Biotechnology in Plant Science Agri-science Mr. Bailey

Introduction Vegetables today are being grown with the help of genetic engineering Number of chromosomes matters in the composition of plants o Seedless watermelon has a different number of chromosomes than a watermelon with seeds

What are some biotechnologies used in plant science? Genetic engineering Plant breeding Hybrids  (fermenting of sugar cane and corn produces ethanol, which in turn can be sued to produce an alternative to gasoline) Plants are resistant to frost damage, insects and herbicides

How will these new biotechnologies help plants? Used to protect crops from devastating diseases Increasing crop quality and may in some cases increase yields Ability to grow in salty soils or better withstand drought conditions Insect-resistant cotton allows for a significant reduction in pesticide use

What are some negative impacts of these new biotechnologies? Environmental and consumer health Effects on birds, mammals, insects, worms, and other organisms The potential for transfer of novel traits to wild relatives

What are herbicides and what is the danger of using these? When the weeds are growing among a crop, herbicides kill the weeds and the crop Many herbicides work by inhibiting a key enzyme or protein necessary for growth of the plant. Genetic engineers now are working on crops that are tolerant of herbicides  If this happens, then what keeps weeds from picking up this tolerance?

How will biotechnologies harm nature? Crop plants are now engineered to produce a protein that kills certain insect pests, like the caterpillar Advance like this can reduce the amount of insecticides farmers spray on crops o If these plants can produce this protein to kill the caterpillars, then what happens to our beneficial butterflies?

Exit Slip List three ways that biotechnology is used in plant science? List two disadvantages and advantages that biotechnology has had on plant science.