LOPE notes April 22 2014 lecture slide 22 Announcements For the final lecture slides start on Lecture 21 Bring in extra credit first thing on Thursday morning 5 pts collect 10 different things from the plaques on the walk back from class Genetically modified organisms GMO Examples chicken that glow in the dark or a pink chicken Corn is a classic example which started out as grass but farmers transformed the grass into this but the farmers manipulated the DNA and there was atleast 5 changes between the grass form and corn GMO genes from two different organisms are combined An organism whose natural genetic material has been altered with genetic engineering Recombinant DNA technology Takes genes from different sources and combines them into one molecule to create a new set of genes The bacteriu DNA gets inserted for desired trait then the DNA then introduced into plant cells in structure Advantages of GMO with recombinant technology Bacterial produced recombinant human insulin Has replaced insulin obtained from animal sources for the treatment of insulin dependent diabetes Recombinant blood clotting protein Transgenic organism A living organism that contains DNA from different species RoundUp is an herbicide used against crops Contains glyphosate which kills plants by stopping the synthesis of three essential amino acids which make proteins A bacteria naturally contains the gene fort a protein synthesizing enzyme not inhibited by glyphosate That gene is inserted into soybeans corn cotton etc Crops are not killed by RoundUp Herbicides can be used to kill weeds but not the soybeans BT crops BT is the BT gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis a bacterium produces a protein that binds to the gut of insect larva and kills them Gene is removed from B thuringiensis and inserted into crops corn cotton Crop expresses the bacterial gene makes the protein that is responsible for larva toxicity When larva eats the plants it dies Globally acreage of GM crops increased from around 4 3 million acres in 1996 to 109 million acres in 2000 almost twice the areas of the United Kingdom 2010 GM cop acreage 365 million acres In US 90 of all soybeans cultivated in 2010 were genetically modified from 42 in 1998 and only 7 in 1996 Concerns Kills non target organisms example honey bees they want to get the insect larva not them could be one of the reasons bees are dying A laboratory study was published showing that pollen from B T corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants not corn but the fear is that if BT corn pollen is blown onto milkweed plants the caterpillars can eat the pollen and perish Bee colony deaths in brazil are linked to corn BT Herbicide resistance At least nine common weeds have developed resistance to glyphosate As a result farmers are applying even more herbicide to crops More roundup in environment Roundup herbicide is lethal to frogs and toxic to human placental and embryonic cells Roundup is used in more than 80 of all the GM crops Corporate control of the food system One company Monsanto controls the vast majority of many US crops These crops are used in most cereals vegetable oils ect very stable foods The significant corporate consolidation of global food production has created a food system that values quantity over quality Food safety is becoming a big concern Filthy conditions in factory farms Contamination Circumventing local regulations Herbicides that are banned in the USA are used on foreign crops which are then imported into the USA Increase in allergies Many children in the US and Europe have developed life threatening allegeies to peanturs and other foods There is a possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible Organic farmers are concerned about genetic contamination concerned that crop pollen could cross pollinate their crops