Unit 2, Lesson 7

"Terminator Gene"

Another concern of environmentalists; it's used by genetic engineering company that causes offspring of GMO to die; prevents any GMO seeds from growing on their own & combining with non-GMO life forms; also forces farmers to buy new bags of seed each time they plant because harvested seeds won't grow In actuality, farmers know when they purchase bag of GMO seeds that there's a terminator gene implanted in DNA of each seed, so no seeds harvested will grow more plants; farmers know they can't use the seeds they buy for anything but planting & harvest must be sold

Domesticated Animals

Another example of modified genetic traits Animals such as Pomeranians & Dalmatians are examples of dog breeds developed from selective breeding process; selective breeding is form of modifying genetic makeup of animals, but no natural barriers are crossed; female dog still mates with male dog to produce new breed of dog; once offspring are born, those with best characteristics are used for breeding next generation; this process is different from genetic altering that can now be done through genetic engineering

Luther Burbank

Famous agricultural researcher who produced thousands of new crops by using selective breeding techniques; he improved hundreds of fruit varieties of plums, peaches, & nectarines; most famous vegetable he developed, which still bears his name, is Burbank russet potato; these are most popular potatoes in world because of their "fry-ability"; this term is what fast food industries use to categorize vegetables, like onions, zucchini, & Burbank russets, that can withstand high temperatures of deep fryers; only russets have ability to maintain their flavor & structure in high oil temperatures; they're only potato used by fast food chains & are used more often than other potatoes in restaurants all over world He used selective breeding techniques to change & manipulate genetic makeup of fruits & vegetables he designed, but he didn't use genetic engineering

In a Nutshell

Genetic modifications have been made to domesticated plants & animals for thousands of years, through process of selective breeding Genetic engineering technology bypasses all natural barriers that prevent different organisms from breeding; technology doesn't use organisms themselves, but just takes specific characteristics out of DNA material & plants it in different organism's DNA GMOs may cause environmental problems; long-term effects haven't been studied New medical treatments involve genetically altered viruses that infect cells to treat difficult diseases

Using GMOs for Medical Treatment

In many poor countries, children suffer ill health & blindness because of lack of nutritious foods; essential vitamins & minerals are absent from their diets; 1 genetic engineering company developed rice that provides far more vitamins & minerals than normal rice does; rice known as Golden Rice was shipped to many poor countries where it has been successful in stopping malnutrition & has given children better chance for healthy life Developments for treatment of cystic fibrosis, using genetically altered viruses, appear to be promising; genetic engineering involves changing virus' DNA code to imitate healthy lung tissue; once it's inhaled, virus infects damaged cystic fibrosis tissues with DNA code for healthy tissues & lungs soon begin to function normally; treatment must be repeated periodically at this stage New medical treatments for Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, & Parkinson's disease are being researched; genetically altered brain tissues may help repair damaged brain tissue; cloning research is tackling other difficult diseases, but research is highly regulated & may take years for treatments to obtain FDA approval; long-term effects of use of genetically altered organisms are being studied, but it's such a new technology that no one really knows what effects are, & some may not show up for many years Any new research & development of GMOs, cloning, & DNA changing techniques should be regulated

More Variations of GMOs

Many new foods, from soybeans to gourmet popcorn, have had their DNA engineered to meet consumer demands; GMOs aren't just in food items; they're also utilized in industry; large quantities of bioremediation bacteria can be genetically cloned to clean up biohazardous spill Thousands of household products have been improved by enzymes from genetically engineered bacteria; new tooth whitening chemicals in toothpastes and non-fading laundry detergents all contain enzymes derived by genetic engineering; over last ten years, genetically altered organisms have produced most new chemicals that go into sodas, detergents, deodorants, cleaners, mouthwash, & just about every household product on market Genetically altered organisms have also helped medical industry; for example, insulin, once derived from pig organs, is now manufactured with genetically altered bacteria; hundreds of medications are using genetic engineering to bring down cost of manufacturing drugs

