The Development of GMOs

Genetically modified organisms have manifested themselves in agriculture before recorded history. To maximize profit, prehistoric farmers have always selected their most productive seeds to re plant and their best livestock to breed. Since the last quarter of the 20th century, traditional methods of selectively breeding organisms with desired traits have changed drastically. Using modern day technology, scientists are able to select productive traits at the individual gene level and implement them into the genome of new organisms. These methods that are utilized today are far more precise in producing organisms with desirable traits and also allow for the transfer of genes from two completely different organisms. An example of this would be how in 2000, the concentration of vitamin A in tomatoes was increased by adding a bacterial gene which encodes phytoene desaturase.

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How to Make a GMO:

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Step 1: Identifying a trait of interest

The first step of making a GMO is deciding which trait you want the crop to express. Resistance to herbicide, resistance to extreme environmental factors, resistance to viruses/diseases, and a more nutritional composition are examples of beneficial traits that can be engineered for.

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Step 2: Isolating the Gene that codes for the trait of interest

In order to isolate the Gene of interest from the genome of an organism which expresses the desired trait, comparative analysis is utilized. The genomes of organisms with the trait are compared to the genomes of the organisms of the same species without the trait. Genes present in only the former must code for the trait that the second lacks.

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Step 3: Inserting the gene of interest into the genome of the crop

There are multiple ways to do this. One way is with a gene gun which shoots metal particles coated with DNA into plant cells with a .22-caliber charge. Another way to do this is to utilize bacteria which are known to invade cells and plant their DNA into a plant’s genome. An enzyme is used to cut and paste a DNA strand of interest into a plasmid, or small circular molecule of DNA. The bacteria are then shocked so that they accept the engineered plasmid and begin to produce the gene of interest in their own DNA. The bacteria with the new genetic information is then used to invade the plant cell so that the gene of interest enters into the plant cells’ DNA and becomes a part of its genome.

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Step 4: Grow the GMO

When the gene is successfully inserted into an organism's DNA the organism must be able to be grown and replicated while expressing the desired trait. Once the crop has been successfully reproduced and expresses the desired trait, Biotechnology companies invest in them to ensure they continue being produced by using special climate-controlled growth chambers.

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