Skip to content

#genetic modification

21 public questions tagged with this topic.

First GM crop approved for human consumption was:

Flavr Savr tomato developed by Calgene Inc., Davis, California, holds historical status as first genetically modified whole food approved for commercial sale and human consumption. FDA completed voluntary consultation DST 1994 after molecular characterization, Southern blot showing two contiguous T-DNA inserts, compositional analysis comparing sugars, acids, lycopene, vitamin C, glycoalkaloids to non-transgenic parent, toxicity assessment of NPTII at acute dosing in mice, and allergenicity search revealing no homology to known allergens. USDA APHIS determined nonregulated status under 7CFR 340

Ref: Redenbaugh et al. Safety assessment Flavr Savr FDA 1992; Bruening & Lyons 2000 Food Chem Toxicol.

Chloroplast transformation reduces gene escape because:

Containment of transgenes via organelle transformation addresses environmental concerns about pollen mediated gene flow. In angiosperms like tobacco and Arabidopsis, plastid division during microsporogenesis excludes plastids from generative cell that forms two sperm cells, so mature pollen contains virtually no chloroplast genome. Consequently paternal transmission of plastid DNA extremely rare, estimated at less than 0.1 percent, while maternal transmission through ovule provides nearly 100 percent inheritance. When transgene integrated into plastome via homologous recombination at trnI-trnA

Ref: Heifetz Transgenic Res 2000 plastid absent pollen; Daniell Trends Genet 2002 containment; Maliga Annu Rev Plant Biol 2004 maternal; NCBI NBK153361.

Worldwide maximum cultivated transgenic crop is:

International Service for Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications annually reports global adoption of GM crops. Historical data from 1996 to 2023 demonstrates herbicide tolerance trait dominates both by trait type and crop species. Among crops, soybean engineered for glyphosate tolerance occupied largest area, reaching over 94 million hectares in 2019, accounting for about half of all GM hectarage. Drivers include high demand for protein meal for animal feed, suitability of herbicide tolerance for large-scale mechanized farming in United States, Brazil, Argentina, adoption of no-till practice

Ref: ISAAA Brief 55 2019 global status herbicide tolerant soybean dominant; James ISAAA 2014; NCBI NBK131103 statistics; https://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/55/

Germline gene therapy is controversial because:

Germline gene therapy introduces intentional genomic alteration into zygotes, totipotent embryonic stem cells, or gamete precursors contributing to both somatic tissues and gonadal germline, establishing heritable change transmitted through fertilization. Using CRISPR Cas9 ribonucleoprotein comprising guide RNA complementary to 20 bp target adjacent to PAM and Cas9 nuclease with HNH and RuvC domains, double-strand break created in totipotent cell repaired by homology-directed repair incorporating donor template correcting mutation throughout embryo. Every tissue including testes and ovaries ca

Ref: Nature Rev Genet Germline Editing Ethics 2017; NIH StatPearls Germline Therapy; UNESCO Bioethics Declaration https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg.2017.52.