Notes

Genetically modified crops have advantages over the weeds

Wild plants could be given resistance to herbicides.

Credit Xiao Yang
A technique of genetic modification widely used to make crops herbicide resistant has been found to confer advantages on the weedy rice, even in absence of herbicide. The finding suggests that the benefits of such modifications could extend beyond farms and into the wild.

A variety of cultivars are genetically modified in order to resist the glyphosate. This herbicide was first available under the trade name Roundup. This resistance to glyphosate allows farmers to eradicate the majority of herbicides in their fields without damaging their crops.

Glyphosate slows the growth of plants by blocking an enzyme known as EPSP synthase. https://search.rakuten.co.jp/search/mall/%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%82%A2%E3%83%83%E3%83%97+%E3%83%9E%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89/ is involved in the creation of specific amino acids as well as other molecules that make up approximately 35% of the plant's mass. The genetic-modification technique -- utilized, for instance in Roundup Ready crops made by the biotech giant Monsanto which is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri -- typically includes inserting genes into a plant's genome to increase the production of EPSP synthase. Genes typically come from bacteria that infects plants.

This additional EPSP synthase permits the plant to withstand the effects from glyphosate. Biotechnology labs attempted to utilize plants' genes to increase EPSP synthase production. This was partly to exploit a loophole within US law that allows regulatory approval of organisms containing transgenes that are not derived from pests of bacteria.

A few studies have explored the possibility that transgenes similar to those that confer resistance to glyphosate make plants more competitive for reproduction and even survival after they are introduced to weedy or wild relatives through cross-pollination. ラウンドアップ 朝露 , a University of California plant geneticist states that without competition, any type of transgene would be expected to create disadvantages on wild plants. The added machinery will lower fitness.

ラウンドアップ from Fudan University in Shanghai is currently challenging this view. The study demonstrates that resistance to glyphosate even when not applied to an weedy variety of the rice crop can provide a significant health boost.

The study was published in 1. Lu and his coworkers altered the genetics of cultivated rice to enhance its EPSP synthase expression and crossed it with a weedy relative.

ラウンドアップ allowed offspring that were cross-bred to breed with one-another, creating second generation hybrids which were genetically identical to their parents except the number of copies of the gene that encodes EPSP synthase. https://www.kaunet.com/rakuraku/spook3/main?Keyword=%83%89%83E%83%93%83h%83A%83b%83v%83%7D%83b%83N%83X%83%8D%81%5B%83h&ShowList=1 with more copies expressed greater amounts of the enzyme, and produced more amino acid tryptophan than the unmodified ones.

Researchers also found that transgenic plants showed higher rates of photosynthesis, produced more flowers, and produced 48-125% fewer seeds per plant than non-transgenic hybrids. This was despite the fact that glyphosate was never present.

ラウンドアップ believes making weedy, aggressive rice more competitive could make it harder for farmers to recover from the harm caused by this insect.

"If the EPSP-synthase gene is introduced in the wild rice plant, their genetic diversity, which is really vital to preserve, could be threatened because the transgene's genetic make-up would outcompete the natural species" says Brian Ford-Lloyd, a plant geneticist at the University of Birmingham, UK. "This is among the most clear instances of extremely plausible negative impacts [of GM crops] upon the environment."

ラウンドアップ that genetically-modified crops that contain additional copies of their genes are safe is questioned by this study. "Our study proves that this isn't necessarily the case" Lu says. Lu.

The research results call for a reconsideration of the future regulations for genetically modified crops, some researchers claim. Ellstrand believes that some believe that biosafety regulations could be relaxed since we have over two years of genetic engineering. This study isn't proof that new products are safe.


Homepage: https://www.nissanchem.co.jp/news_release/news/n2020_01_23.pdf