MUTANT PLANTS

 In today's day and age anything is possible, scientific advances have allowed us to create solutions to seemingly impossible problems. While science helps us explore, ethics , at its simplest, helps us outline what is good for us and our society. So why are genetically modified plants hated?

How do you create GM-plants?

 Firstly you have to pick a PLANT that you want to genetically modify. If you are a researcher then you will most likely choose plants that are eaten by a lot of people, like rice or soy. This is because any genetic  engineering that you do will be beneficial to society. However if you are a multinational corporation you will choose a crop that will make you the most money. Next choose a GENE. This gene must have qualities that will make the crop more beneficial. For example GM plants have contained a gene for glyphosphate or Bt. Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacteria that makes poison. It's

harmless to people but incredibly poisonous to the pests that attack crops. This means the farmers don't have to spray insecticides on the plants, the plants do it for them! Another gene that is used increases yield, this helps to feed more people without the use of intensive agriculture. An example of a very well known genetically modified plant is Golden Rice. Golden rice has had Vitamin A genes inserted into the plant, this increases the amount of Vitamin A and gives the rice its distinctive yellow/orange colour.  Here comes the sciencey part . Firstly a plasmid is removed from a bacterium (in this case we will use Agrobacterium), then the plasmid is cut using a biological tool called a restriction enzyme. The gene that you want to insert is also cut out of the chromosome of another organism using the same restriction enzyme. This is because the restriction enzyme cuts the genes in a specific way that allows them to connect easier. The cut plasmid and new gene are then mixed together with ligase enzymes, they glue the two pieces together.  This produces Recombinant DNA which is then inserted back into the Agrobacterium bacterium.  The reason that modified bacteria are created because they can insert their DNA into cells that they infect. After this, discs are cut from the leaves of a plant ( we will use a tobacco plant) are incubated with the genetically engineered bacteria for 24 hours. The selection medium only allows plant cells that have acquired the DNA from the bacteria to grow. These are then added to shoot inducing medium and from that root inducing medium, these are then grown into adults that carry the gene that was present in the bacteria.

So why are they so controversial?

GM plants have many benefits but there are many people who are completely opposed to the idea, such as prince Charles. Many people put it down to the fact that this technology is relatively new. This suggests that the reason people don't like GM- crops is because they fear the unknown. Another concern is that GM-crops may have some unseen consequences that can harm humans. This fear is particularly associated with the plants that are able to secrete their own insecticides, they may not be completely safe for human digestion. Many opponents also think that there may be a chance that the modified plants might transfer their genes to the natural gene pool. There is a fear that non genetically modified plants might be wiped out because of their genetically superior counterparts.  

My view?

People say that those who fear new discoveries are just misinformed and uneducated. I know how these plants are modified, I know how brilliant they are and how they could change the world. Yet I still fear them. I feel like we (humans) shouldn't be transforming the world in order to get what we want, we should be sharing what we have instead. Genetically modified plants seem like an escape route to the real problem, Greed. If we do start creating GM-Plants and don't change our attitude then what will stop us from misusing something that should be used for good. The potential for misuse and unfairness is far too great to ignore. 

As always, Seemal 

News story about Gm tomatoes heading for the shops 
Update: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25885756