1. What are GMOs? Some technical background on the genetic modification of plants Stuart Brown Associate Professor NYU School of Medicine

2. Genetically Modified Organism The term GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Taken literally, this becomes meaningless, since all organisms are in some sense genetically modified – by natural evolution and in agriculture by human selection. (more on this in a minute) In current usage, GMO is applied to organisms modified by recombinant DNA technology

4. DNA Ligase

7. Transgenic Plants Technologies have been developed to permanently insert new genes into the DNA of plants. – Use of Agrobacterium which has the ability to insert its DNA into plant cells – Use of a “DNA gun” which blasts tiny particles coated with DNA into plant cells Allows researchers to insert any gene into a plant without requiring plant breeding, adding the ability for the plant to make a new protein (or RNA) molecule. GMO food animals are also possible, but not yet in wide production

9. Gene Knock-out Sometimes the desired change is to block the function of a gene that is in the plant – to stop the production of a harmful product, or stop a natural process – Slow the ripening of tomatoes – Block the browning of apples – Remove harmful acrylamides from potatoes There are several ways to knock-out a gene with DNA technologies – Edit out the gene from the DNA – Insert a blocking gene

10. CRISPR is a very new technology (2-3 years) that allows more precise gene knock out and replacement.

11. Tissue Culture Genetic modification of plants is done to single cells. It is then necessary to grow the modified cells back into whole plants by tissue culture Tissue culture is a very common technique in standard plant production. Almost all commercial orchids are grown by tissue culture.

12. GMO Plant A specific plant variety that has had a new gene inserted (or a gene deleted) by genetic engineering methods May produces a new protein, not usually found in that plant May have some other bits of DNA, and possibly extra proteins from the engineering process (parts of the cloning vector and the selectable marker)

13. What Genes can be Added? – Resistance to pests & disease (insects, fungi, viruses) Bt toxin against insects (Bt is naturally produced by bacteria) Virus resistant papaya Mildew resistant potato – Tolerance to herbicides “Roundup Ready” soybeans & corn from Monsanto – Change in plant growth and composition Slow ripening tomato (better transport and shelf life) Non-browning apple Low acrylamide potato High Vitamin A rice (“Golden Rice”)

14. Are GMO Plants Safe? How to define “Safe” ??? In the US we have food safety definitions which are established and enforced by the FDA, EPA and the Dept. of Agriculture. Europe has its own European Food Safety Authority These definitions work reasonably well – none of us in this room has been killed yet by USDA approved foods. – However there are many known food safety issues with ‘ordinary’ foods such as bacteria, mold, natural toxins, allergies (many food recalls and restaurant scandals: Jack- In-The-Box, Chipotle, etc.)

15. What are the Risks? Toxicity or allergy from the inserted protein(s) Toxicity or allergy from the other bits of DNA that are added in the engineering process (the vector and the selectable marker) Mutations that may occur during the engineering and tissue culture process

16. How are GMO Plants Tested? GMO crops and foods are regulated under laws created for invasive plants, chemical pesticides, and food additives. Nearly all testing of GMO crops is done by seed and biotech companies themselves, and evaluated by the EPA and FDA. Very little testing of GMO food safety has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Scientific oversight of US Government regulation has been provided by the US National Academy of Sciences: Committee on Identifying and Assessing Unintended Effects of Genetically Engineered Foods on Human Health

17. FDA Oversight Updated: 06/22/2015 As of December 2012, the FDA has completed 95 consultations “The foods evaluated through the consultation process have not been found to be more likely to cause an allergic or toxic reaction than foods from traditionally bred plants.”

18. What about “Traditional” Plant Breeding? Humans have bred and selected plant varieties for many thousands of years Current approved “natural” plant breeding techniques include: – Hybridization between distantly related plants – Tissue culture – Mutagenesis These methods can introduce large numbers of new genes or random genetic changes to food varieties New varieties produced by these methods are not required to undergo any safety testing.

19. No Harm In the US, GMO foods have been approved and in wide production for about 18 years. In that time not a single person has been made sick by eating these GMO foods. Not a single lawsuit has been tried against GMO food producers for harm to a person by eating GMO food (not even in New York!!) “Foods derived from GM crops have been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years, with no reported ill effects.” – Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2008 Jun;101(6):290-8. doi: 10.1258/jrsm.2008.070372