convert waste into useful materials. In the early 90s, a bacterium was genetically engineered to accelerate the breakdown of oil, as well as many synthetic materials like plastics and pesticides. Pseudomonas putida, the first patented organism in the world, is a genetically engineered bacterium that can bio-degrade oil, as it uses hydrocarbons for fuel. This species of bacteria can be released into oil spills; the bacteria will then quickly digest the oil. Similar bacteria were used in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, bacteria was released into the gulf to digest and contain the oil. However, the bacteria by itself struggled to digest the heavy oils, so genetically modified Alcanivorax borkumensis was added to the waters to accelerate the digestion process. It may also be possible to genetically