Bio agriculture

Question 1

Define Biotechnology.

Answer 1

Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof to make or modify products or processes for specific use.
Any application of science or technical advances in life science to develop commercial products.

Question 2

What does biotechnology involve?

Answer 2

The manipulation of genes to create a new strain of plants that have the desired trait.

Question 3

What is a genetically modified organism? (GMO)

Answer 3

A genetically modified organism is one whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.

Question 4

What is a transgene?

Answer 4

A foreign gene that is not naturally found in the organism inserted into the organism.

Question 5

What is the organism that carries the transgene called?

Answer 5

Transgenic organism.

Question 6

What is a complete set of genes in an organism called?

Answer 6

A genome.

Question 7

What is a genome?

Answer 7

A complete set of genes in an organism.

Question 8

Reasons for turning to biotechnology.

Answer 8

To improve yields
To improve resistance to cold, drought and salinity.
To improve tolerance to a herbicide.
To improve resistance to pests and diseases.
To enhance the nutritional content of foods.

Question 9

Name the steps of creating a GMO.

Answer 9

1. Find an organism expressing the trait of interest.
2. Isolate the gene responsible for this trait
3. Insert the gene into the target organism.
4. Regenerate an entire organism from the transformed cell.

Question 10

Why do plants need to be cold-tolerant?

Answer 10

Unexpected frost can destroy seedlings, and the quality of frozen fruits or vegetables can be compromised by the damaging of ice-crystal formed within the frozen tissue.

Question 11

How have scientists created a cold-tolerant plant?

Answer 11

Scientists have created inserted an antifreeze gene from a cold water fish such as the Flounder, a fish that can survive in very cold conditions.

Question 12

What are some examples of cold-tolerant plants?

Answer 12

Potato plant and tobacco,

Question 13

How do Herbicide resistant crops work>

Answer 13

Farmers often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds
However, if the transgenic crops that can produce a protein that makes them resistant to that particular herbicide
The herbicides are broad-spectrum, which means that they kill nearly all plants except those that have the herbicide tolerance gene.

Question 14

How are herbicide resistant crops created?

Answer 14

They are created by inserting a transgene taken from a bacterium.

Question 15

What are some of the suppliers of herbicides?

Answer 15

Glufosinate (Roundup) (Roundup ready) and glyphosate (Liberty) (liberty link)

Question 16

What is one benefit for herbicide resistant crops?

Answer 16

This class of herbicides breaks down quickly in the soil and hence reducing agricultural waste run-off and polluting the water supply.

Question 17

What are some herbicide resistant crops?

Answer 17

Corn
canola
alfalfa
 cotton
 soybean
 sorghum.

Question 18

What is Bacillus Thuringiensis?

Answer 18

A naturally occuring soil bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are toxic to larvae and many pest organisms.

Question 19

What particular insects are Bacillus Thuringiensis used against?

Answer 19

European corn borer
Corn rootworms
Mosquito
Black fly

Question 20

What is a disadvantage of the traditional Bt toxin powder?

Answer 20

The powder can be easily washed off by rain or broken down easily when exposed to sunlight.

Question 21

What is an advantage of inserting the Bt gene directly into the genome of the crop?

Answer 21

Insertion of the Bt genes directly into the genome of crops allowed the crops to constantly produce Bt toxin proteins in all tissues of the plant.
When an insect larvae eats the plant tissue, it also consumes the toxin which will cause the intestines to rupture, killing it.

Question 22

Advantages of Bt insect- resistant crops.

Answer 22

• No pesticide residues on foods
• Reduce pesticide leaching into groundwater
• Minimise farm worker exposure to hazardous pesticide

Question 23

Disadvantages of Bt insect resistant crops.

Answer 23

Loss of agricultural biodiversity when farmer chooses to grow only one GM crop.
Emergence of new allergens due to new proteins found in food.

Question 24

Crops available for Bt insect resistant crops.

Answer 24

Corn and cotton

The corn is not meant for human consumption but for pig fodder.

Question 25

What is Golden rice?

Answer 25

It is a variety of Oryza Sativa rice produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene which is a precursor for vitamin A.

Question 26

What is beta carotene?

Answer 26

Beta-carotene is a precursor for Vitamin A

Question 27

What was the intent of developing golden rice?

Answer 27

It developed as a humanitarian tool to the problem of Vitamin A deficiency, which is a significant cause of blindness among children globally.

Question 28

How is golden rice created?

Answer 28

Golden rice is created by introducing into genome of rice plants; three genes, two from daffodil plants and one from a soil bacterium so that the orange pigment beta-carotene can be produced in rice-grains.

Question 29

What are some human health risks and concerns?

Answer 29

• Allergenicity. > introducing a foreign gene into a plant and hence the production of the new protein not naturally present in the plant, may trigger allergic reactions in susceptible individuals.
• Unknown effects on human health over long-term consumption.
• Skeptical about the quality of tests on GM foods and question the accuracy of the result.
• Vegetarians object to animal-based transgenes

Question 30

What are some risks on the natural environment?

Answer 30

• Unintended harm to other organisms> pollen from Bt corn blown by wind onto milkweed plants in neighbouring fields killing Monarch butterfly caterpillars (not a pest) that feed on milkweed plants
• Pests may develop a resistance to Bt toxin over time.
• Gene transfer to non-target species > transgenic herbicide-resistant crop and weeds cross-pollinated resulting in “superweeds”. The “superweeds” acquired the herbicide- tolerant gene as well.

Question 31

What are some economic concerns?

Answer 31

Farmers in poor countries may not have money to buy transgenic seeds
If transgenic crops prove to be cheaper or more productive, farmers in poorer countries will find it difficult to sell their non-transgenic crops.