Changes

Sheep named Dolly was first mammal to be cloned; she brought issue of cloning in to media spotlight; Dolly is example of genetically modified organism (GMO) GMO is organism that has been changed or modified through genetics; any organism that has been domesticated has gone through genetic modification; by selecting organisms with certain characteristics & breeding them, genetic content of those organisms is modified

Mass Production

Soybean production has greatly improved because soybean plants have been genetically altered to be resistant to powerful herbicide; herbicide will kill any plant that doesn't have specific genetic code; soybean plants were developed with this code so that herbicide could be used on fields without affecting soybean plants; only weeds are killed; production of soybeans has risen since genetically protected soybean was developed; ability of soybean to resist pesticide diminishes after beans are picked; therefore, new soybeans have to be purchased each planting season US ships much of its corn & soy products overseas; European countries were outraged over use of GMOs in food; many foreign countries were angered because they weren't notified that they were buying grains & food items that were GMOs; in late 1990s, some countries began boycotting American food products In US, Congress enacted food law that requires that if food is labeled as organically grown, it can't have any GMOs or gene manipulation in food item; at this time, if you purchase item, vegetable, or fruit that states it was organically grown, it won't have any chemical pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides on it

How Genetic Engineering Works

Specific traits of given organism are located on DNA sequence of chromosome as genes; in genetic engineering, these genes are spliced out of DNA sequence from one organism, & put into genetic sequence of another life form; this is how cold storage tomatoes were developed Genes of cold water Arctic fish that give fish resistance to the cold waters were removed from DNA sequence; these genes were then spliced into DNA material of a tomato; genes gave tomato ability to be more resistant to cold temperatures, enabling it to withstand cold storage temperatures necessary for shipment to markets & restaurants; Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved engineering processes in early 1994 & allowed genetically engineered tomatoes to be marketed; they were able to be stored for longer periods of time & still maintain their fresh appearance, but their flavor wasn't appealing & tomatoes weren't considered profitable

Strange Breeds

There are only a few organisms grown that are genetically altered: corn, soybeans, & cotton; all government regulated, but sometimes processes used to grow these GMOs harm environment Virus Bacillus Thuringienus (BT) is virus that attacks cells of caterpillars, causing them to die; it had been sprayed on vegetable plants in past as type of biological control for cabbage caterpillar & other organisms that attack vegetable crops; cost of biological spraying is always expensive, so new type of corn resistant to BT was developed; fields of corn grew well & overall crops were success; environmentalists noticed there were dead monarch butterflies near fields of corn; they can only eat plant materials when they're still caterpillars, & once they become butterflies they can only eat nectars from flowers; caterpillars only eat Milkweed plant Pollen from BT corn might have been blown by wind onto surrounding wild flowers; if virus was in pollen, then it may have transferred to flowers on which it fell; this would have infected flowers & nectar; this theory was never proven

Genetic Altering

Use of genetic engineering can bypass natural "road blocks" that prevent mixing of species or life forms; with genetic engineering, there are no natural boundaries because process involves DNA material of that organism & not organism itself (this is why term genetically modified organism (GMO) is not as accurate as term genetically engineered organism (GEO)

clone

an exact genetic copy of DNA sequences; having a copy of the exact chromosome material; an identical copy of DNA sequences in a chromosome

generation

average interval between the birth of parents and offspring

DNA

deoxyribonucleic acid -- contains the genetic instruction to create a specific life form; material structure that makes up chromosome; all DNA structures are made up of subunit base pairs, adenine & thymine & cytosine & guanine; together they form double-helix structure of chromosome

allele

part of DNA coding -- two alleles make one gene; a designated segment of the chromosome; the segment of a gene variation

gene

part of DNA that is passed from parents to offspring; particular piece of genetic material is located on chromosome which designates a certain characteristic or trait; genes can be made of many base-paired alleles

barrier

something that obstructs

chromosome

the component of cells that contains all the DNA material for the genetic code of an organism; they're usually found in the nucleus of the cells

genomics

the study of genes and how it relates to organisms; the science of genetic engineering, which includes the latest genetic mapping projects

bypass

to be heedless of; ignore

breed

to cause to reproduce

endanger

to expose to harm

pollinate

to transfer pollen from an anther to a stigma