Traits for Improved Products and

Food Quality

By
Dr. Sheeba Naz
 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

Foods, fibers, fuels and raw

materials

• Materials in unprocessed or
minimally processed states
• E.g., raw latex, crude oil, cotton,
coal, raw biomass

• Any product of agriculture in its

natural form

Latex collected from a rubber tree

 INPUT TRAITS
• Potentially alter inputs needed in production:
• E.g.:
• Roundup (glyphosate resistant crops) Herbicide
• Allow producers to spray roundup for weeds control without
damaging crop plants.
• (Soy, corn, canola, cotton, wheat)

• Roundup is the Monsanto trademark for its patented line of genetically

modified crop seeds that are resistant to its glyphosate-based herbicide
 OUTPUT TRAITS
• Changing the agricultural product itself,
• Enhance food or feed produces
• Improve biomass characteristics.

• Product itself is made to induce changes in the diet and in the

metabolism of the consumer's body.
 IMPROVED PRODUCTS - TRAITS
Produce crop varieties (cultivars, from "cultivated varieties") with

• Shortened growing seasons

• Increased resistance to diseases and pests
• Larger seeds and fruits
• Nutritional content
• Shelf life
• Better adaptation to diverse ecological conditions under which
crops were grown
 Ways to Improve Products

• Selective Cross Breeding

• Classical Breeding with Induced Mutation

• Genetic Engineering of Organisms

Selective Cross Breeding

New varieties are developed by:

• Selecting plants with desirable characteristics

• Combining qualities from two closely related plants through

breeding
• Example: resistance to a particular pest or disease and tolerance
to climatic conditions.
Selective Cross Breeding
• Crosses are often made in a relatively uncontrolled manner.

• The breeder chooses the parents to cross, but at the genetic

level, the results are unpredictable.
Selective Cross Breeding

LOSS OF RESOURCES..

Plants that fail to demonstrate the introduced characteristics are

discarded.

Traditional plant breeding takes on average 12-15 years to

produce a new crop variety.
Classical Breeding with Induced Mutation

• To cause changes in the sequence of the base pairs of DNA,

which affects plant development.

• Resultant plants may possess new and desirable characteristics

through this modification of their genetic material.

• During this process, plant breeders must grow and evaluate each
plant from each seed produced.
Mutation: Permanent changes in DNA Sequence
Alleles: Different version of genes
Traits: Different alleles
In-vitro techniques

• Tissue culture and plant

regeneration
• Embryo rescue
• Protoplast fusion
Protoplast Fusion
NUTRITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
 GOLDEN RICE
• Over one-third of the world’s population depends on rice as a
major component of their diet.

• Rice can be a good source of calories, it is not high in protein

or vitamins

• They can still be a serious problem in developing countries in

parts of southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where rice is a
staple and there is a lack of a diverse diet including meat,
fruits, and vegetable.
 -Carotene Pathway Problem in Plants

Isopenthenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) IPP

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate Geranylgeranyl diphosphate

Complete Vitamin A Pathway

Phytoene synthase Daffodil gene Phytoene synthase

Phytoene Phytoene
Rice lacks Phytoene desaturase Phytoene desaturase
these Single bacterial gene;
enzymes performs both functions
ξ-carotene desaturase ξ-carotene desaturas

Lycopene Lycopene
Lycopene-beta-cyclase Daffodil gene Lycopene-beta-cycla

 -carotene  -carotene
(vitamin A precursor) (vitamin A precursor)
 MODIFIED PLANT OILS
• The fatty acids produced by plants are the source of oils used in foods,
and have applications in cosmetics, detergents, and plastics

• Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) has been used as a plant oil source for
many years.

• Canola genetically modified version of the rapeseed plant

• belongs to the cabbage or mustard family.

• It contain low levels of harmful glucosinolates and erucic acid

• Less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates and less than 2% of erucic

acid.
 ERUCIC ACID A POSSIBLE HEALTH
RISK
• Erucic Acid: It is a peculiar fatty acid compound which is known
to be highly toxic in nature.

• Due to the presence of such abundant amounts of erucic acid in

mustard oil, it can pose serious health risks.
 GLUCOSINOLATES
• Glucosinolates (mustard oil glycosides) are natural components
of many pungent plants
• mustard, cabbage, and horseradish.

• Containing sulfur and nitrogen

• The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced

from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or
damaged
 ENGINEERING CANOLA
• By engineering canola with a thioesterase gene that originated in the
California bay tree (Umbellularia californica), the oils that accumulate
contain much higher levels of beneficial fatty acids

• The “bay leaf” thioesterase enzyme expressed in canola causes

premature chain termination of growing fatty acids, and results in
accumulation of 12-carbon lauric acid and 14-carbon myristic acid.

