Recent Developments Of Gene Editing Technology And Their Potential Applications For Plants And Agriculture

The concept of intentionally altering an organism’s DNA in order to produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been critically analyzed by both science and the mainstream media in the last decade. However, the genetic modification of organisms is not a recent innovation as humans have been modifying organisms for over 30 000 years (Rangel, 2015). Back then, breeding through artificial selection was the most prominent method of genetic engineering. Organisms with the most desirable traits would be bred together in order to create a new generation of superior organisms. Throughout the centuries, the developments in science and technology have resulted in new methods of genetic engineering. Now, genomes can be spliced in order to insert or remove genes. It has essentially come down to a copy and paste process with genes from animals being inserted into plants as the common practice.

Genome editing is still relatively new in the science world. It was only fairly recently that we gained the first ability to fix our DNA (Rajan). Genome editing is changing the DNA, which gives us the ability to change it for the better – which is not an easy thing to do (What Is Genome Editing?). In order to change the DNA, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are manipulated to improve the DNA (Hornblower, Reis, Robb, and Tzertzinis). A fracture is made in the DNA to modify it, in order to adjust the DNA to try to rid it of genetic diseases and abnormalities (What Is Genome Editing?). Then, a new sequence can be added into the existing DNA and be repaired (What Is Genome Editing?). This is the basic idea of the difficult genome editing. While complicated, once more progress is made and it becomes more successful, this process could work on a variety of diseases (What Is Genome Editing?).

Genetically altering genes has been around for ages by cross breeding plants. Genetic alteration has been practice to help plants grow healthier and stronger helping Indians to become nomadic. “Gatherers

Genetic modification of organisms is something the human race has been doing for thousands of years, starting with the first domestication of animals around 10,000 years ago. (Root, 2) Many of these genetic alterations were at a basic level, an example of this being the cross breeding of dogs to achieve desirable traits. Additionally, importation of new plants or animals into areas they didn’t historically come form, forced adaptations from these organism to survive. More recently, scientists have begun to understand genetic engineering at the DNA level, and expand its use into the altering of plants genetic code. (Goldbas) Scientists are now gaining insight into

Genes can mutate with heartful effect It is not yet known whether artificial insertion of genes could destabilize an organism encouraging mutations or whether the inserted gene it self will keep stable in the plant over generations. There is no conclusive data on this

The usage of nucleases is rapidly growing in an effort to save millions of lives worldwide; recently, gene editing tool was used to treat little girl’s cancer. Targeted genome editing is the most efficient, and effective way to treat cancer. Generally speaking CRISPR/Cas9 a powerful gene-editing tool should be considered to help the millions people that are losing their lives daily. As a matter of fact, researchers have developed three different kinds of gene-editing tools known as ZFN, TALEN, and newest and very effective CRISPR/Cas9. In the final analysis, CRISPR/Cas9 is the gene-editing tool that must be used in treatment of millions of people who are living with cancer. Recently, experiments were performed using CRISPR/Cas9, for instance editing the mushroom, modified human embryos, targeted mutagenesis, and genome editing in sea urchin embryos indicate high levels of efficiency, accuracy, and is opening door to treating deadly

Modifying plants, and their genes, is not something new. Ever since humans first began to grow their own plants, around 10,000 years ago, we 've changed the plants quite a bit (Erdosh, G., & Lusted, M. A., 2014). Bananas used to be difficult to eat, as they were packed full of inedible seeds; corn consisted of only a few hard kernels on the end of a stick and was only found in parts of southern Mexico; Watermelon used to be extremely bitter. You can see the potential of genetic modification if you look at the average supermarket tomato. These tomatoes have been bred selectively, for almost a hundred years, to produce a product capable of going into commercial production. Meaning, the tomato plants have been bred to: increase durability, increase uniformity, provide larger fruit, provide higher yield, and aren 't as flavorful. If you compare them to heirloom tomatoes, you 'll notice they haven 't been bred for commercial production, but for flavor and aroma. Heirloom tomatoes are not fit for mass commercial production,

A specific example of genetic modification or the recombination of DNA is shown through the development of golden rice. The gene for the enzyme phytoene synthase is extracted from the daffodil plant. Phytoene synthase is needed for the synthesis of a colourless carotene. The gene for the enzyme carotene desaturase is extracted from the soil bacterium. Carotene desaturase is used to catalyse multiple steps in the synthesise of carotenoids. These steps require many enzymes in plants. The recombined plasmid is then inserted into agrobacterium, which is then mixed with rice and plant embryos. This example of genetic modification created

Gene editing used to be a relatively painful and laborious process until the development of CRISPR. In short (and seriously abridging the complex science), CRISPR stands for “Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats” and are segments of genetic code that, paired with an enzyme such as “Cas9,” have the potential to modify the genes of nearly every organism. The development of CRISPR is to genetics what the development of word processors was to writers; I type, delete, copy, and paste words in this essay (much like what CRISPR can do with genes) elegantly on

New advancements in genetic engineering allows scientists to modify and replace genes. This practice is mostly evident in crops. DNA modification causes crops to grow larger and faster while being resistant

CRISPR-Cas9 has recently become a popular set of tools for genetic engineering. By targeting specific DNA sequences, biotechnology can edit portions of organism’s genome by adding, replacing, or deleting sequences of DNA. Biotechnology also allows genes to be transferred from one organisms to another. The system uses a modified bacterial protein and a RNA to guide it to a specific DNA sequence. Scientist have also found ways to use these tools to send proteins to DNA targets to remove or add genes. When there is a significant error during repair, an entire sequence can become altered and the CRISPR system can study what happened to the cell which this error occurred in. The system has opened up new possibilities for discovering all areas of

Describe the various methods that have been developed to achieve targeted gene modification in animals and plants and discuss their applications.

Gene editing is not a new concept, however the recent development of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technique has greatly simplified the process of gene editing for scientists. This powerful new technique has many applications in biomedical research and has the potential to treat genetic diseases [2]. All cells in the human body contain a copy of the human genome, which contains almost 25 000 genes. Each molecule of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is made up of two complimentary strands twisted into a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds. Genes are a blue print for the human body, giving it instructions on how to create essential proteins [3]. Due to major advances in technology, scientists and researchers have identified thousands of genes that code for certain diseases. Changing genes in cells is not an easy process, however it can be simplified by using the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

Direct manipulation of DNA focuses on selective breeding, altering organisms to achieve higher quality products and more of them. These improved

Over the years, new innovations, ideas, and emerging technologies have transformed our society and our daily lives. These new discoveries have not only been developed to help make our lives easier, but to also help us live longer and stronger lives. Living in a world that continues to evolve, creates opportunities for new innovations and breakthroughs to arise within our society. Genetic engineering is just one of many examples of the advancements that young, intelligent minds have developed throughout the years. Genetic engineering is defined as “isolating a desirable gene” and injecting it into a plant or organism to produce “a desired characteristic” (Nutrition & Weight Control for Longevity, 2005). This biological technology has provided many advancement opportunities “for several industrial sectors such as agriculture, food manufacture and pharmaceuticals” (Rastall, 2002). Along with everything else in life, genetic engineering has some upsides and downsides. Today I am going to discuss the positive and negative outcomes that genetic engineering is recognized for in the agricultural industry.