Notes

Genetically modified plants are more advantageous than weeds

Herbicide resistance may provide advantages to plants in the wild.

Credit Xiao Yang
It has been demonstrated that a genetic-modification technique is extensively used to make crops resistant to herbicides, gives advantages to the rice that is weedy. The results suggest that the benefits of such modification could extend beyond the confines of farms into the wild.

Many cultivars have been genetically altered in order to ward off the effects of glyphosate. This herbicide was first available under the trade name Roundup. This resistance allows farmers to remove the majority of the weeds that grow in their fields without causing harm to their crops.

ラウンドアップ Glyphosate slows the growth of plants by blocking an enzyme known as EPSP synthase. ラウンドアップ This enzyme is involved in the creation of specific amino acids and other molecules that account for approximately 35% of the plant's mass. The technique of genetic modification utilized, for instance in the Roundup Ready crops made by the biotech giant Monsanto which is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri -usually includes inserting genes into a plant's genome to increase EPSP-synthase's production. Genes are typically derived from bacteria that cause disease to crops.

The extra EPSP synthase allows the plant to resist the effects of glyphosate. Biotechnology labs also tried to make use of the genes of plants to boost EPSP-synthase levels, in part to take advantage of a loophole in the American system which permits the approval of regulatory authorities of transgenes which are not derived from bacteria-based pests.

ラウンドアップ 朝露 There aren't many studies that have looked into the possibility that transgenes similar to those which confer glyphosate resistance can increase the competitiveness of plants in reproductive success and longevity once they're introduced to wild or weedy cousins through cross-pollination. Norman Ellstrand is a University of California Riverside plant geneticist. "The hypothesis is that any kind of transgene can cause disadvantage in the wild, in the absence of select pressure, since it could reduce fitness," Ellstrand said.

Lu Baorong (an ecologist at Fudan University, Shanghai) has now challenged that view. It shows that glyphosate resistance can give a significant fitness boost to the weedy rice crop, called Oryza sativa even when it is not being used.

Lu and his associates modified the cultivars of rice to produce more EPSP synthase. They also crossed the modified rice with a weedy-related. Their work was published in NewPhytologist 1.

The team let the offspring of crossbreeding to cross-breed with one other to create second generation hybrids. https://www.homemaking.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=161819 They were identical genetically apart from the number of EPSP synthase genes they carried. Like one might expect, the more copies produced higher levels of enzyme as well as more tryptophan than the unmodified counterparts.

Researchers also found that transgenics had higher rates of flowering, more flowers and 48-125percent more seeds/plant than nontransgenics.

Making the weedy rice more competitive could cause more problems for farmers across the globe where plots are ravaged by pests, Lu says.

ラウンドアップ Brian Ford-Lloyd (a UK plant geneticist) says that if the EPSP-synthase genes gets into wild rice species, their genetic diversity that is so important to conserve could be at risk. The transgene could be more competitive than normal species. "This is one illustration of the most plausible and damaging impacts of GM crops on the environment."

The public belief that genetically-modified crops that contain additional copies of their genes are more secure is challenged by this study. Lu states, "Our study shows this is not the case."

The findings call for a rethinking of future regulation of the genetically altered crops, scientists say. Ellstrand thinks that biosafety rules could be relaxed as we are able to have a great level of comfort from two decades worth of genetic engineering. The study revealed that the newest products should be carefully evaluated.


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