Genetically engineered crops allowed in the U S

Genetically engineered crops allowed in the U. S. food supply Product Institution(s) Engineered Trait(s) Sources of New Genes Name Date Allowed on Market Canola Bayer Resist glufosinate herbicide to control weeds Bacteria, virus Liberty. Link 2000 Canola Monsanto Altered oil (high lauric acid) for soap and food products Calif bay, turnip rape, bacteria, virus Laurical 1995 Corn Bayer Resist glufosinate herbicide to Bacteria, virus control weeds/male sterile to facilitate hybridization Seed. Link Date unknown Corn Bayer Resist glufosinate herbicide to control weeds/Bt toxin to control insect pests (European corn borer) Bacteria, virus Star. Link 1998 (approved only for animal feed) Cotton Monsanto/ Bayer Resist bromoxynil herbicide to control weeds Bacteria, virus BXN Cotton 1995 Cotton Monsanto Bt toxin to control insect pests (cotton bollworms and tobacco budworm) Bacteria Bollgard 1995 Cotton Monsanto Resist glyphosate herbicide to control weeds Arabidopsis, bacteria, virus Roundup Ready 1996

Genetically engineered crops allowed in the U. S. food supply Product Institution(s) Engineered Trait(s) Sources of New Name Genes Date Allowed on Market Flax Univ Saskatchewan Resist sulfonylurea herbicide to grow in soils with herbicide residues Arabidopsis, bacteria CDC Triffid 1999 Papaya Cornell Univ/ Univ Hawaii Resist papaya ringspot virus Bacteria, virus Sunup, Rainbow 1997 Potato Monsanto Bt toxin to control insect pests (Colorado potato beetle)/resist potato virus Y Bacteria, virus New. Leaf Y 1999 Resist glufosinate Bacteria, virus herbicide to control weeds Liberty. Link 2004 Altered ripening to enhance fresh market value Flavr. Savr 1994 Rice Tomato Bayer Monsanto/ Calgene Tomato, bacteria, virus

GM food production (1996 – 2004) (million Ha) total Developed countries Developing countries

GM food production (1996 – 2003) (million Ha) Soybean Corn Cotton Canola

Current Products • Transgenic Soybean – Roundup Ready • Resistant to Roundup Herbicide • Reduces the amount of herbicide applied to crops – Altered fatty-acid content • Changes the nutritional value Field after one round of application of Roundup herbicide

Glyphosateresistance (sugar beet, canola, soybean, chicory, corn)

Glufosinatresistance (sugar beet , canola, soybean, chicory, rice, corn)

Male sterility (Canola, chicory, corn)

Increased oleic acid content (soybean)

Current Products • Canola – Herbicide resistant • Better for the environment – Altered fatty-acid composition • A value-added food

Bromoxynilresistance (cotton, tobacco, canola)

Sulfonylurea-resistance (cotton, canola)

Increased lauryl acid and myristic acid content (canola)

Current Products • Tomato – Flavr Savr Tomato • Delayed softening • Consumers get a better tasting tomato • Failed – Virus resistant tomato • Resistant to pests • Decreases the amount of pesticide applied to crops Transgenic tomato plants show resistance (left) while non-transformed plants are susceptible to cucumber mosaic virus under field conditions (right)

Altered ripe (tomato, water melone)

Current Products • Corn – Bt Corn Wild-type corn showing infestation - Bt corn is resistant to this The Monarch Butterfly debate: – A microbial gene added results in the crop being resistant to insects – Does it impact the Monarch Butterfly? » Well planned experiments are critical to the survival of biotechnology

Current Products • Cotton – Yes – clothes can be made from transgenic crops! – Bollgard cotton • Insect resistance • Lowers pesticide usage Insect infestation on Bt (right) and non-Bt (left) cotton bolls

Current Products • Papaya – Virus resistant • • • Restored the papaya industry in Hawaii Reduced crop loss Japan blocked imports of transgenic papaya

Virus-resisance (Papaya, potato, cucmber)

Current Products • Golden Rice – Biotechnology’s poster child? • A true value added food • Vitamin A enriched rice prevents disease and blindness • Golden in colour Golden rice and normal (white) www. fumento. com/ wsjbiotech. html

• Golden Rice has not been developed by and for industry. • It fulfills an urgent need by complementing traditional interventions. • It presents a sustainable, cost-free solution, not requiring other resources. • It avoids the unfortunate negative side effects of the Green Revolution. • Industry does not benefit from it. • Those who benefit are the poor and disadvantaged. • It is given free of charge and restrictions to subsistence farmers. • It does not create any new dependencies. • It will be grown without any additional inputs. • It does not create advantages to rich landowners. • It can be resown every year from the saved harvest. • It does not reduce agricultural biodiversity. • It does not affect natural biodiversity. • There is, so far, no conceptual negative effect on the environment. • There is, so far, no conceivable risk to consumer health. • It was not possible to develop the trait with traditional methods, etc.

Edible Vaccines • Plants producing vaccines could eliminate or simplify vaccine distribution problems in developing nations How a transgenic plant containing a vaccine is made

Edible Vaccines • May have advantages over injected vaccines • Plants being studied include potato, banana, papaya, tomato, lettuce, carrot, rice, wheat, corn and soybean – Quite a salad! Potatoes are one of many plants being used to produce vaccines

Edible Vaccines • Tomato and potato plant can make antigens from Hepatitis B, E. Coli and V. cholerae • Feeding to test animals induces an immune response • Potatoes fed to human volunteers induced and immune response to an inactive form of the E. coli toxin

Other Cool Plant Biotech Products • Blue Carnations and Roses – Nature can not make these • Non-allergenic peanuts – Kids can take peanut butter sandwiches to school again! • Decaffeinated coffee – Less processing

How to constuct transgenic plants? • Microinjection • Viral vectors (e. g. lentiviruses, adenoviruses) (Univ. Pnnsylvania: Jesse Gelsinger)

How to constuct transgenic plants? • Agrobacterium tumefaciens – Cancerous growth in plant cells • (bacterial DNA) • Gene-gun – Gold or Wolframparticles (DNA-coated) • Particles must hit the cells • Cells must be able to repair the holes on cell membrane • DNA must intagrate into the genome – Selection markers (e. g. Ab-resistance) • The transgene contains: – Promoter sequence, structural gene, stop sequence, marker-gene

GM Products: Benefits • Crops – – – Enhanced taste and quality Reduced maturation time Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides New products and growing techniques • Animals – Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency – Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk – Improved animal health and diagnostic methods • Environment – – – "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides Conservation of soil, water, and energy Bioprocessing forestry products Better natural waste management More efficient processing • Society – Increased food security for growing populations

GM Products: Controversies • Safety – Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e. g. , soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity • Access and Intellectual Property – Domination of world food production by a few companies – Increasing dependence on Industralized nations by developing countries – Biopiracy—foreign exploitation of natural resources • Ethics – – Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa Stress for animal • Labeling – Not mandatory in some countries (e. g. , United States) – Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts • Society – New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

Results of GM rice experiments in China Costs of pesticides Amount of pesticides Work Yield Health related problems GM 31 jüan/ha 2 kg/ha 0, 73 day/ha 6364 kg/ha 0 non GM 243 jüan/ha 21, 2 kg/ha 9, 1 day/ha 6151 kg/ha 3