gmo-posts-blog

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Works Cited

Fraser, Douglas, et al. Nelson Biology 12. Nelson Education Ltd, 2012.

Genetically Modified (GM) Foods and Other Novel Foods. Health Canada, 2012. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/genetically-modified-foods-other-novel-foods.html

Philips, Theresa. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Transgenic Crops and Recombinant DNA Technology. Nature Education 1(1):213. 2012. https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-transgenic-crops-and-732

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My stance: the future of GMO

With all the information I have provided, including supporting evidence from various researchers and Health Canada, I believe genetically modified corn should be continued to be used. Pest-resistant corn that provides the same nutritional value becomes beneficial to farmers since it increases the production of corn and to the environment since it lessens the use of pesticides. Moreover, more recent studies have been conducted, demonstrating that new traits of genetically modified corn also exhibit protection against drought and other natural disasters.

Other applications of GMO have delivered various advantages to humans. GMO tomatoes, rice, and salmon are a few beneficial applications that are being used today. These applications are beneficial to humans because they improve and prolong the shelf-life of the food, lessen the production of waste, and reduce our carbon footprint.

However, there are still several improvements that must be made. For instance, other individuals remain intolerant to corn, so improvements can be made related to health.

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Applications of GMO

- Flavr Savr (GMO tomatoes): the genes of the tomatoes responsible for spoilage are removed, so the tomatoes spoil more slowly.

- Golden rice: the gene of the daffodil plant contains more beta-carotene, so rice can be modified with this gene, allowing our body to convert more beta-carotene into vitamin A 

- AquAdvantage salmon: salmon are genetically modified with growth hormones to grow in market size within a shorter period of time

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What genetic change was made to the corn?

Genetically modified corn is produced through transformation by the following steps:

1. Cry1Ab gene of Bacillus thuringiensis is capable of producing an insecticidal protein. The Cry1Ab gene within the DNA of Bacillus thuringiensis is cut and inserted into the DNA of another bacterium containing Bt gene. As a result, the newly derived DNA is pest-resistant since it now carries the pest-resistant gene, Cry1Ab gene.

2. The bacteria multiply in culture, along with the pest-resistant gene.

3.  Bacteria containing the pest-resistant gene from the foreign environment is injected into plant cells. As a result, when the plant cells grow, they also become pest-resistant.

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Additional information about GMO

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Benefits of GMO

The biggest advantage of genetically modified corn is the improved resistance to pests and herbicides. Moreover, Philips and colleagues have shown the potential ability of corn as oral vaccines. For instance, a gene that codes for a fusion protein from Newcastle disease virus can be introduced into the corn, allowing the corn to express the fusion protein. As a result, chickens that consume genetically modified corn allows the chickens to induce an immune response.

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Risks of GMO

New traits brought about by genetic engineering can lead to adverse health reactions such allergic responses. In the picture above, a person who consumed genetically modified corn developed hives that almost caused his death.

Introducing new traits and producing new species can limit biodiversity due to increased competition for resources. Moreover, insects and other organisms that consume genetically modified plants can harm them.

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What is GMO used for?

Scientists are able to control the genetic changes introduced into an organism, produce new species, and enhance agricultural production and drug development.

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Video about the creation of the genetically modified corn and how it is manufactured

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What is GMO known for?

GMO is known for creating new genes and species of animals, plants, and viruses that do not occur in nature such as crossbreeding and crosspollination. 

In Canada, GMOs are involved in biopharming. For instance, GMOs include genetically modified corn. In fact, Health Canada has proposed that corn can be genetically modified to become resistant to its pests while maintaining its nutritional quality. The genetically modified corn is produced by the insertion of Bt gene from Ciba Seeds, that contains a truncated form of insecticidal protein, Cry1Ab, from Bacillus thuringiensis. Consequently, the corn produces the insecticidal protein. Upon consumption of the corn by insects, the latter dies. Therefore, Health Canada has approved the production of genetically modified corn to avoid farmers from using pesticides, as pesticides can produce detrimental effects to our environment. In this website, the main topic that will be discussed is genetically modified corn. 

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What is GMO?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that contain an alteration in their DNA due to genetic engineering. As a result, GMOs are called transgenic organisms because their genes are modified by insertion of a gene from another organism or deletion of that organism’s gene.