Download - GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO)
G E N ET I C A L LY
M O D I F I E D
O R G A N I S M ( G M O )
D I S C U S S A N T : J O S H U A G . J AV I E R
S V N H S S T U D E N T, H U M S S 1 1
OBJECTIVES:
• to further understand what is a genetically
modified organism and its example
• to fortify the fundamental concepts related to
genetics like DNA, genes and its types
• to comprehend the definition and methods of
genetic engineering
• to identify both the bright and dark side
genetically modified organism
I. WHAT ARE GMOS?
WHAT ARE GMOS?•According to the Institute for ResponsibleTechnology, A GMO (genetically modifiedorganism) is the result of a laboratory processwhere genes from the DNA of one species are
extracted and artificially forced into the genesan unrelated plant or animal. The foreign genesmay come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animalsor even humans. Because this involves thetransfer of genes, GMOs are also known as
“transgenic”
(‘Trans’ + ‘genic’) organisms.
WHAT ARE GMOS?•A genetically modified organism (GMO)is an organism whose genetic material
has been altered using techniques ingenetics generally known as recombinantDNA technology. Whereas, recombinant
DNA technology is the ability to combineDNA molecules from different sourcesthe one molecule, according to ScienceDaily.
II. REVIEW!T H E F U N D A M E N TA L C O N C E P T S O F H U M A N B O D Y A N D G E N E T I C S
ORGANISM (PLANTS, ANIMALS, HUMANS)
→ ORGAN SYSTEMS (CIRCULATORY, RESPIRATORY, NERVOUS)
→ ORGANS (HEART, LUNGS, BRAIN)
→ TISSUES
→ CELLS
→ NUCLEUS
→ CHROMOSOMES
→ DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA)
DNA
•Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is a double-helixstructure which is responsible for the main
blueprint of an organism’s physical (bothinternal and external) characteristics. Theymade up of nucleotides (phosphate group,sugar and a base). The four bases are:adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine.
NOTE: A CHANGE IN THE DNA WILL CHANGEEVERYTHING!
COLOR BLINDNESS TEST
DNA
•Deoxy (means ‘no oxygen’) +
ribose are found in RNA, is a"normal" sugar, withone oxygen
atom attached to each carbon
atom, according to Pearson.
GENES• In connection, genes are sequences or
strands of DNA, which determines a certain trait. (I.e. skin, blood, hair, eye -colour, shape or type)
• In contrast, an allele is a form of a gene, which determines the specific trait. (I.e. white skin, brown eyes, black hair, O blood type, etc.)
GENES•Genes are expressed in two types:
1) Phenotype and; 2) Genotype.
•The phenotype tells exactly the characteristic,
like ‘brown eyes’, but the genotype is a
portrayal of an organism’s phenotypic
characteristics through letters, such as ‘BB’,
‘Yy’, that are pre-identified through Gregor
Mendel’s Punnett Square Model.
GENOTYPE
PHENOTYPE
WHAT IS A GMO?•Wrapping up all these facts, Genetically
Modified Organisms are the organisms,relating to microorganisms, plants,
animals, humans, being transfiguredthrough the extraction of a gene in the
DNA from other organisms, which were transferred to them, which we call ‘genetic
engineering’.
I I I . T H E M E T H O D S O F G E N E T I C E N G I N E E R I N G O R G E N E T I C M O D I F I C AT I O N
METHODS OF GENETIC ENGINEERING
•Because living organisms have
natural barriers to protect themselves against the introduction
of DNA from a different species,
genetic engineers must force the DNA from one organism into another.
METHODS:Their methods include:
•Using viruses or bacteria to “infect” animal or plant cells with the new DNA.
•Coating DNA onto tiny metal pellets and it with a special gun into the cells.
• Injecting the new DNA into fertilized eggsa very fine needle.
•Using electric shocks to create holes in the membrane covering sperm, and then forcing the new DNA into the sperm through these holes.
GENE GUN
MICROINJECTION
CLONING
I V. B R I E F H I S T O R Y O F G E N E T I C E N G I N E E R I N G / G E N E T I C M O D I F I C AT I O N
HISTORY•Everything started first with selective
breeding of both plants and animals, and humans became good at it, but they never
understood how it worked.•Until, we discovered the code of life, DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which guides growth, development, function and reproduction of everything alive.
HISTORY
• Information is encoded in the DNA structure. Four nucleotides are paired and make up a code that carries
instructions, which guide the development of organisms’ internal and external instructions.
NOTE: If you changed the genetic code, the organism’s physical structure will eventually change!
HISTORY•The discovery of the DNA by James
Watson and Francis Crick has become a great milestone to the other genetic-
related discoveries.
• In the 1960’s, scientists bombarded
plants with radiation to cause random mutation or change in the genetic code.
HISTORY• In the 1970’s, scientists inserted DNA
snippets into bacteria, plants and animals study and modify them for research, medicine, agriculture and etc.
•Past 1974, the first genetically modified
animal, mice are considered a standard tool for research, saving millions of lives.
• In the 1980’s, the first patent was given for a microbe engineered to absorb oil.
MICROBES
HISTORY•Today, we produce many chemicals by means of engineering life, like life-saving
clothing factors, growth hormones andinsulin. •The first food modified in the lab went on sale in 1994, the Flavr Savr Tomato, which has a longer shelf life, where a gene is suppressing the production of rotting
enzyme.
