Genetically Modified Organisms

GMOs, GEOs and what you need to know about them. Jay Vaidya

GM Mice

What is a GMO?

So, what does it do for us? (1/2)

GMOs can have many advantages over their unmodified originals. Crops can have modifications that give them:
o o o o Increased yield Better taste or appearance Improved resistance to diseases, pests, and herbicides Faster maturation times.

Animals can have:

o Increased resistance to disease, productivity and hardiness. o Larger yields of meat, eggs of milk.

So, what does it do for us? (2/2)

So why isnt it? (1/2)

Many people are against GMOs dues to a variety of reasons. Safety is a major issue:
o GMOs might have some unknown characteristics or might be dangerous to those around them for many reasons (use your imagination!) o GMOs might also as a result of them being more resistant to disease, drought, lack of food et cetera, live longer or more successfully in the wild. If not contained properly they could reproduce and pass on their properties, eventually killing off non-modified organisms.

Ethical issues are also present:

o Modifying an animals genes might put the creature in pain, shorten its life or cause other issues. o It is also playing with something that is not really yours, something that nature has created over centuries.

So why isnt it? (2/2)

Intellectual property issues:
o Can a company patent a gene? o Can farmers use the seeds that come from their GMO crops or do they belong to the companies? o Poor farmers often become entirely dependent on huge companies to earn their living.

So, how is it done? (1/2)

For the sake of this example we are going to decide that we want peanut plants to be more resistant to European corn borer larvae.

So, how is it done? (2/2)

1. Scientists identify a gene that would make the peanut plants more resistant. In this case genes from a bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis can be used. Bacillus thuringiensis produces toxins that affect insects and larvae naturally. 2. The particular gene that creates this toxin must be isolated so that it can be inserted into the sequence of the peanut plant. This is done by using particular enzymes to cut sequences and separate them. 3. The genes are inserted into the nucleus of the peanut plant. They add the particular characteristics (in this case the ability to produce that particular toxin).

One can clearly see the difference between the damage done by European Corn Borers to the unmodified peanut plants (left) and the modified plants which contain toxin producing genes (right).