GENETIC ENGINEERING
- Through this we can incorporate new genes
from one species into a completely unrelated
species, optimizing agricultural performance or
facilitating the production of valuable
pharmaceutical substances
PROMINENT EXAMPLES OF ORGANISMS
- Crop plants
- Farm animals
- Soil bacteria
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
- Organisms whose genome has been engineered
in the laboratory in order to favour the
expression of desired physiological traits or the
generation of desired biological products
- It has long been the practice to breed select
individuals of a species in order to produce
offspring that have desirable traits
GMO HAS BEEN A LONG PRACTICE IN
- Conventional livestock production
- Crop farming
- Pet breeding
GMOs MAY BE A
- Microorganisms
- plants
- animals
GENETIC MODIFICATION
- recombinant genetic technologies are employed
to produce organisms whose genomes have
been precisely altered at the molecular level,
usually by the inclusion of genes from unrelated
species of organism that code for traits that
would not be obtained easily through
conventional selective breeding
GMOs ARE PRODUCED USING SCIENTIFIC METHODS
THAT INCLUDE
- recombinant DNA technology
- reproductive cloning
REPRODUCTIVE CLONING
- a nucleus is extracted from a cell of the
individual to be cloned and is inserted into the
enucleated cytoplasm of a host egg.
HOST EGG
- an enucleated egg is an egg cell that has had its
own nucleus removed
DOLLY
- the first animal produced by means of this
cloning technique with a nucleus from an adult
donor cell, born in 1996.
ANIMALS GENERATED BY REPRODUCTIVE CLONING
TECHNOLOGY
- pigs
- horses
- dogs
RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY
- involves the insertion of one or more individual
genes from an organism of one species into the
DNA of another
GMO HAVE BECOME PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE
THROUGH
- agriculture
- medicine
- research
- environmental management
PLANTS PLANTED IN THE US THAT WERE GM
- corn
- cotton
- soybeans
PAPAYA
- native to Central America and was the first
genetically modified fruit to be grown in
commercial production
PAPAYA RINGSPOT VIRUS
- genetically modified varieties, known as
Rainbow and SunUp or Sunrise, were developed
in Hawaii to resist the papaya ringspot virus
BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS
- produces a natural insecticide called Bt toxin
MAJOR COTTON PESTS
- cotton bollworm
- pink bollworm
HERBICIDE-RESISTANT CROPS
- have been available since the mid-1980s
- these crops enable effective control of weeds,
since only the HRC plants can survive in fields
treated with the corresponding herbicide.
GOLDEN RICE
- which originally was intended for Asia and was
genetically modified to produce almost 20 times
the beta-carotene of previous varieties
- was created by modifying the rice genome to
include a gene from the daffodil Narcissus
pseudonarcissus that produces an enzyme
known as phytoene synthase and a gene from
the bacterium Erwinia uredovora that produces
an enzyme called phytoene desaturase.
BENEFITS OF GENETIC ENGINEERING IN AGRICULTURE
1. increase crop yields
2. reduced costs for food or drug production
3. reduced need for pesticides
4. enhanced nutrient composition and food quality
5. resistance to pests and disease
6. greater food security
7. medical benefits to the world’s growing
population
GM ANIMAL MODELS OF HUMAN GENETIC DISEASES
- enabled researchers to test novel therapies and
to explore the role of candidate risk factors and
modifiers of disease outcome
VACCINES AND THERAPEUTICS
- HEPATITIS B vaccine produced by GM baker’s
yeast
- INJECTABLE INSULIN (for diabetics) produced in
GM Escherichia coli bacteria
- FACTOR VIII (for blood clotting – for
hemophiliacs)
- TISSUE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR (tPA, for
heart attack or stroke patients)
EDIBLE VACCINE
- is an antigenic protein that is produced in the
consumable parts of a plant and absorbed into
the bloodstream when the parts are eaten.
NOVEL DNA VACCINES
- may be useful in the struggle to prevent
diseases that have proved resistant to
traditional vaccination approaches, including
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and cancer
GENETIC MODIFICATION OF INSECTS
- has become an important area of research,
especially in the struggle to prevent parasitic
diseases.
GM MOSQUITOES
- have been developed that express a small
protein called SM 1, which blocks entry of the
malaria parasite, Plasmodium, into the
mosquito’s gut.
