Herbicides are chemicals that kill plants. Some plants are genetically modified to resist the application of herbicides. Herbicides are developed to be efficient against numerous target weeds, but it will not kill GM crops. Weeds must be controlled for they might have a huge impact on the crop yield . By the introduction of a new gene into a plant susceptible to herbicides, one can increased the tolerance of the plant towards the herbicide (Ahmad et al. 2012). De Freitas et al. introduced an anti-apoptotic p35 gene from baculovirus into the genome of the passion fruit (De Freitas et al. 2012). The expression of the p35 gene reduced the progression of programmed cell death caused by the glufosinate herbicide. The enzyme glutamine synthase inhibits glufosinate, leading to buildup of ammonia, which stimulate the production of a chemical that is toxic to plants. The transgenic passion fruit plant showed more tolerance towards the herbicide glufosinate when the non-transgenic plant was compared with the transgenic plant (De Freitas et al. 2012). Fruits infected with microorganisms leading to diseases can be a great problem for mankind, because less fruit will be available, more pesticides and fungicides will be used which will set more pressure on the environment. Pesticides and fungicides can be expensive (Uzogara 2000). Green mould caused by the Penicillium digitatum, a postharvest disease is a big problem in citrus, because it leads to postharvest losses. A study was done to control green mould by applying Paenibacillus polymyxa strain SG-6 to the citrus fruit. Upon the application, the bacteria inhibited the growth of Penicillium digitatum and Lai and colleagues found that the green moulds’ growth reduced quicker if the t... ... middle of paper ... ...nefits. Journal of Chromatography B 756 (1-2) : 327-335. • Streatfield, S. J. 2007.Approaches to achieve high-level heterologous protein production in plants. Plant Biotechnology Journal 5 : 2-15. • Trivedi, P. K. and Nath, P. 2004. MaExp1, an ethylene-induced expansin from ripening banana fruit. Plant Science 167 : 1351-1358. • Uzogara, S. G. 2000. The impact of genetic modification of human foods in the 21st century: a review. Biotechnology Advances 18 (3) : 179-206. • Varoquaux, F., Robert, B., Michel, D. and Patrick, G. 2000. Less is better: new approaches for seedless fruit production. Trends in Biotechnology 18 (6) : 233-242. • Wasserman, S. A. 2008. Animal nutrition. In Campbell, N. A., Reece, J. B., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V. and Jackson, R. B. (ed.), Biology, Rearson Benjamin Cummings. 1267pp. (ISBN: 9780321536167).
Modern biotechnology was born at the hands of American scientists Herb Boyer and Stain Cohen, when they developed “recombinant deoxyribonucleotide, (rDNA), [1] for medicinal purposes. Subsequently, biotechnologists started genetically engineering agricultural plants using this technology. A single gene responsible for a certain trait, from one organism (usually a bacterium) is selected altered and then ‘spliced” into the DNA of a plant to create an agricultural crop consisting of that...
Kellems, Richard O., and D. C. Church. Livestock Feeds and Feeding. 6th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
Pamela Ronald, a plant geneticist, presented a Ted Talk “The case for engineering our food”, Ronald points out that engineered genetics for our plants is not harmful, yet better for our environment and health. “Now, genetic modification is not new; virtually everything we eat has been genetically modified in some manner”(Ronald).
The horse’s protein requirements vary depending on age and function.
A GMO is a plant or animal that has been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses, or other plants and animals. Most of the combinations which are used could not possibly occur in nature on its own. The intention of the process is to create a new beneficial trait such as creating its own pesticide or make it immune to herbicides. This would allow the crop such as Bt co...
The past twenty years have seen rise to a new burgeoning scientific field: genetically modified foods. During the plant breeding process, geneticists interfere with the reproduction and modify the genes of the new seedling by introducing a fragment of DNA from another organism that possesses the desired trait. With genetic modification, scientists can increase the pest, herbicide, cold, and drought tolerance so that the crop can survive in harsher climates. In some cases, the nutritional value can even be increased (Ulrich 9). Despite the obvious benefits of more nutritious foods and crops that are hardier and more resistant to harsher climates, there are some concerns surrounding GM foods. Each new alteration can cause an unforeseen allergic reaction, negate the effects of antibiotics, or potentially cause some adverse effects to the environment (Falkner 101). Every newly developed GM food must be tested on a case by case basis as there is no universal method that determines the safety of all modified components. As a result, long term effects of ingesting food with altered material are unknown.
In an article titled “The Threats From Genetically Modified Foods” by Robin Mather, he has said that the use of glyphosate, a herbicide, can “significantly increase the severity of various plant diseases” which is very hazardous to the environment. In the same article “The Threats From Genetically Modified Foods” Robin Mather has stated that genetic transfers cannot occur in nature and are not so precise and predictable as people say they are. In another article called “Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering” from Issues & Controversies, it has been shown that genetic modification can affect many plants. For instance, the article stated that In Oregon, there was genetically modified grass that had affected plants nearby which began to ruin all of the crops near the genetically modified
Janick. J. (2011). Center for New Crops & Plant Products - Department of Horticulture and
In this exercise, Penicillium was utilized, a common, safe, mold. Certain species of Penicillium will spoil fruits, vegetables, grains, and grasses. Other species will ripen various chesses. Still, other species are used in the production of antibiotics. The species of Penicillium, italicum is provided for the lab because of its pronounced hyphae. Penicillium italicum, along with Penicillium digitatum attack citrus fruits post-harvest. In this experiment, the effect of Penicillium italicum on two types of citrus fruits and one non-citrus fruits were tested.
Okigbo, R., Iwube, J., & Putheti, R. (2011). An extensive review on genetically modified (GM) foods
2. Cook, A. A. 1975. Diseases of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits and Nuts, Hafner Press,
The U.S. food and drug administration defines the term genetically modified organisms as "used by scientists to denote a living organism, that have been genetically modified, By inserting a gene from an unrelated species". In other words, they describe GMOs as an organism which has been inserted with a gene from an unrelated species. It is evident that the majority of American farmers utilize biotech seeds, because of the risks that the insect-resistant and herbicide-resistant traits help reduce. GMOs make the life of a farmer much easier as they do not have to worry about rushing to spray herbicides, keeping weeds out, or worrying about insects damaging crops and having to spray pesticides. For instance, Brian Scott, a farmer in Indiana, when corn root worms start indulging on his organic crops, the worms will cause significant damage before he can react accordingly and eliminate the problem with the use of chemicals.
Keener, K., Hoban, T. and Balasubramanian, R. 2014. Biotechnology and its applications. [online] Available at: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/pubs/bioapp.html [Accessed: 11 Apr 2014].
The "cardboard" tomato problem illustrates a larger problem in agriculture - crop spoilage associated with the predations of insects and fungi and with shipping. We saw that picking fruits such as tomatoes while they are green and chemically ripening them is a solution to some of the spoilage problem in crops, while using other chemicals can prevent some damage by pests. However, these chemicals often create environmental hazards in areas where they are used, and pests can often develop resistance to chemicals used to destroy them, making the release of even more pesticides and fungicides int...
The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Agricultural Biotechnology:Using Genetic Engineering to produce super foods. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://suite101.com/content/agricultural-biotechnology.html. ILEIA editorial team (2001, December). Genetic engineering: not the only option [Electronic version].