Solving the Real World Problems

using Genetic Engineering Tools

CROP IMPROVEMENT/ GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS TO FEED
INCREASING HUMAN POPULATION

Vibgyor Singhvi | 2019B5PS0326P

Gen. Biology | April 20, 2020
Table of Contents
Declaration .................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2
What are Gm Organisms? ......................................................................................... 2
Why GM foods?.......................................................................................................... 2
Can they bring about second Green Revolution?..................................................... 2
GM Maize ...................................................................................................................... 3
Gm maize has various advantages such as ............................................................... 3
Increased nutritional value ..................................................................................... 3
Drought resistance .................................................................................................. 3
Insect resistance ...................................................................................................... 3
While there are ongoing controversies ..................................................................... 5
Allergenicity............................................................................................................. 5
Gene transfer ........................................................................................................... 5
Gene flow/outcrossing............................................................................................. 5
Insects developing resistance .................................................................................. 5
Conclusions ...................................................................................................................6

Declaration
Following material is my hard work produced, original article with
compilation from various sources

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Introduction
WHAT ARE GM ORGANISMS?
According to FAO, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are defined as
organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does
not occur naturally by mating and natural recombination. This modification allows
selected useful genes of one organism to be transferred between nonrelated
species.

WHY GM FOODS?
GM foods are developed because there is a perceived advantage against
their wild counterpart. They have more excellent durability and cost-effectiveness.
Crops have improved resistance against diseases and other environmental
conditions, which result in higher crop yields.

CAN THEY BRING ABOUT SECOND GREEN REVOLUTION?

With the global population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050,
the food demand is bound to overcome the agricultural productivity, which had
been sustaining it.

Problems like climate change bringing higher temperatures, the spread of

diseases and insects, drought, damaging storms are expected to increase in the
coming times. This is already taking a toll on crop yields. Claiming that GM crops
will offer a better position to handle the crisis does seem logical.

On the other hand, these claims have been repeatedly questioned by the
opponents. Yield is counted as a narrow measure of agricultural success. GM crops
are designed to be grown as industrial monocrops (a single crop per field). But
total productivity of mixed-crop land has been shown repeatedly to far outstrip
monocrops in total useful output. Seed patenting and industrial control of
agriculture are ensuring that just a few standardized commercial crops are grown,
making them lucrative only for the corporates.

We will now seek to answer the question by referring to the case of GM maize.
Worldwide 35 percent of the corn grown are biotech varieties.

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GM Maize
GM MAIZE HAS VARIOUS ADVANTAGES SUCH AS

Increased nutritional value

There is ongoing research on adding a E-Coli gene to enable growth with
essential amino acid methionine.

Drought resistance
Monsanto launched the first transgenic drought tolerance trait in a line of
corn hybrids called DroughtGard. The MON 87460 trait is provided by the
insertion of the cspB gene from the soil microbe Bacillus subtilis.

Insect resistance

The Bt protein is expressed throughout the plant. When a vulnerable insect

eats the Bt-containing plant, the protein is activated in its gut, which is alkaline. In
the alkaline environment, the protein partially unfolds and is cut by other
proteins, forming a toxin that paralyzes the insect's digestive system and forms
holes in the gut wall.

Growers are attracted to the convenience of Bt maize hybrids because they

allow for "in the bag" insect protection. GE maize seed comes from the seller with
innate pest resistance, in addition to providing yield protection and improved
grain quality. But, successful control of insects by Bt maize has many scientists
concerned that the overuse of Bt maize could produce pests resistant to Bt toxins.

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 European corn borer: shotholes and tunnel in leaf midrib (a),
damage and fungal infection in non-Bt maize (left) and Bt maize (b),
stalk tunneling (c), and adult female (left) and male (d) (6)

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WHILE THERE ARE ONGOING
CONTROVERSIES
Allergenicity
As a matter of principle, the transfer of genes from commonly allergenic
organisms to non-allergic organisms is discouraged unless it can be demonstrated
that the protein product of the transferred gene is not allergenic.

Gene transfer
Gene transfer from GM foods to cells of the body or to bacteria in the
gastrointestinal tract would cause concern if the transferred genetic material
adversely affects human health. This would be particularly relevant if antibiotic
resistance genes, used as markers when creating GMOs, were to be transferred.