GENE MODIFICATION OF HUMANS VIA GENE THERAPY
- is becoming a treatment option for diseases
ranging from rare metabolic disorders to cancer
ZENECA
- a British company, developed a microbially
produced biodegradable plastic called Biopol
BIOPOL
- was made with the use of a GM bacterium,
Ralstonia eutropha, to convert glucose and a
variety of organic acids into a flexible polymer
SUPERBUGS
- insecticide-resistant
COUNTRIES WITH OPEN POLICIES ON GM FOODS
- Canada
- China
- Argentina
- Australia
AGRICULTURAL PLANTS
- are one of the most frequently cited examples
of genetically modified organisms
ALTERATIONS CAN CHANGE
1. organism’s metabolism
2. growth rate
3. response to external environmental factors
BIODIVERSITY
- variety of simplest term
GENETIC DIVERSITY
- refers to the variation or differences in the
genes of a species of individuals
GENES
- are segments of DNA which dictate the traits or
characteristics of an organism
SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE
- is a specific group of yeasts but may exhibit
different metabolic characteristics
FUNGAL PATHOGEN
- may either infect a specific single crop or
different varieties of it a t varying degrees.
SPECIES DIVERSITY
- second component of biodiversity. This involves
a combination of species number (species
richness) and their relative abundance in
particular area (species evenness)
SPECIES EVENNESS
- is a measure of whether a particular ecosystem
is dominated by a single species or if similar
number of individuals is present
SPECIES
- is a group of interbreeding organisms with
similar structures
COMMUNITY DIVERSITY/ ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
- refers to a variety of ecosystems in a given
region
ECOSYSTEM
- is a biological community including all of the
abiotic factors that affect them
BIODIVERSITY AFFECTS HUMANS ON VARIOUS
ASPECTS
- economy
- health and culture aesthetic
- environmental issues
LIMITATIONS OF BIODIVERSITY
1. biodiversity conservation strategies focused on
research and policy on global scale without too
much effect on local diversity
2. lack of site-specific data on species composition
of communities
3. biodiversity studies lacking in taxonomic
precision
4. few taxonomists
5. insufficient biodiversity inventory and
assessment
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
1. Habitat destruction
 2. Pollution
3. Introduction of non-native species and new
varieties
4. Global climate change
5. Exploitation
6. Overpopulation
ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES
- Urbanization
- Construction
- Agricultural land development
- Logging
- River damming
- Use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers
POLLUTION
- Is a condition in which there is an unnatural
increase in the concentrations of naturally- TECHNIQUES IN CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY
occurring environmental compounds 1. Cell and tissue culture
NON-NATIVE SPECIES OR INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES o Allow the propagation/multiplication of
- Includes exotic micro- and macro- species organisms at a rapid pace
introduced accidentally or deliberately, to a 2. Cryopreservation technology
place that is not part of their natural habitat or o Cryopreservation is a non-lethal storage
distributional range of organelles, cells, tissues of bone
SOME INVASIVE SPECIES AFFECTING THE biological constructs at ultra low
AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY temperature
- Janitor fish 3. Advances in molecular biology and genetics
- Clown knife fish EVOLUTION
- Giant snakehead - Is how the genetic composition of species
- Black-chin tilapia changes over time
- Jaguar guapote MICROEVOLUTION
WORST INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES - is the evolution below the species level
- Chromolaena odorata MACROEVOLUTION
- Mikania micrantha - is the type that gives rise to new species or
- Leucaena leucocephala larger groups
- Lantana camara SPECIATON
- Imperata cylindrical - may be allopatric, if new species are created by
- Hiptage benghalesis geographic reproductive isolation, or sympatric,
- Eichhornia crassipes one species evolves into two species without
HOW CAN BIODIVERSITY LOSS BE PREVENTED being geographically isolated
- Appropriate research EXTINCTION
- Government legislation - is the dying out or termination of species
- Education and awareness CAUSES OF EXTINCTION
- Sustainable use of biodiversity - global change
MULTIDISCIPLINARY STRATEGIES - habitat fragmentation
- Political - overexploitation of species
- Socioeconomic - evolutionary changes in their members
- Scientific input
MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS
- Government
- Non-government
- National and international organizations