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Documente Cultură
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Common GM crops:
1. GM soyabeans 2.GM corn 3. Bt Cotton 4.Canola Others are GM tomatoes, potatoes, papayas, chicory, melons, rice, squash, chicory melons rice squash sugar beets and wheat beets, wheat.
Agricultural benefits 1. Herbicide tolerance 2.Protection against insect damage 3.Virus resistance y 4.Tolerance to salty soil 5.Drought tolerance Human Health Benefits 1.Reduction of mycotoxin contamination 2.Lowered food costs potentially leading to more varied diets 3.Nutrient enhancement 4.Vaccine production
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In conventional breeding multiple backcrosses must be performed, each taking at least several months, to create a new cultivar.
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In the process of cis genesis , genes are artificially transferred between organisms that could be conventionally bred. Cis genesis differs from conventional breeding because it can potentially create new varieties of crops more quickly and y cheaply and only selected beneficial genes are transferred and not other genes nearby on the chromosome.
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GM organism produced when exogeneous DNA penetrates the cell membrane for any reason. To do this artificially may require transferring genes as part of an attenuated virus genome or physically inserting the foreign DNA into the nucleus of the intended host using a microsyringe, or as a coating on gold nanoparticles fired from a gene gun. However, other methods exploit natural forms of gene transfer, such as the ability of Agrobacterium to transfer genetic material to plants, etc.
GM tomatoes can remain fresh longer they can be allowed to ripen in the sun before picking - resulting in a better tasting tomato. GM tomatoes can tolerate a lengthier transport time. The producers also have the advantage that all the tomatoes can be harvested simultaneously. GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s.
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INSECT RESISTANCE
Insect resistance is achieved by incorporating into the food plant the gene for toxin production from bacterial strains such as bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (BT). This toxin is currently used as a conventional insecticide in agriculture and is safe for human consumption. GM crops that permanently produce this toxin have been shown to require lower quantities of insecticides in specific situations, e.g. where pest pressure is high. Bt crops, such as Bt corn and Bt cotton have an inserted gene from the Bt bacteria which enables them to produce a poison which shall kill the dominant pests likeCorn borer, Cotton boll worm.
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Bt Brinjal
Bt brinjal is a GM brinjal, carrying an additional gene that provides an in-built insect protection against fruit and shoot borer (FSB). The development of Bt brinjal involves the introduction of the so-called cry1Ac gene from a ubiquitous soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), expressing insecticidal protein to confer resistance against FSB. The cry1Ac gene along with two other supporting genes namely nptII and aad genes are put together in such a way that they work in tandem to produce insecticidal protein that is toxic to the targeted insect.
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Golden rice:
Golden rice is GM rice that now contains a large amount of vitaminsA, more precisely this GM rice contains the element betacarotene which converts into Vitamin-A inside the body. Beta carotene Beta-carotene gives carrots their orange colour and is the reason why genetically modified rice is golden. For the golden rice to make beta-carotene three new genes are implanted: two from daffodils and the third from a bacterium. Importance of Golden rice: People in various countries (mostly Asians) eat only an extremely p ( y ) y y limited diet lacking in the essential bodily vitamins causing death or blindness. The GM rice (Golden Rice) can be considered a particular advantage to poor people in underdeveloped countries.
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Disease resistance :There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with geneticallyengineered resistance to these diseases.
Cold tolerance:C ld t l
Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings.
Pharmaceuticals:
Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional inject able vaccines
Phytoremediation:
Not all GM plants are grown as crops. Soil and groundwater pollution continues t b a problem i all parts of th world. ll ti ti to be bl in ll t f the ld Plants such as poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil.
