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The most common transgenic crops in use: Herbicide resistant plants (Roundup Ready)

The most common transgenic crops in use: Herbicide resistant plants (Roundup Ready) Weeds are killed but crop plants survive. (In U.S., about 80% of soybeans were GMO in 2003) Insect resistant plants (BT) Express a bacterial protein that is toxic to insects

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The most common transgenic crops in use: Herbicide resistant plants (Roundup Ready)

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  1. The most common transgenic crops in use: • Herbicide resistant plants (Roundup Ready) • Weeds are killed but crop plants survive. • (In U.S., about 80% of soybeans were GMO in 2003) • Insect resistant plants (BT) • Express a bacterial protein that is toxic to insects • (In U.S., about 40% of maize • and • 75% of cotton were GMO in 2003)

  2. Insect resistance engineered via BT… Bacillus thuringiensis---A spore-forming bacterium, covered with a crystalline protein. Crystals break down in alkaline conditions inside an insect midgut-and form pores in insect membranes European corn borer inside a corn stalk

  3. 29 years 21 years 27 years

  4. GOLDEN RICE Vitamin A (trans-retinol) deficiency: In Southeast Asia, approximately 5 million children develop xeropthalmia (impaired vision) each year. 0.25 mil eventually go blind correlated with diarrhea, respiratory diseases, measles According to UNICEF, Vitamin A supplements could prevent 1- to 2-million childhood deaths per year control From Ye, et al., (2000) Science, 287:303

  5. Some other uses for transgenic plants……. • Production of edible vaccines • Wine without the hangover?---reduction of bioamines to lessen chance of headaches associated with wine drinking • Caffeine-free coffee? Specifically shutdown caffeine production in the plant • Hay-fever treatment by rice consumption

  6. Sequence encoding Green Fluorescent Protein(GFP) Start codon (Met) NcoI site 1 ccatggatgggtaagggagaggaacttttcactg gagttgtcccaatcttggttgagctcgacg 61 gtgacgtcaa tggacacaag ttttccgtct caggagaggg tgaaggtgat gcaacctacg 121 gaaagttgac ccttaagttc atctgcacta ctggaaaact ccctgttcct tggccaacat 181 tggtgaccac tttctcttac ggtgttcaat gcttctcacg ttacccagac catatgaagc 241 gtcatgactt tttcaagtcc gccatgcccg agggttatgt gcaagagcgt actatcttct 301 tcaaggacga cggaaactac aagacacgtg ccgaagtcaa gttcgaaggt gacaccttgg 361 tgaacagaat cgagttgaag ggtatcgatt tcaaggagga cggaaacatt cttggacaca 421 agcttgagta caactacaac tcacacaatg tgtacatcat ggctgacaag cagaagaacg 481 gaatcaaggt taacttcaaa atccgtcaca acattgagga tggaagcgtt cagttggctg 541 atcactacca acagaatact ccaattggcg atggccctgt gcttttgcca gacaaccact 601 acttgtccac ccaatctgcc ctttccaaag atcccaacga aaagagagac cacatggtct 661 tgcttgagtt tgtgaccgct gctggcatta cccacggcat ggatgagttg tacaagtaag 721 gatccaaagctagc Nucleotide sequence Stop codon NheI site MGKGEELFTGVVPILVELDGDVNGHKFSVSGEGEGDATYGKLTLKFICTTGKLPVPWPTLVTTFSYGVQCFSRYPDHMKRHDFFKSAMPEGYVQERTIFFKDDGNYKTRAEVKFEGDTLVNRIELKGIDFKEDGNILGHKLEYNYNSHNVYIMADKQKNGIKVNFKIRHNIEDGSVQLADHYQQNTPIGDGPVLLPDNHYLSTQSALSKDPNEKRDHMVLLEFVTAAGITHGMDELYK* Protein sequence

  7. Mice expressing GFP… Limits of biotechnology…? Bacteria with coded messages...

  8. Potential uses for transgenic animals • Aquaculture • Increased growth via hormone gene insertion

  9. From the July, 2004 issue of Scientific American Gene Doping “Gene therapy for restoring muscle lost to age or disease is poised to enter the clinic, but elite athletes are eyeing it to enhance performance Can it be long before gene doping changes the nature of sport? “ Belgian blue cattle – with a “double-muscle” mutation that produces an altered form of myostatin

  10. Support for agricultural biotechnology… Taken from http://www.whybiotech.com/ , an industry sponsored website

  11. Opposition to agricultural biotechnology… Activists dumped 4 tons of soybeans on Downing St. at the home of British Prime Minister Tony Blair after he said bioengineered food was safe to eat

  12. Two kinds of objections to GMOs 1. Extrinsic The potential harms of GMOs outweigh the potential benefits. GMOs are too risky. • 2. Intrinsic GMOs are unnatural and ought not to be pursued, even if the benefits outweigh the harms. Playing God. (slide from Gary Comstock)

  13. Issues in Plant Biotechnology • ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS • FOOD SAFETY • ETHICAL ISSUES • GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS ISSUES

  14. Environmental Concerns • Increased high-input monocultures • Does this technology encourage increased chemical use? • Effects on non-target organisms and wildlife • Development of “Superbugs” & “Superweeds” • Release of transgenic plants (or animals) into the wild • Added pressure and ability to farm marginal lands • Will cause an overall loss of genetic diversity • Spread of antibiotic resistance genes

  15. ARE GMO PLANTS SAFE? Ethics of Food Issues • Do people have a right to know what they are eating? • Can consumers demand labels on everything containing GM ingredients? • Allergy issues? • Can foods with animal genes inserted into them still be considered strictly vegetables and eaten as such? (Moral and religious concerns) • Is it okay to express human genes in plants for medical use? For consumption?

  16. LABELING CONCERNS In the U.S. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has ruled that a food should be labeled as a product of biotechnology only if changed in some significant way. There is no mandatory labeling required. GMO foods fit the criteria of “SUBSTANTIAL EQUIVALENCE” Mandatory laws require labeling of GMO products in: Philippines Saudi Arabia Japan Russia South Korea Mexico Indonesia New Zealand Israel Taiwan Czech Republic Norway 15 countries of the European Union

  17. GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS ISSUES • Several counties in California will vote in November whether to allow or ban growth of any GMO crops • Increased dependence on chemical and seed companies • Use of land in developing countries for testing ad genetic “theft” from developing countries • Is the U.S. trying to force GMOs on a hungry world? • Or is Europe practicing a “new colonialism”? United States vs. EU

  18. Food Aid Denied to Starving Population November 5, 2002 By Lisa Schlein Geneva - “The government of Zambia has asked the United Nations World Food Program to remove thousands of tons of genetically modified food that had been donated to the country. The demand follows a decision last week by the government to refuse donations of so-called GM food. The World Food Program says the Zambian government has told the agency to empty its warehouses and take all food which has been genetically modified out of the country”. (According to ActionAid, southern Africa's worst maize shortage in living memory meant that by March 2003, over 14 million people in Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe faced serious food shortages)

  19. U.S. Consumer Views 1. Knowledge of GMOs remains low 2. Opposition has softened in past few years 3. Consumers look to FDA for safety assessment 4. GM plants are more accepted than GM animals 5. GM use for medical/safety is more accepted based on (9/15/03) Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology Survey (available at www.pewagbiotech.org)

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