Genetic Modifications

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) argon organisms which have had their desoxyribonucleic acid altered by artificial means, much(prenominal) as gene splicing, rather than by natural recombination or combination due to mating (European Commission on intellectual nourishment Safety, 2003).

Why Plants Are Being Genetically Modified

Genetic fitting of plants has been taking place for centuries (Lessick, Keithley, Swanson and Lemon, 2002). Farmers have always selected plants for their superior properties, and cover species to produce required properties. The difference between natural pedagogy and genetic modification today is that conventional breeding involves pass over genotypes expressing many thousands of genes, and selecting the offspring with the best features, which has the drawback of creating a plant with a random assortment of genes. This method of breeding for desired qualities is as well as limited by the fact that only closely think plant species canful be interbred. Genetic modification allows the closing off and transfer of specific genes, and allows them to be transferred across species. Since all plants play a universal DNA, DNA from different organisms can be cut and spliced.

Plants argon being modified for a summate of reasons. Crops such as sugarcane are being real that resist herbicides (Gallo-Meagher and Irvine, 1996); researchers from Cornell University have developed a strain of rice which

Miller Publishing Company, Inc. (2002). Biotech soybeans may be less allergenic. Foodstuffs, 74, 19.

The chemical herbicide Roundup is widely use to kill off unwanted vegetation in farming, further it is also toxic to crops (Anderson, 2003). Now, strains of edible corn, soybeans, cotton and canola have been developed which are resistant to this herbicide, meaning that farmers can spray their crops to get rid of unwanted weeds without risking damage to their crop yields. Already obtainable is a genetically modified corn seed which allow resist attack by the corn borer, and awaiting regulatory approving is a variety which will also resist rootworm pests. These corn varieties will both increase crop yields, and decrease output signal costs.

Several methods can be utilize to genetically interpolate plants to produce their own chemicals. Bacteria are often used in the process (Lessick, Keithley, Swanson and Lemon, 2002). Plasmids, short loops of DNA found in bacteria, are cut using a restriction enzyme and multiform with an isolated gene which will produce the desired overlap in the plant. The gene is attached to the plasmid using DNA ligase, and the recombinant plasmid is mixed with bacteria under conditions in which they can incorporate it. These bacterial cells containing the recombinant plasmid are replicated in culture. The plasmids are then extracted from the bacteria, the cloned gene is excised and introduced into individual plant cells using a bacterial vector.

There are two sides to the debate on the desirability of genetically modified crops. On the one hand, figures order that one quarter of global biotech acreage is found in developing countries, where poor farmers make up three-quarters of approximately 6 million farmers growing genetically modified crops in 2002 (Europe development Service, 2003). Biotech crops can significantly improve the quality of life for such farmers. In 2002, Chinese Farmers who grew Bt (pest-resistant) cotton increased their income
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.