The Delivery Method, And Primary Scientific Literature

Initially, the DNA of interest needs to be isolated to provide a DNA segment of suitable size. Subsequently, a ligation procedure is used where the amplified fragment is inserted into a vector . The vector is linearised using restriction enzymes, and incubated with the fragment of interest under appropriate conditions with an enzyme called DNA ligase. Following ligation the vector with the insert of interest is transfected into cells. A number of alternative techniques are available, such as chemical sensitivation of cells, electroporation, optical injection and biolistics. Finally, the transfected cells are cultured. As the aforementioned procedures are of particularly low efficiency, there is a need to

OsHsFa2e and OsHsf7, have been confirmed to functionally work in vivo. Transgenic crops, such as rice, with expressing OsHsfA2e are known to be more tolerant to the heat and stress than any other plants.

Scientists continue to find new ways to insert genes for specific traits into plant and animal DNA. A field of promise—and a subject of debate—genetic engineering is changing the food we eat and the world we live in.

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.

Modifying plants is not a new concept. "For centuries, gardeners and farmers have been crossbreeding different species of

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

This procedure has also been performed successfully in the lab with dicots, broadleaf plants, soybeans and tomatoes for many years. Through this procedure, the desired gene and marker is inserted into the tDNA of the plasmid. Tissues of the organism are then transferred to a medium containing an antibiotic or herbicide in order to tell if the organism has successfully taken up the desired gene because only the tissues expressing the marker will survive. These tissues are then grown under controlled environmental conditions in tissue cultures containing nutrients and hormones so that whole plants are grown. When plants are grown and have produced seed, an evaluation of the progeny is done making sure that the desired traits have been passed on (Understanding GMOs).

Now, what exactly is the procedure that these brilliant scientist follow to modify the plant, well it is pretty simple actually. Many people are afraid of the

Genetically modified organisms genes are transferred is by using “infectious, tumor-forming bacterium such as agrobacterium. Genes with desired characteristics are cut out of the donor DNA and spliced into bacteria DNA using a special enzyme. The bacteria then infects plant cells and carry altered DNA into cell’s nuclei. The cells multiply, forming a tumor, or callus, which can grow into a mature plant” (Cunningham 2015).

By maintaining a largely fact-based and scientific perspective throughout the book, Fedoroff furthers her credibility. Plant biotechnology is Fedoroff’s life’s work, earning her a plethora of honors and awards. Thus, it is only natural for her to be more in favor of the pro-plant biotechnology view she argues for in her book. However, Fedoroff maintains a neutral stance for the rest of her book, presenting case studies, addressing both successes and failures of genetic engineering, and responding to myths surrounding genetic engineering. Despite her authority, Fedoroff certainly did her research before writing her book, having a bibliography with works presenting reliable and accurate data that spans thirteen pages. While Fedoroff’s career is founded on the future advancement of plant biotechnology, she carefully addresses both the pros and cons of the rapidly expanding scientific techniques and urges for caution as we proceed forward. Her motivation is to increase awareness of the virtues of plant biotechnology, in spite of some of its failures.

This study successfully demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis in grapes and that the frequency of mutagenesis is relatively stable and efficient. (13) This study also shows a lot of promise for future engineering of altered plants. This study also shows support that CRISPR and Cas 9 can be used to engineer a new plant type, giving scientists another mechanism of plant

Instead of transferring large blocks of genes from donor plant to recipient, small isolated blocks of genes are put into the plant chromosome through biolistics, vectors, or protoplast transformation (Horsch 1993). Biolistics is a technique that shoots the gene block into the potential host cell. In order for the process to succeed, the microscopic particles and DNA must enter the cell nuclei and combine with the plant chromosome. Biolistics is commonly used but has a slight failure risk since the breeder has little control over the destination of the gene block (Mooney & Bernardi 1990). Bacteria or viruses can also carry the gene blocks into a new cell. Common vectors in gene transfer between plants are Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes. In the soil, the bacteria will infect the plants with their own plasmid, transferring the desired gene that was placed in the bacteria's DNA. Vector gene transfer is a preferred method of transformation since this modification already occurs naturally in the environment (Rudolph & McIntire 1996). Last is protoplast transformation, which uses enzymes to dissolve the cellulose in the plant wall that leaves a protoplast. Once a specific gene block is added to the protoplast, the cell wall will re-grow into a transgenic plant.

Genetic engineering is a controversial, powerful and the uprising topic in the field of biology. Genetic engineering is also refereed as recombinant DNA technology as it includes the alteration of genes in living organisms to get the results that favour human kind (NewScientist, 2006). The technology is used in agriculture, medicine and food sciences. Various kinds of genetic alterations are possible which include the inserting of genes of one specie to another to get the required traits and the unwanted traits can be removed by excluding the gene of that specific trait (Efsa, 2015). Transgenic organism produced in the

The coding region of the gene is usually fused to a promoter, most commonly used is the 35S promoter from cauliflower mosaic virus (CMV), in order to promote higher expression levels. (Snow et. al, 1997) The popular method for genetic engineering of crop plants is natural gene transfer via an Agrobacterium tumefaciens vector, a bacterium normally found in soils. The transfer-DNA (T-DNA) vector is made by inserting the desired gene fragment in between specific 25bp repeat domains in the bacterium. The vector is then inserted into the Agrobacterium and "the virulence gene products of Agrobacterium actively recognize, excise, transport, and integrate the T-DNA region into the host plant genomes." (Conner et. al, 1999) The amount of DNA transferred is only about 10kb and the nature of the gene is usually well understood. The expression of the gene introduced can also be controlled by adding additional sequences that might allow the gene to be constitutively expressed, expressed only in certain cell types, or expressed as a result of different environmental changes. This method of gene transfer, however, will only work for the natural host range of the bacterium and therefore other methods are used for additional crop plants. Such methods are uptake of naked DNA by electroporation or particle gun bombardment. The use of genetic markers, as mentioned previously, allows for the preferential growth of cultures that contain the new genetic