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The goal of both GM and conventional plant breeding is to produce crops with improved characteristics by changing their genetic makeup. GM achieves this by adding a new gene or genes to the genome of a crop plant.
Oct 3, 2024 · Genome-altering techniques, such as mutagenesis and breeding, which use chemical or physical induction to alter plant genomic material, are considered conventional breeding techniques and are therefore not regulated as GMOs (Koller et al., 2023).
- Foreword
- Venki Ramakrishnan
- Introduction
- What is genetic modification (GM) of crops and how is it done?
- Cell
- Below
- How does GM difer from conventional plant breeding?
- What about unforeseen consequences of GM?
- Above
- Which genes have been introduced into GM crops so far and why?
- Herbicide tolerance
- Is it safe to eat GM crops?
- If we grow GM crops will they cross-breed with other plants?
- GM crops have only been around for 20 years, might there still be unexpected and untoward side efects?
- Who is paying for GM crop development and who owns the technology?
- What new GM crops are being developed?
- Making farmed fish more nutritious
- What methods other than genetic improvement can improve crop performance?
For a rational debate about whether or not society should make use of new technologies or scientific methods, it is necessary to have access to reliable information so that all interested parties can make judgements about whether the procedures work, whether they are safe and what advantages or disadvantages they ofer. Genetic modification of crop...
President of the Royal Society Image Kale cabbage. © LOVE_LIFE.
There have been long running debates about the use of new technologies for agriculture, and these have been especially prominent around genetically modified crops. There are parallels with climate change, and following the success of the Climate Change: Evidence and Causes document, the Society decided to produce a similar document on genetically m...
GM is a technology that involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism. To produce a GM plant, new DNA is transferred into plant cells. Usually, the cells are then grown in tissue culture where they develop into plants. The seeds produced by these plants will inherit the new DNA. The characteristics of all living organisms are determin...
Cell nucleus containing genome packaged in chromosomes.
Onion root tip cells showing chromosomes and nuclei of dividing cells. © Alan John Lander Phillips.
The goal of both GM and conventional plant breeding is to produce crops with improved characteristics by changing their genetic makeup. GM achieves this by adding a new gene or genes to the genome of a crop plant. Conventional breeding achieves it by crossing together plants with relevant characteristics, and selecting the ofspring with the desired...
There is no evidence that producing a new crop variety using GM techniques is more likely to have unforeseen efects than producing one using conventional cross breeding. Concerns have been expressed that simply inserting new DNA into a plant genome by GM, might have unpredictable consequences. However, as our knowledge of genomes has increased i...
Cabbages infested with caterpillars. © Sophonibal.
The most prominent examples include genes that make the crops resistant to herbicides, insects, or viruses.
The first GM characteristic to be widely adopted was resistance to a herbicide called Roundup (or glyphosate) in soybeans. There are also varieties of herbicide tolerant crops produced by non-GM methods. Resistance to these types of broad herbicide – which would usually kill both weeds and crops – means that eficient weed control is possible becaus...
Yes. There is no evidence that a crop is dangerous to eat just because it is GM. There could be risks associated with the specific new gene introduced, which is why each crop with a new characteristic introduced by GM is subject to close scrutiny. Since the first widespread commercialisation of GM produce 18 years ago there has been no evidence of...
Yes. GM crops may cross-breed with closely related plants. This includes non-GM varieties of the same crop and wild relatives of the crop. For GM crops approved by regulators the consequences of cross-breeding have been assessed and judged not to be a risk to health or the environment. Both non-GM crops and GM crops can cross-breed with closely rel...
Yes, there could be unexpected side efects from any new crop variety, GM or non-GM, as well as with any new agricultural practices. Risk assessment and appropriate testing of all new crops, along with ongoing monitoring should mitigate the risks. GM crops are more extensively tested than non-GM varieties before release (see Q14) both for their envi...
The discoveries that enabled GM technology were largely made by public sector scientists. They went on to develop the technology further, as did scientists in the commercial sector. The public and private sectors, along with charities, own GM methods and plants and continue to invest in GM research and crop development. They take out patents on dis...
GM crops are being developed to be more disease-resistant, to have enhanced nutritional value, increased drought tolerance and improved uptake of nutrients, such as nitrogen. They are being tested in the laboratory or in contained field trials – in which plants are grown in an area to prevent spread into the environment. Crop disease is a big probl...
An example of the use of GM to enhance the nutritional value of food involves the “good fats” we normally obtain from eating oily fish like salmon. These long chain omega-3 fatty acids are healthy for the heart and brain. Fish need these Omega-3 fatty acids to stay healthy but do not produce them naturally themselves. They get them from marine alga...
Crop genetic improvement, by GM or conventional approaches, is only one of many methods that can be used to improve crop performance. Others involve improvements in farm practices, irrigation, drainage, and herbicide, pesticide and fertiliser use. Better food storage and transportation to reduce waste can also play their part in securing a reliable...
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GM is a technology that involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism. To produce a GM plant, new DNA is transferred into plant cells. Usually, the cells are then grown in tissue culture where they develop into plants. The seeds produced by these plants will inherit the new DNA.
The overwhelming majority of plant scientists recognise the use of GM as a legitimate research tool, and its contribution to current and future plant breeding. GM is widely used by agricultural scientists, including conventional breeders.
Sep 2, 2021 · In this paper, we review differences between domestication, plant breeding, and GM in terms of: (1) biological changes; (2) sociopolitical organization, including legal and material resources structuring and enabling genetic change, and; (3) impacts on agrobiodiversity and seed sovereignty.
People also ask
What is the difference between conventional breeding & GM D?
How do crop breeding and GM differ from domestication?
How does GM affect crop breeding?
Are crop breeding and GM continuous?
Do formal crop breeding and GM occur on farms?
How does GM change the genetic makeup of a plant?
General steps in breeding are: objectives, creation/assembly of variability, selection, evaluation and cultivar release. Breeders use methods and techniques that are based on the mode of reproduction of the species self-pollinating, cross-pollinating, or clonally propagated.
