Notes

Benefits of genetically modified crops over weeds

The wild plants may have an herbicide resistance advantage.

Credit Xiao Yang
Genetic modification to make crops resistant to herbicides has been extensively employed to create advantages for the varieties of rice that are weedy. This suggests that this genetic modification may also have potential to impact wild animals.

Many varieties of crops are genetically modified to be intolerant to glyphosate, a herbicide that was first marketed under the brand name Roundup. ラウンドアップ -resistant crop allows farmers to eliminate the majority of plants without causing damage to their crop.

Glyphosate slows the growth of plants by blocking an enzyme referred to as EPSP synthase. This enzyme is involved in the production of specific amino acids and other molecules that account for approximately 35% of a plant's mass. Genetic modification is used in, for instance, Roundup Ready plants made by Monsanto Biotechnology, a biotech company that is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. It involves inserting genes into the genome of the crop to increase EPSP synthase-synthase production. The genes typically come from bacteria that have caused the infection of the plant.

The extra EPSP synthase allows the plant to resist the effects of glyphosate. Biotechnology labs have also tried to make EPSP-synthase more plant-based than bacteria, using genes derived from plants. This was made to make use of a loophole found in US law that allows the approval of regulatory authorities for organisms which aren't the result of bacteria or parasites.

There aren't many studies that have examined the possibility that transgenes that confer tolerance may -- once they are weedy or become wild relatives by cross-pollinatingcan boost the plant's survival and reproduction. ラウンドアップ of the University of California, Riverside, said that the traditional expectation was that any transgene will cause disadvantage in nature when there was no pressure to select. This is due to the fact that any additional machinery could reduce the performance of the.

ラウンドアップ , an ecologist from Fudan University in Shanghai has changed the way that he views this. He found that glyphosate resistance gives a significant fitness lift to a weedy version of the common rice crop Oryza sativa.

ラウンドアップ and his colleagues genetically modified the rice species to express its EPSP synthase, and then crossed-bred it with a plant that was weedy.

The team permitted the offspring from cross-breeding to cross-breed with one other to produce second-generation hybrids. They were identical genetically except for the amount of EPSP synthase genes they carried. It was expected that those who had more copies had more enzyme activity and an increased amount of amino acid tryptophan compared to their unmodified counterparts.

Researchers also found that transgenic hybrids produced 48-125percent more seeds per plant, and had more photosynthesis, and had more shoots than non-transgenic ones.

Lu believes that making weedy rice less competitive can make it harder for farmers whose plots are invaded by pests.

"If the EPSP-synthase genes are introduced into the wild rice plant, their genetic diversity, which is essential to protect is at risk because the transgene's genetic make-up could outcompete normal species," Brian Ford-Lloyd who is a plant geneticist at the University of Birmingham, UK. " ラウンドアップ is one the most evident instances of extremely plausible negative effects of GM crops] upon the natural environment."

The public has a perception that genetically engineered crops that have extra copies or microorganisms genes are less risky than those that only contain the genes of their owners. ラウンドアップ says that "our study does not prove that this is the case."

Some researchers believe this finding needs to be reviewed in light of future regulation of genetically modified crops. " ラウンドアップ are saying that biosafety regulations can be eased because we've reached a high level of comfort with two decades of genetic engineering," Ellstrand says. The study found that any new products need to be carefully evaluated.


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