FLAVR SAVR TOMATO
HISTORY•But, in the 1990’s, a brief threat in the human engineering happened.
•To treat maternal infertility, babies were made using a genetic material coming from 3
humans, making them to be the first humans to to have three genetic parents.
•Now, there are super-muscled pigs,
Featherless chicken, fast-growing salmons transparent frogs. On the other side, we’ve made things glow in the dark.
PIGS
SALMONS
CHICKEN
FROGS
FISH
HISTORY•Looking to the future, through genetic engineering, HIV, Cancer cells and other
genetic diseases and viruses might be cured, there are hopes that babies can be
designed, and aging signs might be reversed, and humans have this possibility to spend more than a thousand years with their loved ones.
V. A R E G M O ( G E N E T I C A L LY M O D I F I E D O R G A N I S M S ) G O O D O R B A D ?
ANSWER:•In the field of medicine, genetically
modified insulins, as medical
applications are widely accepted.
•However, not the same norm goes with
food and agriculture.
V I . I S G E N E T I C A L LY M O D I F I E D P L A N T S A N D A N I M A L S O K AY O R N O T O K AY ?
ANSWER:•Since the ancient period, until now, we have been pre-modifying plants and
animals to increase their benefits to humans, through simple breeding, which changes automatically and naturally the genetic code of an organism.
•So, how is it different with what the so-called, ‘Genetically Modified Organism’ or ‘GMO’?
ANSWER:•First, selective breeding is a happy-
go-lucky method, which in contrast with genetic engineering. In genetic
engineering, we can choose the we want. For example, you can make fruits bigger and more immune to
pests.
V I I . A R E G M O S B A D ?
ANSWER:•The first objection of GMOs is what we call,
‘Gene Flow’, which means that GM plants might get mixed with Non-GM plants, which may cause unwanted characteristics.
•But, there is a method to avoid mixing GM plants and Non-GM plants, which are ‘Terminator Seeds’, however it’s also a big ANTI-FACTOR in pursuing GMOs, because it might produce sterile plants, which may require farmers to buy new seeds per year.
ANSWER:•This factor resulted to a public protest
to stop this technology, but
unintentionally, seeds from GMO plants
carried by the air have been planted in
different locations or places.
V I I I . I S F O O D C O M I N G F R O M G M O D I F F E R E N T W I T H T H O S E O F N O N - G M O ?
ANSWER:•GMO products, the moment they have
been produced widely, has been
checked and tested by multiple
agencies, which have concluded that
GMOs are safe to be eaten as non-
GMOs.
ANSWER:•However, some plants have been engineered to create toxic like BT crops, where the scientists borrowed a gene from bacterium
‘Bacillus Thuringiensis’, which allows plants produce a poisonous protein that can kill pests. In this case, the plant makes its own pesticide, and insects eat it and dies. Isn’t it threatening? Pesticide sprays could be simply washed off using water, but what if the pesticide material is inside the crop?
ANSWER:•But, nothing to worry because poison is not a big deal and is just a question of different perspectives. What’s harmless to some species might kill another set of species. Like coffee and chocolates, which can be poisonous for insects and/or animals, but harmless for us, humans, unless if taken with no moderation, of course.
ANSWER:•On another approach, there are GMO plants
that are resistant to weed-killers, which may
help farmers to kill the weeds, without harming
the crop. But, on the dark side of this approach,
it is a big business for the pesticide industry.
•Mostly, all 90% of all cash crops in America are
herbicide-resistant, mostly to glyphosate. In
result, the use of glyphosate has increased.
ANSWER:•Much of this criticism is for modern agriculture
and for business corporations that holds our
food supply and is only a matter of profit and
not life – sustenance, and that food is for
people and not for profits.
• In reality, GMO technology is an ally and not an
enemy, in helping to save and protect nature
and lessen its negative impacts in the
environment.
I X . W H AT G O O D , G M O S C A N D O ?
ANSWER:•For example, in Bangladesh, eggplant
production is a major plant industry,
but harvests are destroyed by pests.
Hence, farmer rely on pesticides. Not
just that it is expensive, but it also
makes farmers sick frequently.
ANSWER:•But, in the introduction of the
genetically modified eggplant during
the year 2013, this phenomenon has
stopped, which resulted to a dramatical
decrease of 80%, farmers’ health has
improved, and their income rose
intensely.
ANSWER:•In some cases, GMO has been the only
option. During the attack of Ringspot
virus in Hawaiian papayas, a genetically
modified Hawaiian papaya has been
introduced, which has prevented the
Hawaiian papaya industry from
collapsing.
ANSWER:•Now, the scientists have been working for a GMO that will improve our diet, which they target to produce plants that have more nutrients, like a fruit with high-anti-oxidant levels that help fight diseases or rice with additional vitamins. (I.e. golden rice, purple tomatoes), and plants resilient to climate change and that can adapt to erratic weather and various soil conditions, making them resistant to droughts or floods.
ANSWER:
•Scientists are working on crops
which can filter the air from
nitrogen, like microbes. Nitrogen is
a common fertilizer, but it pollutes
the ground water and speeds up
climate change.
ANSWER:•We can also modify plants
that are super-effective
collectors of carbon
dioxide, which can improve
the atmosphere and
reverse the effects of
climate change.
X . C O N C L U S I O N
CONCLUSION:
•GMO could be our most
powerful weapon to save
our biosphere. 😊
THE END!
T H A N K Y O U F O R L I S T E N I N G !