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Production of high value drugs such as vaccines in high volume agricultural crops such as oilseed rape or livestock such as in milk of dairy cattle. Development of renewable & sustainable sources of few materials (such as plastics based on starch or vegetable oil) in designer agricultural crops such as oilseed rape, potato & maize. Despite the technical difficulty, substantial progress is p y, p g now being made with genetically modifying the compositional & processing characteristics. of food
crops
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(b) Reduced effectiveness of pesticides: Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT, it is a concerned that insects will become resistant to GM crops to produce their own pesticides. (c) Gene transfer to non-target species: Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds. These "superweeds" would then be herbicide tolerant as well.
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3. Economic concerns
Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process, and of course agri-biotech companies wish to ensure a profitable return on their investment. Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. Yet consumer advocates are worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops.
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4. Legal Concerns
GM foods do not contain substantially increased levels of previously known toxic substances, new hazardous substances or different levels of substances, nutrients than traditional counterparts. It is crucial to address whether known or potentially new allergens have been transferred to the modified product. If so, then the product must be labeled as such. This labeling policy applies to all foods to avoid the possibility that they may unexpectedly contain allergenic potential.
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Transgenic organisms , a subset of GMOs, are organisms which have inserted DNA that originated in a different species. Some Genetically modified Organisms:
Transgenic microbes: Bacteria were the first organisms to be modified in the laboratory, due to their simple genetics. GM bacteria are used to produce the protein insulin to treat diabetes. Similar bacteria have been used to produce clotting factors to treat haemophilia. GM bacteria also produce human growth hormone to treat various forms of dwarfism
Transgenic animals:
Genetically Modified (Genetically Engineered) animals are becoming more vital to the discovery and development of cures and treatments for many serious diseases. By altering the DNA or transferring DNA to an animal, we can develop certain proteins that may be used in medical treatment. Stable expressions of human proteins have been developed in many animals, including sheep, pigs, and rats. Some chimeras, like the blotched mouse, are created through genetic modification techniques like gene targeting. Transgenic animals are used as experimental models perform phenotyping and for testing in biomedical research. to
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Glofish: The GloFish is a patented brand of GM fluorescent zebra fish with bright red, green and orange fluorescent color. A gene called green fluorescent protein (GFP), originally extracted from a jellyfish, that naturally produced bright green bioluminescence, inserted into a zebra fish embryo, allowing it to integrate into the zebra fish s genome, fishs genome which caused the fish to be brightly fluorescent under both natural white light and UV light. Vacanti mouse The Vacanti mouse was a laboratory mouse that looked like a human ear grown on its back. The ear was actually an ear-shaped cartilage structure grown by seeding cow cartilage cells into a biodegradable earshaped mold.
Glofish Vacanti mouse
Sudden-Death Mosquito Oxitec which is a British bio-tech company, has created GM mosquitoes, which are programmed for sudden, early death. It involves irradiating male insects, causing mutations that make them sterile. When released into the wild, they mate with females passing on lethal genes which either kills the female or at least kills the youngs in her so then she fails to reproduce. See through frog See-through frog does not require dissection to see its organs, blood vessels, and eggs. Enviro pig (phytase transgenic pig) A genetically engineered pig approved for limited production which p produces 65 percent less phosphorous in animal waste thus very p p p y environmental friendly.
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Fruit flies:
In biological research, transgenic fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are model organisms used to study the effects of genetic changes on development (Developmental research) Fruit fli are often preferred over other animals d to their short i flies f f d h i l due h i h life cycle, low maintenance requirements, and relatively simple genome compared to many vertebrates.
Cnidarians:
Cnidarians have become attractive model organisms to study the th evolution of i l ti f immunity and certain developmental processes. it d t i d l t l
Farm animals, such as pigs, sheep or even cattle may be appropriate models for potential therapies for human diseases which require long observation periods such as atherosclerosis, non-insulin dependant diabetes, cystic fibrosis, cancer and neuro-degenerative disorders.
The pig could be a useful model for studying defects of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH),which are implicated in variety of conditions such as Turner syndrome & renal insufficiency.
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Conclusion
GM foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems. GM foods may help to protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labelling. Thus we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.
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