In details, provide and discuss two experimental examples of GMO from (i) plants, (ii) animals and...

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In details, provide and discuss two experimental examples of GMOfrom (i) plants, (ii) animals and (iii) bacteria, illustrating thetools that researchers have used to overcome these challenges.

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Genetically Modified Plants Public and Scientific Perceptions Abstract The potential of genetically modified plants to meet the requirements of growing population is not being recognized at present This is a consequence of concerns raised by the public and the critics about their applications and release into the environment These include effect on human health and environment biosafety world trade monopolies trustworthiness of public institutions integrity of regulatory agencies loss of individual choice and ethics as well as skepticism about the real potential of the genetically modified plants and so on Such concerns are enormous and prevalent even today However it should be acknowledged that most of them are not specific for genetically modified plants and the public should not forget that the conventionally bred plants consumed by them are also associated with similar risks where no information about the genes transfer is available Moreover most of the concerns are hypothetical and lack scientific background Though a few concerns are still to be disproved it is viewed that with proper management these genetically modified plants have immense potential for the betterment of mankind In the present paper an overview of the raised concerns and wherever possible reasons assigned to explain their intensity or unsuitability are reviewed 1 Introduction Genetically modified GM plants also called transgenic plants are designed to acquire useful quality attributes such as insect resistance herbicide tolerance abiotic stress tolerance disease resistance high nutritional quality high yield potential delayed ripening enhanced ornamental value male sterility and production of edible vaccines Another major goal for raising the GM plants is their application as bioreactors for the production of nutraceuticals therapeutic agents antigens monoclonal antibody fragments biopolymers and so forth 1 Thus GM plants can potentially affect many aspects of modern society including agricultural production and medical treatment Despite these potential applications the use of GM plants for human welfare has been restricted owing to various concerns raised by the public and the critics These concerns are divided into different categories namely health nutritional environmental ecological socioeconomic and ethical concerns 225 These concerns include those arising due to properties of GM plants themselves those resulting from the spread of the transgenes to other organisms and also those resulting from their release into the environment Such concerns have led to the withdrawal of commercialization of Bt cotton and Bt brinjal in India The campaign against GM plants was fueled by the instances of transgenic potatoes reported to be deleterious to rats contamination of commercial corn products with unapproved StarLink and killing of monarch butterfly by Bt corn pollen 2628 Furthermore the nongovernmental organizations NGOs such as Gene Campaign Center for Sustainable Agriculture Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have also raised concerns related to genetic manipulation of plants 28 29 The regulators activists media personnel and scientific journals have been undiscriminating and overly tolerant of the misrepresentations and distortions of antiGM activists 30 31 There are not even scientific explanations for some of the concerns but today the amount of misinformation is such that it has become difficult to separate truth from public perception about the GM plants The biotechnology scientists however believe that GM plants should be given public acceptance because most of the concerns are not specific for GM plants and can exist for nonGM plants as well In the present paper a review of public perspectives regarding GM plants and their disapproval on the basis of scientific background is presented 2 Concerns Related to Health and Nutritional Status In case the products of GM plants are to be consumed by humans and animals there is always a fear and risk in the society that these plants may create health problems or may lead to the development of newer microbial strains that may be pathogenic Further the plants themselves may be susceptible to such risks Public and critics are also skeptical about the nutritional content and quality of the GM plants Such health and nutrition related concerns and their negation by scientists are described in this section 21 Susceptibility to Allergens One of the major distressing problems with nontraditional proteins in GM foods is the risk of introducing allergens usually glycoproteins into the food supply of humans and animals The public is concerned about the nature of these new food proteins as their allergenic or nonallergenic qualities are unknown 32 Allergenicity has been demonstrated in transgenic soybeans due to the transfer of a major food allergen from Brazil nuts 33 On the other hand the scientists believe that the food allergens are found only in a few defined sources peanut and other grain legumes shellfish tree nuts etc and hence only a dozen foods may produce allergic reactions Moreover allergenicity occurs when these food allergens are present in large proportions in the food and the individuals are sensitized to them over time to cause any adverse effects Thus it is highly unlikely for new allergens to be introduced into the food supply from GM plants 22 Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance Gene to Microbes and Reduced Efficacy of Antibiotic Therapy Public is also concerned about the potential risks associated with gene transfer from plants to microbes It is speculated that the consumption of GM foods containing antibiotic resistance marker gene eg Npt II gene encoding neomycin phosphotransferase for resistance to kanamycin and neomycin orgene encoding lactamase for resistance to ampicillin by humans and animals may lead to transfer of these genes from GM food to microflora in the gut of humans and animals or to the pathogens in the environment transforming them into strains that are resistant to antibiotic therapy 32 The transfer of antibiotic resistance gene to unrelated microorganisms such as Aspergillus niger has also been demonstrated 34 Biotechnology scientists however are of the opinion that the Npt II gene used to develop GM plants currently in the market is safe for use because there is no evidence of allergenicity or toxicity related to it Moreover humans are also susceptible to consuming several kanamycin resistant bacteria that occur naturally in the environment Human gut is reported to contain 1012 kanamycinresistant bacteria and by consuming a tomato harboring Npt II gene the increase in frequency of kanamycinresistant bacteria in the gut amounts only to 106 Furthermore acid conditions prevalent in stomach or rumen inactivate or degrade the encoded enzyme neomycin phosphotransferase II Also neomycin phosphotransferase II requires ATP for its activity which is present in extremely low concentrations in the gut Regarding the use ofgene for selection of bacterial recombinants it is not transferred to plants Moreover thegene is considered safe because it does not encode for any product in plants The Npt II andgenes have been declared safe to use in GM plants 3537 The public is however reluctant to accept this fact Looking to the views of public scientists have also developed nonresistance based selectable marker genes such as green fluorescent protein encoding gene Gfp and glucuronidase gene Uid A 3840 Besides introncontaining Npt II gene has also been assessed as an efficient selectable marker in plant transformation 41 Due to insertion of intron in the Npt II gene the theoretical risk of gene flow from GM plants to enteric bacteria is eliminated Strategies for the removal of antibiotic resistance genes have also been devised 42 One such strategy is the cloning of selectable marker gene and the transgene on two separate transfer DNA TDNA molecules in a single plasmid or on two separate plasmids that are contained in one or more Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains used for plant transformation The transgene and selectable marker gene are thus inserted See Answer

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