GMO

Question 1

What is a GMO?

Answer 1

the insertion of a functional gene (plus its promoter, the equivalent of an on/off switch for the gene, and a marker gene) into the genetic code of a crop species.

Question 2

What are 3 ways GMOs can be modified ?

Answer 2

• Adding a foreign gene
• Altering an existing gene
• Deleting or turning off a gene

Question 3

What is the process of adding a foreign gene?

Answer 3

A foreign gene is added which will enable the GMO to carry out a new genetic program. Organisms altered in this way are referred to as

Question 4

What is the process of altering an existing gene?

Answer 4

An existing gene already present in the organism may be altered to make it express at a higher level (e.g. growth hormone) or in a different way (in tissue that would not normally express it).

Question 5

What is the process of deleting or turning off a gene?

Answer 5

An existing gene may be deleted or deactivated to prevent the expression of a trait (e.g. the deactivation of the ripening gene in tomatoes).

Question 6

Crop plants resistant to herbicides

Answer 6

. Poisons that generally affect only unwanted plants, or weeds, are called herbicides.
. A growing number of weeds are developing resistance to herbicides.
. The gene that confers this resistance has been introduced to a number of crop plants.

Question 7

Crop plants resistant to insects

Answer 7

Scientists developed another kind of genetically engineered corn having pesticide inside them to resist insects. (Bt corn)

Question 8

Improving crop quality

Answer 8

. Tomatoes can be manipulated to improve the crop quality
. Tomato pastes have been modified with a gene which inhibited the production of the enzyme which softened cell walls in the tomato.
. The GM gene therefore served to maintain firmness in the tomato as the fruit ripened.

Question 9

improving nutritional value of crops

Answer 9

. High-lysine corn products that improve the nutritional value of animal feed.
. Improved soybeans and canola for healthier oils and protein.

Question 10

Improving growth rate

Answer 10

GM fish are able to grow even faster and grow to market size in just 16 to 18 months rather than three years.

Question 11

Pharmaceutical products

Answer 11

. The cloning of human genes in bacteria enables large amounts of many medicines (e.g. human growth hormone, insulin).
. The treatment of dwarfism with growth hormone used to involve extracting the pituitary glands from cadavers.