Agricultural crops whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered using genetic engineering techniques are said to be genetically modified (GM) crops. Currently, there are two main types of modifications: Transgenic plants (Inserted DNA is taken from another species) and Cisgenic plants (Inserted DNA is derived from the same/closely related species). Modification of plant genetic material has taken place since humans first domesticated plants: around 10,500 BC (Zohary, Hopf & Weiss 2012). However, until scientific advances allowed for laboratory based modification, GM was performed using methods such as selective breeding in order to increase the frequency of beneficial traits.
The first occurrence of laboratory based GM, whereby DNA was …show more content…
The public perception of genetically modified organisms has been negative from the technology’s earliest days. This could possibly be attributed to the hypothesis that with all new or unknown technologies, data loses out to emotions (Slovic, Fischhoff & Lichtenstein 1980). To the general public, genetic modification was viewed as unnatural, unnecessary and possibly harmful. Despite this, GM research continued to receive funding and interest from the scientific community, this therefore increased the efficiency and safety of the techniques used.
The techniques involved in creating GM crops have changed substantially over the years. However the basic methodology for genetic engineering involves the following steps:
1. Locating and isolating the gene which will be used for modification
2. Combining the selected gene with a promoter and terminator region. Along with a selectable marker gene.
3. Splicing the gene into the target …show more content…
For example the Rothamsted Research Group in the UK recently engineered False Flax (Camelina sativa), an oilseed crop, to produce Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) which are usually found in fish. EPA and DHA have been shown to be beneficial to cardiovascular health (Saravanan, Palaniappan, et al. 2010), however the supply of fish is unsustainable (Hixson, 2014). Therefore the benefit of this GM-Crop is two-fold, not only does the crop now produce beneficial fatty acids it may also solve some problems with regards to the fishing industry, for example overfishing. The particular method utilised in order to create these transgenic plants involved the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1 (Ruiz‐Lopez, Noemi, et al. 2014).
The ongoing debate surrounding the safety of GM-Crops is a controversial and lengthy one. Since the first use of laboratory based genetic engineering concerns have been voiced both within the scientific community and also by the general public. However, in recent years it appears that a scientific consensus has been reached which posits that GM-Crops are no more dangerous to eat than crops which haven’t undergone genetic modification. This consensus is supported by the meta-analysis of over 1,700 papers concerning genetically modified crops (Nicolia et al.
The first occurrence of laboratory based GM, whereby DNA was …show more content…
The public perception of genetically modified organisms has been negative from the technology’s earliest days. This could possibly be attributed to the hypothesis that with all new or unknown technologies, data loses out to emotions (Slovic, Fischhoff & Lichtenstein 1980). To the general public, genetic modification was viewed as unnatural, unnecessary and possibly harmful. Despite this, GM research continued to receive funding and interest from the scientific community, this therefore increased the efficiency and safety of the techniques used.
The techniques involved in creating GM crops have changed substantially over the years. However the basic methodology for genetic engineering involves the following steps:
1. Locating and isolating the gene which will be used for modification
2. Combining the selected gene with a promoter and terminator region. Along with a selectable marker gene.
3. Splicing the gene into the target …show more content…
For example the Rothamsted Research Group in the UK recently engineered False Flax (Camelina sativa), an oilseed crop, to produce Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) which are usually found in fish. EPA and DHA have been shown to be beneficial to cardiovascular health (Saravanan, Palaniappan, et al. 2010), however the supply of fish is unsustainable (Hixson, 2014). Therefore the benefit of this GM-Crop is two-fold, not only does the crop now produce beneficial fatty acids it may also solve some problems with regards to the fishing industry, for example overfishing. The particular method utilised in order to create these transgenic plants involved the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1 (Ruiz‐Lopez, Noemi, et al. 2014).
The ongoing debate surrounding the safety of GM-Crops is a controversial and lengthy one. Since the first use of laboratory based genetic engineering concerns have been voiced both within the scientific community and also by the general public. However, in recent years it appears that a scientific consensus has been reached which posits that GM-Crops are no more dangerous to eat than crops which haven’t undergone genetic modification. This consensus is supported by the meta-analysis of over 1,700 papers concerning genetically modified crops (Nicolia et al.