Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Transgenic Crops and Recombinant DNA Technology

Found an article that may be useful. It talks about current use of GMO's, potential use of GMO applications, risk and controversies etc

http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-transgenic-crops-and-732

Poster draft!

Hey guys,

I've made a start on the poster and attached it below.

It's in A0 size. We need to have it handed it and printed the day before we present it so, Feb 28th.

Obviously this is just a draft I've put together and we will change things around such as the headings, layout, information type, colours, etc. and add pictures/figures/tables and such.

Let me know what you think and we'll make relevant changes when we meet!

- Tarnnum :)

 

Great review journal on GM foods

I've summarised the journal content below but I still recommend you guys give it a read.

I'm sorry the formatting is a bit off, I had to copy it from Word. I'll have to email the rest of my journals instead but I'll make sure to link the full references on the blog.

- Tarnnum

Dizon, F., Costa, S., Rock, C., Harris, A., Husk, C. & Mei, J. (2015). Genetically Modified (GM) Foods and Ethical Eating. Journal of Food Science, 81(2), 287-291. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.13191

• Genetically modified (GM) foods are those whose genetic makeup has been altered unnaturally Genome manipulation involves translocation of genes from various genetic sources
• Techniques include: transformation, phage introduction andnon-bacterial transformation
• Insertion of rDNA in to plant cells uses gene gun method and Agrobacterium method
• Gene gun: Plant cells bombarded with gene-coated (rDNA) gold/tungsten particles using a vacuum chamber for random insertion into cells
• Agrobacterium: Parasitizes plants by inserting its plasmid into host and replacing the DNA strand controlling metabolism with bacterial rDNA strand
• Agrobacterium method is the most commonly used method
• First application: Flavr SavrTM tomato had polygalacturonase (PG) gene which initiated upregulation of PG enzyme which ripened the plant à PG gene was supressed which delayed ripening and tomato had a longer shelf-life
• Little economic stimulation discontinued its production
• Main concerns on GM focus around ethics: Defined as standards of what is right and wrong that appeal to an individual’s beliefs and values. 
• Main reasons against GM foods include:
• Safety of GM food consumption
• Effect on natural evolution of organisms
• Benefits for GM foods increasing food insecurity
• Disruption of natural biodiversity and impact on ecosystems
• 4 main ethical principles to be upheld by food professionals: autonomy, justice, non-maleficence and beneficence
• 85% corn, 88% cotton and 91% soybeans are GM and exist in 75-80% of processed US foods
• Public want such foods to be labelled as the consumer has the right to know
• But this requires evidence Since GM foods don’t significantly differ from regular foods in any meaningful way and don’t produce differing levels of concern
• Should only be labelled if there is a large difference in nutrition or safety between GM and non-GM foods à flexible approach
• UK require GM labelling; this includes GMOs and ingredients produced from GM plants
• GM foods benefits outweigh possible health side effects when it meets the needs of a growing population and are especially useful to countries where the weather, climate and pests interfere with food availability
• Advantages of GM foods which meet ethical standards:
• Increased food production to aid growing population
• Health benefits such as a higher nutritional content and improvement in yield
• Vitamin A deficiency causes blindness, anaemia and a compromised immune system thus leaving individuals vulnerable to other illnesses
• Rice is huge source of food in countries but is deficient in vitamin A so “Golden Rice” with β-carotene in its grains has been produced; β-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A
• Cassava plant is a high-calorie plant commonly eaten in Africa and GM variety has increased minerals, vitamin A and protein content; it also been found to be pest resistant
• Decreasing use of pesticides/herbicides
• Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) used – soil bacterium which produces crystal protein or delta endotoxins à lethal to insect larva
• React with lining of gut, paralyze digestive system to halt feeding and cause insect to die from starvation in a few days
• B.t. gene inserted into corn, cotton and potato so no need for excessive pesticide
• Advantages of B.t.: (1) community exposure not resulted in bad effects in 6 decades, (2) non-allergenic due to lack of homology with B.t. toxins, (3) human digestive system lacks receptors to bind toxin so toxin is instantly degrades with no toxicological effects
• Increasing weather tolerant crops
• Farmers have reduced land for cultivation due to more land needed for housing because of a growing population and available land is not suitable for due to lack of nutrients or uncertain terrain
• GM plants can grow in higher yields in areas with drought, cold, high salt conc.
• Antifreeze gene (from cold-water fish) has been introduced into tobacco, potatoes and tomatoes; plants able to survive in lower temps so produced higher yields

Live survey

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TC57GQ2

Questionaire sample

Please could you all take a look at these questions before I make it a live questionnaire?

Biotechnology: A questionnaire on genetic modification of crops.

Questions

 

1. Do you agree with genetic modification?       y/n
2. Did you know that plants i.e. crops already contain their own DNA scientists are just changing tiny fragments to exploit beneficial traits for the plant to grow?      y/n
3. Did you know that genetic modification has been occurring in plants for years via selective breeding?      y/n  
4. Did you know that food production needs to increase by 70% in 1^st world countries and 300% in 3^rd world countries by 2050 to keep up with the demand of a growing population?
5. Did you know that current farming uses harmful pesticides and fertilizers to increase yield? These chemical s damage nearby ecosystems of rivers and forests as well as harming useful insects.    y/n
6. Did you know that plants can be modified to become healthier? An example of this is golden rice now carries beta-carotene, a source of vitamin A.    y/n
7. Did you know than plants can be modified to become insect resistant? An Example of this is potato plants expressing bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins has proven to allow resistance of Colorado potato beetle, the potato tuber moth and European corn border larvae.    y/n
8. Did you know that plants can be made resistance to stress such as drought and cold? There are many plants showing drought resistance such as corn, cotton, potato, soybean, tobacco and wheat   y/n
9. Did you know there are multiple safe methods used to insert the gene of interest into a plant? One of which is called transformation and used a binary (two) vector system. Another is known as ‘The gene gun’ and uses bombardment of heavy metal particles carrying DNA or RNA molecules.
10. After considering these questions, has your opinion on genetic modification of crops change?   y/n

 

 

 

 

References

Naimov, S., Dukiandjiev, S, & De Maagd, R. A. (2003) A hybrid Bacillus thuringiensis delta‐endotoxin gives resistance against a coleopteran and a lepidopteran pest in transgenic potato. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 1(1) 51-57

Warick, S. I., Hugh, J.B. & Hall, L.M. (2009) Gene Flow, Invasiveness, and Ecological Impact of Genetically Modified Crops. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1168, 72-99.

 

 

 

Useful paper link

I have used this paper to formulate a question on the questionnaire. There may be some more useful information.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.salford.idm.oclc.org/doi/10.1046/j.1467-7652.2003.00005.x/full

Research, research, research!

SO FAR...

I've browsed Scopus and ScienceDirect and found some relevant journals regarding our topic; most of them include research conducted in other parts of the world so we need more on ethics and public opinion on GMO in the UK.

I have a word document with all my research and fully referenced journals which I'll email to you guys and post on here tomorrow. You guys can do the same if you wish. When we get together on Friday, we'll compile out research and organise it.

I'll start making the actual poster tomorrow and we'll make any relevant changes on Friday during our meet-up.

In terms of the deadline, we have three-ish weeks until we present this topic.

See you Friday!

- Tarnnum