• The overall level of lipids is not increased in these plants, as the increase
in the short-chain molecules is matched by a decrease in the amount of
long-chain fatty acids such as the 18-carbon oleic and linoleic acids.

• These short-chain fatty acids make the canola oil much more suitable as
replacement for palm and coconut oils in products such as margarine,
shortenings, and confectionaries.
PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS
 PLANT-MANUFACTURED
PHARMACEUTICALS (PMPS)

• Plant-manufactured pharmaceuticals (PMPs)

• The most widely discussed applications of transgenic plants

HUMAN AND ANIMAL ORAL VACCINES
IN PLANTS
• By including an immunogenic protein in a food, vaccination could
be achieved by using a product that is easily grown and stored and
that could be administered via consumption of the food source

• For example: production of surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus

in transgenic potato has been demonstrated in clinical trials to lead
to an immune response in humans consuming the potatoes.

• Production of transgenic bananas is also often cited as a potential

source for these oral vaccines
 LIMITATIONS
• There are several potential problems with this approach:

• Timings of administering the vaccine

• Dosage
• Ability of the protein to induce immunity on oral administration.

• Nonetheless, this strategy might have application in some specific

instances for humans or in vaccination of farm animals
 BIOFUELS
• With demands for energy increasing worldwide and supplies
of fossil fuels being depleted, finding alternative and
renewable energy sources has become an important goal for
plant scientists.

• Both ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and biodiesel produced using

plant materials

• Applications using transgenic plants have the potential to

increase the efficiency of biofuel production
 ETHANOL
• Ethanol offers several attractive features as an energy source; it is
biodegradable and renewable and burns cleaner than do most fossil fuels.

• Ethanol is produced by yeast driven fermentation of carbohydrates

(sugars)

• In the United States, corn is currently the dominant source for

fermentable sugars.

Uses of Ethanol:
• Fuels.
• Medicines.
• Preservatives.
• Preparation of organic compounds.
 BIODIESEL
• Biodiesel is produced from oilseed crops such as soybean and
canola, through a process called trans esterification.

• Process that converts fats and oils into biodiesel and glycerin (a
coproduct)

• The properties of biodiesel are slightly different from those of

petroleum-based diesel

• Two major sources for biodiesel (soybean and canola) are most
often grown as transgenic plants.

• Jatropha, sunflower potential biodiesel producers

Four Key Benefits:

1. Food Safety
2. Consumer Benefits
3. Sustainability
4. Feeding a Hungry World
Plant-Based Foods Currently Available
Using Biotechnology are Safe
• Extensive research Groups that
have deemed
• Consumed safely around world
food biotech
• No evidence of harm safe:
• Safe for children - WHO
- FAO
• No increased risk for allergies - AMA
- IFT
- FDA
- EPA
- USDA

Food Biotechnology: A Communicator’s Guide

to Improving Understanding
 Biotech Foods Are Regulated to Ensure
Safety
• USDA
• EPA
• FDA

•Regulations in place for foods from plant and

animal biotechnology

Food Biotechnology: A Communicator’s Guide 36

to Improving Understanding
 Food Biotech Labeling
Special labeling required only to disclose a material
change, such as:
• Allergens present in the food.
• Increased levels of naturally
occurring toxins.
•
Changes to nutrient composition
or profile.
 Potential for Biotechnology to Improve
Food Safety
Benefits today:
Enzymes that produce low-lactose milk more efficiently

Products being developed to:

Protect rice and sugar cane
from insects
Produce a potato with
reduced acrylamide levels
Remove allergenic proteins
(e.g., peanuts, milk, soy)
Potential to Deliver “Heart-Healthy” Oils

• Advanced breeding, modern food production are used to

develop canola, soybean, and sunflower oils that do not
produce trans fats.

• Soybean, canola oils being developed

with biotechnology to provide the
specific omega-3 fats that are most
protective for heart health.
 Sustainability

Sustainability in agriculture is about meeting

today’s needs in a manner that ensures we can
continue to meet those needs tomorrow, as well
as or better than today.

Food Biotechnology: A Communicator’s Guide 40

to Improving Understanding
 Biotechnology Allows for Use of Safer Herbicides
New types of
• Glyphosate: 16 times less toxic than older
herbicide-
herbicides tolerant corn
and soy
• Newer biotech varieties addressing weed have been
resistance developed
that help
address
ongoing
challenges
with
herbicide
resistance of
certain
weeds.
 Biotechnology Improves Harvest Per
Acre

• Increasing yield in
developing nations,
ensuring greater access to
food.

• Strengthening crops
against extreme
temperatures, drought,
poor soil conditions –
critical in developing
nations
 Biotechnology Applications

In Crops:
•Insect protection
•Herbicide tolerance
•Virus resistance
•Stacked traits, tailored to agricultural needs

In Dairy Cows:
•Protein hormones for increased milk production efficiency