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 !