PLANTS - OUR FUTURE…?

transpire water to clouds and Plants relate to everything around Take in CO2, give out O2, transpire water to clouds and promote rainfall

FUTURE PRIORITIES Production of safe, high-quality, diverse food and feed in sufficient quantities Sustainable agriculture Development of plants for the production of renewable resources and energy Increasing competitiveness while maintaining the freedom of choice of consumers Scientific and technological progress in biotechnologies for genetically modified (GM) foods is the most promising tool for addressing these new priorities.

Scientists are taking genes from one species and inserting them into entirely different species, to transplant a desired personality trait

What foods can you create by genetic modification? Potatoes Bananas An endangered species? Golden rice Tomatoes Soybeans For the most part, foods in European supermarkets are not genetically modified.  Genetically modified fruits and vegetables are still quite a long way from commercial use in the EU . Food which is a genetically modified organism (GMO) or which consists of GMOs must be labelled. Wheat, Rye, and Barley - Cereal production around the world is free of genetically modified plants. This means that all flour used to make bread is "GM-free". .   Wheat Foods in European supermarkets are not genetically modified.  GM fruits and vegetables are still quite a long way from commercial use in the EU.   Maize

The adoption of Transgenics, 1996-2006

GM food - the big debate Advantages: Disadvantages: The agricultural process is kinder to the environment, by using less pesticides, fertilizers and water. Gene technology is one of the best solutions to the problem of world hunger. It can increase production and lower the cost of food. Gene modification can boost immunity and develop inbuilt vaccines for livestock and poultry. Gene technology can remove lactose, so that lactose-intolerant people can eat dairy products. Crops could be grown in areas suffering from drought and salt. GM crops are faster and cheaper. Many vegetarians may fid they are now able to consume products which have synthetic, rather than animal-based, origins. G M Foods are sometimes thought as being more nutritious, tasting better and they keep longer. Many people rely on genetically modified foods for medicines, for example insulin for diabetics. Proven by research, GM Foods are safe. . Disadvantages: Most food manafacturers are unable to provide information on whether or not their products contain GM ingredients. This means you rarely know what you are eating. GM crops can contaminate other crops simply by pollen being blown by wind from one field to another. Sometimes GM crops have allergenic effects. Loss of nutritional value. Reduction of the efficiency of antibiotics. New viruses could evolve from the mass production of GM crops. Pests may develop resistance to GM crops that have been designed to kill them. Humans do not have the right to genetically alter nature for their own convienience and profit. Vegetarians and Vegans may find it offensive to put animal genes into plants. Some countries will not be able to afford GM foods. GM crops may produce ecological side effects (Monarch butterfiles). Too much money spent on Gene Technology could have been spent on other things.

EUROPEAN de facto MORATATORIUM In June 2003, the EUROPEAN Parliament ratified a biosafety protocol regulating international trade in genetically modified food. It requires that all food/feed containing or derived from GMO be labeled and any GM ingredients in food be traced. At least 174 regions, over 4500 municipalities and other local entities and tens of thousands of farmers and food producers in Europe have declared themselves "GMO-free" expressing their commitment not to allow the use of genetically modified organisms in the agriculture and food in their territories

DEVELOP OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS FOR TOXIC CLEAN -UP Scientists have to develop fast growing grasses, trees that control the uptake and binding of toxic elements and to examine individual genes and mechanisms that might drive phytoremediation. To following plant characteristics have to be used in plant engineering for Phytoremediation: activity in rhizosphere; element uptake; transformation to most mobile species; translocation through vascular system; transformation to best managed element species; chemical sinks for toxic element accumulation; physical sites for storage (cytosol, vacuole).

Remediation plant. Genetically modified poplar trees, which can take up chlorinated solvents, are developed to remediate polluted sites.

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) The protein is encoded by a single gene and can be cloned and incorporated in cells of other species. It possesses natural fluorescence allowing direct visualization of the transformed cells. Aequorea victoria

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