Document Type

Poster Session

Department

Biological Sciences

Faculty Mentor

Daniel Moore, PhD

Keywords

GMOs, agriculture

Abstract

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms containing a set or multiple sets of genes that have been introduced into the organism using laboratory techniques. In the instance of agriculture, the genes introduced provide advantages for the farmer and consumer by yielding plants that produce greater yields, longer growing seasons, longer shelf lives, greater concentrations of vitamins or add additional vitamins that are novel to the plant. There are two general ways that GM (genetically modified) crops are produced: the addition or removal of genes. This review focuses on an example of each strategy. An example of the latter is GM A. bisporus fungi in which genes are removed. Production of polyphenol oxidase has been disabled by knocking out one of the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes, and the reduced PPO activity allows the mushrooms to have a longer shelf life. An example of the former is golden rice, in which genes for four additional enzymes are introduced into Oryza sativa using Agrobacterium allowing production of �� carotene the precursor of vitamin A. The controversy around GMOs stems from the idea of novel proteins being introduced into plants. Some are concerned about genetic drift of the novel genes. Organisms with a gene removed may be less controversial as an agricultural product. Greater controversy surrounds a transgenic GMO such as golden rice.

Open Access?

1

Share

COinS
 
Apr 30th, 12:00 AM

Genetically Modified Organisms are Important but Also Controversial

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms containing a set or multiple sets of genes that have been introduced into the organism using laboratory techniques. In the instance of agriculture, the genes introduced provide advantages for the farmer and consumer by yielding plants that produce greater yields, longer growing seasons, longer shelf lives, greater concentrations of vitamins or add additional vitamins that are novel to the plant. There are two general ways that GM (genetically modified) crops are produced: the addition or removal of genes. This review focuses on an example of each strategy. An example of the latter is GM A. bisporus fungi in which genes are removed. Production of polyphenol oxidase has been disabled by knocking out one of the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes, and the reduced PPO activity allows the mushrooms to have a longer shelf life. An example of the former is golden rice, in which genes for four additional enzymes are introduced into Oryza sativa using Agrobacterium allowing production of �� carotene the precursor of vitamin A. The controversy around GMOs stems from the idea of novel proteins being introduced into plants. Some are concerned about genetic drift of the novel genes. Organisms with a gene removed may be less controversial as an agricultural product. Greater controversy surrounds a transgenic GMO such as golden rice.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.

 
blog comments powered by Disqus