Gene flow/outcrossing
The migration of genes from GM plants into conventional crops or related
species in the wild, as well as the mixing of crops derived from traditional seeds
with GM crops, may have an indirect effect on food safety and food security. Cases
have been reported where GM crops approved for animal feed or industrial use
were detected at low levels in the products intended for human consumption.

If GM crops cross-breed with wild relatives, the foreign transgenes could

“contaminate” the natural ecosystem. For example, pollen from Bt-maize has been
known to fertilize non-Bt crops. Such genetic contamination can pose problems
for certified producers of organic produce.

Insects developing resistance

Crops engineered to be resistant to insects may result only in short-lived
resistance that increases vulnerability over the long-term. And considering that
“Nature doesn’t like empty spaces,” it is inevitable that resistance to the insecticide
will be evolved.

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Conclusions
Presently, there are mixed feelings about GM crops. The novel advantages are
seemed to be outweighed by their other domino effects on the ecology, soil, cost-
effectiveness, among others.

Walter Falcon, deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the
Environment at Stanford, asked whether transgenic technology will solve any of
these problems, he answers, “I’m not holding my breath,” citing both scientific
reasons and opposition to GM crops. But he does expect advances in genetic
technologies over the next decade to create wheat varieties that are better
equipped to withstand pests, higher temperatures, and drought. (1)

Here below is a short reaction to some of the comments made by Justin Fox in his
article in the CFS blog on 14/03/2017. (4)

- The fundamental problem in Europe is that the authorization of any GM

crops is not really in the hands of the individual countries. Up until now, not a
single GM event was authorized by the agreement of the majority of the Member
States in the European Union. All approved GM crops and food reached the
European Union market based on the decision of the European Commission.

- Bt crops have failed in India, and also in Bangladesh, although the

authorities there have been more willing to place their trust in the financial
advantages coming with testing of other GM crops.

- The statement that “plans are also in place for modified variants of cotton
to be commissioned for the textiles industry, as improved yields are not just for
agriculture alone” is also misleading. GM cotton varieties have also failed in India
and in America since more and more pests are becoming resistant to the different
toxin varieties. Failures of the GM cotton varieties might be behind the bankruptcy
and sometimes suicide of farmers, destroying their families.

- Yields with GM cotton, or with other GM plants have never been higher,
with respect to conventional varieties. In addition, new pests and diseases replace
the existing ones, since nature does not like “leaving places empty.”

- “Plants tailored to the world’s harshest environmental would also do

wonders,” it might be true, although they exist only in the laboratory.

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 - After having realized that the first generation of GM crops has failed
spectacularly, the hope of the biotech industry is pinned on new GMO
technologies. They try to convince the rest of the world that they are safe.
However, the promises with those are the same, so are the problems.

Although widespread public criticism, which mostly stems from concern over the
purity and later "naturalness" of food, and perceptions including a view of genetic
engineering as meddling with naturally evolved biological processes. The problem
still stands from a logical point of view. (5)

"Punjab and Haryana were at the forefront of the Green Revolution in the
late 1960s and early 1970s, in which farm machinery, pesticides and fertilizers,
irrigation, and the replacement of traditional crops with high-yielding varieties
dramatically increased productivity. The two states together now provide 80% of
the country's food surplus. But the land is increasingly unable to support this
burden of intensive agriculture. Crop yields - and water resources - are declining
alarmingly, and some parts are close to becoming barren. Many farmers are heavily
in debt from their investments in new equipment and reliance on chemicals, and
rural unemployment is increasing. These are ominous signs of a deteriorating farm
economy."

Devinder Sharma, Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security, New Delhi, India.
(8)

I personally feel that though we have made a lot of progress, there is still a
lot to do to bring widespread acceptance for GM crops. Outcrossing is a serious
ecological problem; whose solutions involve making the crop sterile by triploid
gametes. This implies that the farmers are no longer independent and must
depend on corporates for seeds. Corporates need to sustain R&D and eventually
pass down the cost to the farmers. Thus, the present model of proprietary seeds
and patents hinder free development and is unviable.

Further, there are no concrete studies that say GM crops are definitely
better than current high-yielding varieties of the crop. (8)

PAGE 7
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