University of Sulaimani

College of Science
Department of Biology

Genetically Modified Plants

And the problem of glyphosate overuse

Prepared by:
Rebaz A. Hassan (ScB Student).

Supervised by:
Dr. Shewa A. Faqe (PhD)

A.D 2023 A.H 1444

Contents

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Keywords …………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………... 4
Genetically Modified Organisms …………………………………………………………. 4
Benefits of GMO in plants and agriculture ………………………………………………. 5
Problems associated with GM plants ……………………………………………………... 5
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
References ………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS 2

Abstract
Genetically modified plants are those plants which their genes have been altered to have
certain properties. Alterations of gene are done using genetic engineering techniques which a
useful gene from a bacterium or a plant is extracted and inserted into another plant to make
the plant better, for instance a gene in B. thuringiensis bacterium is responsible for a protein
which is an insect killer, we can extract and insert that gene into a plant to give it insecticidal
abilities. These alterations to DNA of plants might be useful for various things like to make
the plant resist diseases and kill insects that try to harm it or improvement in the nutritional
content of the plant, but various downsides are associated with GM plants like allergens and
overuse of herbicides which the plant can tolerate and these herbicides are toxic and harmful
for humans which may cause neurological disorders and affect immune function.

Keywords
GMO, GM Plants, Transgenic plants, Allergen, Cytotoxic, Neurotoxic, Glyphosate, Herbicide,
Insecticide.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS 3

Introduction
Today we live in a world that we are not quite aware of, foods that we eat is not the same food
as it was before. Today we live in a world which biotechnology is dominant, advances in
technology and biology have given rise to certain innovations and processes that we can use
them today for our good and a better life, or can we?. A lot of plants that exist cannot properly
grow in certain environments or they are vulnerable to diseases and attack by pests, or they
lack certain nutrients which is vital for humans. For the solution of these problems
biotechnologists and gene engineers have developed some methods to compensate for those
problems we went through. Those pest attacks we mentioned are done by various insects and
mites, but we have some other organisms like bacteria which can synthesize proteins that have
the ability to destroy or kill these insects, if we take out the gene responsible for the synthesis
of that protein and inserted to a plant, the plant will also have insecticidal properties and it can
kill any insects that tries to harm it (those organisms which it’s DNA have been altered, are
called transgenic organisms). The use of gene engineering techniques and recombinant DNA
have facilitated the procedure to insert genes from a species to another to have certain
properties that it didn’t have before. These organisms that have been altered using these
methods are known as Genetically Modified Organisms (abbr. GMO).

Genetically Modified Organisms

Genetically Modified Organisms are plants or animals or a microbes whose DNA has been
altered using genetic engineering techniques, these techniques include recombinant DNA
technology and gene gun, but the details of how these techniques are done is beyond the scope
of this report. An example for GMO is the Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria, this bacterium can
synthesize a protein called Delta endotoxin which is toxic and it can destroy the gut of insects
which kills the insect. Corn which is one of the common foods, has been genetically modified
which the gene in B. thuringiensis bacterium for the synthesis of Delta endotoxin is inserted
into the corn, that gives corn insecticidal and insect resistant properties. And there are many
other examples for GMO like the production of insulin hormone from bacteria for those
patients who have type 1 diabetes.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS 4

Benefits of GMO in plants and agriculture
Genetically modified plants can better resist diseases and adverse environmental conditions.
Insects can’t potentially harm the plant due to its insect resistant properties. Herbicides which
are used to kill weeds around the plant can’t harm the plant itself because it’s genetically
modified to tolerate the weed-killer. Reduction of the cost of plants because these genetically
modified plats can survive better in nature so farmers can make more of them without losing
a lot of it which reduces their cost. Enhanced nutrient composition of foods
(aka Biofortification) which is the process of improving nutritional composition of foods, for
example vitamin A deficiency in children in some areas of the earth is common, deficiency in
this essential vitamin can cause poor immune function and more importantly blindness in
children, so biotechnologists developed a genetically modified rice known as (golden rice),
this golden rice can produce a pigment called Beta-carotene which is the precursor for vitamin
A which is not present in a normal rice, when humans metabolize Beta-carotene it converts it
to vitamin A which is vital for humans.

Problems associated with GM plants

As we have mentioned some of the benefits of GM plants, they are not far from problems and
disadvantages. Potential risks associated with genetic modification are immunological,
allergic and toxic effects of GM foods and plants. Now, farmers can spray tremendous amount
of herbicides over plants to kill weeds, for example Glyphosate which is a herbicide can kill a
plant by inhibiting vital enzymes (EPSP synthase) required for biosynthesis of certain amino
acids in plants, originally these herbicides could also kill the plant itself but now most of the
plants are genetically modified to tolerate\resist glyphosate, using this abundant amount of
these herbicides can make the weeds more resistant to herbicide and that makes the farmer to
use even more herbicide to get rid of these weeds. For a long time, glyphosate was regarded
as harmless to humans, but new researches suggest that glyphosate has dangerous health
effects and risks associated with it. First In 2015, the International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic” in humans, according to other
researches glyphosate has neurotoxic properties which affects neuronal growth and
myelination and it can cause neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases which causes
cognitive impairments and motor disorders, and glyphosate also have cytotoxic and genotoxic
effects and affects the function of the immune system, it increases the production of cytokines
in humans which causes proinflammatory responses, and many other effects and risks
associated with it even to other species like unicellular organisms. Another risk with GM foods
is unpredictable allergens, soybeans are low in cysteine and methionine amino acids, they are
genetically modified using the methionine-rich 2S albumin storage of Brazil nuts to boost their
cyst-meth content, then it was discovered that the protein was allergic in the transgenic
soybeans, and it showed that allergens from a food can be transferred to another food through
genetic engineering. Transgenic insecticidal plants also has impact on the biodiversity of
insects and pests.

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Conclusion
We’ve demonstrated what GMO is and what are the impacts of it to the environment and to
humans. Genetic engineering has both advantages and disadvantages, we can use it to improve
nutritional quality of foods and make them better to resist diseases. But the downsides of
genetically modified plants are abundant, herbicide resistance of plants have motivated
farmers to use a lot of it, and health impacts of these herbicides are dangerous to humans which
includes toxicity and immunological problems, these GM plants can also affect biodiversity
of insects due to their insecticidal abilities, these transgenic plants can make allergic proteins
and cause allergic reactions in humans.

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References:
1. Maghari BM, Ardekani AM. Genetically modified foods and social concerns. Avicenna J
Med Biotechnol. 2011.
2. Kenneth E. Narva, Nicholas P. Storer, Thomas Meade, Chapter Four - Discovery and Development
of Insect-Resistant Crops Using Genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, Advances in Insect Physiology,
Academic Press, Volume 47, 2014, Pages 177-247.
3. Mallikarjuna Swamy, B.P., Marundan, S., Samia, M. et al. Development and characterization of
GR2E Golden rice introgression lines. Sci Rep 11, 2496 (2021).
4. K.N. Baer, B.J. Marcel, Glyphosate, Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition), Academic Press,
2014, Pages 767-769.
5. Costas-Ferreira C, Durán R, Faro LRF. Toxic Effects of Glyphosate on the Nervous System: A
Systematic Review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022.
6. The impact and toxicity of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides on health and immunity,
Peillex, Cindy Pelletier, Martin, Journal of Immunotoxicology, 2022.
7. Bawa AS, Anilakumar KR. Genetically modified foods: safety, risks and public concerns-a review. J
Food Sci Technol. 2013.

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