GENETICALLY MODIFIED

ORGANISMS: SCIENCE,
HEALTH, AND POLITICS
CHAPTER XIII
 GMO
(Genetically Modified Organisms)

Organisms with foreign genes

incorporated into their genome such
that they exhibit different but desirable
properties that do not occur naturally by
mating and/or natural recombination
Can include plants, animals, and
microorganisms
The goal of improving a particular
organism or make this organism a
vehicle for faster and efficient
manufacturing and delivery of a product
 Cloning

 Requires a source of DNA or a

donor organism
 DNA is cut with restriction enzyme
and is ligated to a vector
previously cut with another
restriction enzyme compatible
with the first enzyme used
 After ligation, the chimeric
molecules are transformed in
competent cells
Steps in Cloning
 GM Crops
• First commercialized in 1996 and only from countries that
planted transgenic crops to about 11 million hectares
• Soybeans, maize, cotton, and canola remain to be the
leading GM crops
• Inserted useful genes into an organism affect the growth
pattern, behaviour and product of the said organism in a
short span of time saving a lot of money in conducting
research compared to traditional breeding
• Growing GM plants allows farmers to spend less time and
money in pesticides and herbicides.
 Corn

 Inserted a toxin
gene from a
bacterium, Bacillus
thuringiensis
 Resulted to
increase in corn
production and
resistance to the
attack of corn
borer
 Cotton

 Modified to resist
pests and
pesticides
 In the Philippines,
BT corn
experiments
performed to
prevent bollworm
damage
 Jatropha

 Planting Jatropha
has caused
destruction of
the native plants
 Can be used as
biofuel and a
high source of
protein for
livestock
 Rice

 Containing beta
carotene a precursor
of vitamin A
 Still in researcH stage
 Make Golden Rice
more profitable to
farmers by adding
tungro and bacterial
leaf blight (BLB)
resistance
 Soy

 More than 90%

of soybeans
grown in the
United States
are genetically
modified to be
herbicide
resistant
 Sugar Beets
 Engineered to grow
faster and to be more
resistant to weeds
 Many
environmentalists and
researchers are
concerned that GMO
sugar beets could have
serious impact on the
environment and other
crops
 Cassava

 Starchy plant like

potato that is
consumed by many
people
 First engineered in
1995
 Supposed to be
virus and pest
resistant
 Papaya

 Also known as
Carica papaya L.
 First genetically
modified in Hawaii
and introduced to
the market in 1999
 Developed to resist
infection by papaya
ringspot virus (PRSV)
 Banana

 Majority of
bananas in the US
are genetically
modified
 Eggplant
 The new pest-resistant
eggplant was
developed by the
Maharashtra Hybrid
Seeds Company
(Mahyco) based in
Jaina, India
 Developed to address
eggplant fruit and
shoot borer, Leucinodes
orboralis
 Tomato

 Many tomatoes have

been genetically
modified in Us but
GM tomatoes are
banned in Europe
 Flavr Svr is the first
commercially grown
GM tomato
 Produced by Calgene
in 1994
 Apple

 Able to deactivate
the gene for
polyphenol oxidase
(PPO), an enzyme
which causes the
browning of apples
 Peas

 Inserted kidney
beans genes into
peas DNA resulting
to the production
of protein with
pesticidal ability
 Yellow Crookneck Squash /
Zucchini
 Resistant to virus
 Alfalfa

 Developed to
produce a crop that
will survive
exposure to
glyphosate
herbicide
Thank You For Listening!
Dr. Aleli A. Bonifacio

Source:
ILAGAN, Y. ET AL. SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY. 2018