Transgenic Plants and Animals - Essay Example

(Please supply information here) semester project transgenic plants and animals bio 101 3869 instuctors fall 2007 Contents Outline Transgenic Plants and Animals Introduction 3 Potential beneficial applications 4 Major concerns on transgenic plants and animals 5 Environmental concerns 5 Health concerns 6 Economic concerns 6 References 7 Transgenic Plants and Animals Introduction Recent development in biotechnology that gains attention in the scientific world is the alteration of genetic components of plants and animals. The process involves adding and integrating foreign genetic material (transgene) into the genetic structures of the plants and animals. Transgenic technology affords methods that allow the transfer of genes between different species (Wheeler, M. B., Farrand, S. K., and Widholm, J. M., 1991). The produced organism is generally called as genetically modified organisms (GMO) or transgenic plants or animals. A transgene is a gene with desirable characteristics that is moved from a source organism implanted into a new organism in order to improve the desired characteristics of the recipient organism. This is an improvement from the traditional process of breeding wherein a plant or animal with a desired trait is mated with an existing plant or animal of the same type, to transfer the desired trait to the offspring. The limitation of this old method is that the only genes that are involved are the genes already present in the parental plants or animals. For example, if you bred dogs, you get dogs with genes coming from both dog parents and nothing else. In genetic modification, genes from plants can be integrated into animals or vice versa; genes from birds can be integrated with horses. The limit of the probabilities is just your imagination. Potential beneficial applications Scientists viewed the process as a promising solution to the world's common problems. Among the areas where transgenic plants and animals can help the world are: improving food sufficiency, production of life saving drugs, environment protection among others. In the next 50 years world population is projected to double and feeding the increasing population is going to be a major problem. Transgenic plants can help in the area of food sufficiency, through production of high yielding crop varieties; improving plant tolerance against extreme conditions such as drought or floods; increasing resistance to pests; and increasing resistance to herbicides. These improvements would reduce production cost, reduce wastage, increase yield per hectare and thereby increase food availability. Today, varieties of peanuts and corn resistant to pests are already grown throughout the world. In health, genetic modifications can aid in making life saving drugs in large amounts. Transgenic livestock that produce recombinant proteins in their milk can provide an economic and safe system for production of valuable proteins, such as pharmaceutical proteins for treatment or prevention of human disease or biomaterials for medical use (Keefer, 2004). As an example insulin and the clotting factors are made by human systems. If we insert the gene that is capable of producing insulin from humans into cows in the right way, then we can get the cows to produce the insulin or clotting factors in their milk. Then we have a potential mass producer of insular greater than human is capable of doing. In the areas of nutrition, common staple crops like rice, corn, root crops, and others can be modified to produce varieties high in necessary nutrients. In the area of environment, organisms can de modified to degrade non-biodegradable plastics and other materials and make them more useful to the environment. Major concerns on transgenic plants and animals The production of transgenic plants and animals has faced several concerns among conservatives in Europe, America, and almost every corners of the globe. Thro (2004) emphasized that there are conflicting views about the idea but thorough evaluation is necessary to come up better understanding on the issues. Nevertheless, the following are the major concerns aired out by those who questioned the process: Environmental concerns: One environmental concern about GMO concern is on the question of how its functionality can be contained solely for its purpose. Field studies on Bt corn showed that its pest resistance did not only kill the intended pest but also other useful insects in the field. Genes from herbicide resistant crops is feared to be transferred to weeds by cross-pollination and may result to the rise of weeds that would be hard to control. Relevant to this government regulations were put in place to prevent such problem. A committee of the National Research Council of the US warns developers of genetically engineered organisms to consider how to prevent transgenic animals and plants from escaping into natural ecosystems and breeding or competing with their wild relatives (Environment News Service, Jan 23, 2004). Health concerns Health advocates fear that transgene from animal or plant origins integrated into food crops may pose allergenic risks to humans sensitive to such gene source. For instance, if a person allergic to peanut has eaten a vegetable bearing peanut genes the person is on high risk of experiencing allergenic reactions. The danger is since a person cannot identify what food bears what transgene, he may not be aware of the threat to his health anymore Health service practitioners around the world fear this problem maybe felt and could not be contained if measures will not be instituted. Cullen (2007) suggested that to accurately assess any adverse health impacts, it is necessary to have baseline health data collected prior to the introduction of the GM food. However, little or no such information is available globally, leading to the situation whereby it is virtually impossible to link adverse health impacts with the ingestion of GM food. Economic concerns Production of transgenic plants is expensive and complicated since it uses costly technology and facility. Companies producing GM seeds in countries such as the US desire to produce more revenues on them because they put a lot of resources into making them. Poor countries are concerned to become merely users of the GM technology but not producers as well. This would cause disparity among the benefits derived from the adoption of the technology. References Cullen, E. (2007). Genetically modified food and health - a cause for concern Irish Doctors Environmental Association [IDEA]. Retrieved on Nov. 23, 2007 from http://www.ideaireland.org/gmfoodhealth.htm Environment News Service (2004) USDA Orders Environmental Evaluation of Transgenic Plants, Animals. Environment News Service, Jan 23, 2004. Retrived on Nov. 23, 2007 from http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2004/2004-01-23-02.asp Keefer, C. L. (2004). Production of bioproducts through the use of transgenic animal models. ScienceDirect. Retrieved on Nov. 23, 2007 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T43-4CG0SF7-5&_user=10&_origUdi=B6VRV-43K8CW0-J&_fmt=high&_coverDate=07%2F31%2F2004&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b24cf1bca408f144343ddb80ff88a3db Thro, A.M. (2004). Europe on transgenic crops: How public plant breeding and eco-transgenics can help in the transatlantic debate. AgBioForum, 7(3), 142-148. Retrieved on Nov. 23, 2007 from : http://www.agbioforum.org. Wheeler, M. B., Farrand, S. K., and Widholm, J. M. (1991).Animal and Plant Transformation: The Application of Transgenic Organisms in Agriculture. Illinois Research. Voll 33(1/2) Retrieved on Nov. 23, 2007 from http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/vista/html_pubs/irspsm91/transfor.htm Read More