Ajay Shah

(o) Outline the process involved in the genetic engineering of ‘Golden Rice’

Golden rice is said to be biofortifed (Biofortification is a method of breeding crops to increase their
nutritional value) because it contains higher than normal concentrations of a particular nutrient, in
this case beta-carotene.

Rice plants contain the genes that code for the production of beta-carotene. Scientists have worked
so that the accumulation of the molecule occurred in the endosperm, giving rise to the yellow-
orange colour of Golden Rice. The endosperm is the part of a seed that acts as a food store for the
developing plant embryo, usually containing starch with protein and other nutrients.

The metabolic pathway for synthesizing beta-carotene is complex, but most of the enzymes are
present in the endosperm. It was found that the insertion of two genes into the rice genome was
needed in order for the metabolic pathway to be activated in the endosperm cells. The genes code
for the following enzymes:

 Phytoene synthetase, the gene extracted from daffodil plants

 Crt 1 enzyme, the gene extracted from the soil bacterium Erwinia uredovora

These genes were inserted into the rice genome near to a specific promoter sequence that switches
the genes associated with endosperm development. This meant they were expressed as the
endosperm grew. Phytoene synthetase enzyme converts a verity of precursor molecules into
Phytoene. Crt 1 enzyme converts Phytoene into lycopene (precursor for the carotenoids). Other
enzymes convert the lycopene into the range of carotenoid molecules including beta-carotene. The
enzymes used in this reaction are already present in rice endosperm.

The resulting rice plants produced seeds with the beta-carotene in the endosperm, which is yellow,
hence ‘golden.’ Vitamin A is then produced in our bodies from the beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a
precursor molecule that is converted to active vitamin A in the gut.

1a. Rice plants produce beta-carotene in their leaves: it is a photosynthetic pigment. Since all rice
cells contain the same set of DNA, then all cells in the plant contain the genes that code for the
production of beta-carotene. However, part of the differentiation of the endosperm tissue is the
switching off of the gene that produces the pigment. The endosperm cells do not require beta-
carotene, as they do not photosynthesize.

1b. Some of the enzymes of the beta-carotene pathway catalyze reactions that are not only required
as part of the beta-carotene pathway, but are also involved with the production of other substances
that are also required in the endosperm tissue.

2. Vitamin A is fat-soluble which is stored in the liver as fat deposits. In those people who are
underweight, there will be little storied vitamin A. If these people have a diet with a low amount of
vitamin A, the stores will run out quickly, and the symptoms will show earlier than those people
whit greater reserves.

3. The fact that several thousand children each year become blind due to lack of vitamin A, and the
countries of the developed world have not managed to solve this problem by other means, the
golden rice option is the only option. Human life should be valued greater than a biodiversity
scientific argument.

(s) Discuss the ethical concerns raised by the genetic manipulation of animals (including
humans), plants and microorganisms

Genetic manipulation is a relatively young technology. Ethical concerns over many aspects of such
technologies are the subject of much debate.

Organism Benefits Risks

Microorganisms  Genetically engineered
microorganisms produce
useful products such as
human insulin and human
growth hormone.
Plants  The use of golden rice is
combating Vitamin A
deficiency
 Resistance to pests increases
yield
 Genetic engineering uses
antibiotic resistance genes as
markers. These genes could
be passed to other
microorganisms, leading to
more widespread antibiotic
resistance
 Modified plants may be toxic
to other organisms, or lead to
allergic responses in humans.

Animals  Increased milk or meat  Animal welfare issues arise

production
 Production of compatible
organs for transplantation to
humans
Humans  Gene therapies treat some
genetic disorders
from genetic manipulations
that might lead to animal
suffering.
 Strong views about specific
animals are held in some
religions
 There are concerns that germ
line cell gene therapy could
be used not only to eliminate
disease, but also to enhance
favourable characteristics.
Such concerns include fears
about designer children, with
traits chosen by their
parents. Concerns about
possible eugenics have also
been raised. Gemrline cell
therapy is not practised in
humans.

Ethical objections to genetic engineering range from religious objections to tampering with an
organism’s natural genotype to fears of unforeseen effects on the gene concerned, or of the
consequences of its escape into wild populations. Growing such plants might damage the
environment, or eating them might be bad for health.

Others think it would be unfortunate if public anxieties hampered trials and eventual use of
organism modified to produce much needed vaccines, antibodies other pharmaceutical products.
Animals engineered to show human diseases allow for valuable research, and gene therapy has the
potential to alleviate distressing genetic disorders.

1. Identical twins have the same genetic make up and so the immune system of one will not
recognise the cellular material of another as foreign. Siblings carry different alleles from each
parent, whilst similar, the immune system of one sibling will recognise cellular components of a
sibling as foreign.

3. Natural events – floods, drought, tsunami, earthquakes, epidemics, volcanic eruptions

Human activities – surgery, vaccination, selective breeding, use of insecticides, use of fertilisers,
use of malarial drugs