Engineering new plant strains for commercial markets

doi:10.1016/S0958-1669(98)80121-3

Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Volume 9, Issue 2, April 1998, Pages 233-235

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-1669(98)80121-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

Transgenic plants are taking over the largest crop seed markets. In particular, herbicide resistant soybeans and insect resistant corn and cotton have produced extraordinary wealth for farmers, seed companies, and technology providers. The commercial success of agricultural biotechnology has triggered enormous increases in research, particulary genomics.

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Cited by (13)

Genetic modifications of corn
2018, Corn: Chemistry and Technology, 3rd Edition
Corn, Zea mays L., is one of the humankind's earliest innovations. The large productivity gains in corn production have come primarily from advanced plant breeding techniques and improved corn management. Plant breeding has gotten technologically savvy in the last century. Realizing that natural mutants often introduce valuable traits, scientists turned to chemicals and irradiation to speed the creation of mutants. Later, plant tissue culture evolved (1970s), then the use of molecular markers to identify interesting hereditary traits; during the 1980s, genetic engineering by means of making transgenic plants and, more recently, genome editing as a new tool to do more precise specific mutations for specific traits. Since 1996, corn products with biotechnological traits and associated agronomic practices have contributed to the steady increase in corn production by reducing pest and environmental stress on highly productive new corn genetics. The generation of transgenic plants is the crucial step in the development of new biotech trait products. In this chapter, we will review the importance of several methods to create mutants in corn; also, the technology of genetic transformation mainly by particle bombardment and Agrobacterium and the next generation of biotech products; genome editing corn.
A 90-day feeding study of glyphosate-tolerant maize with the G2-aroA gene in Sprague-Dawley rats
2013, Food and Chemical Toxicology
Citation Excerpt :
The expression of this allele in transformed plants confers resistance to glyphosate in tobacco (Comai et al., 1985) and tomato (Fillatti et al., 1987), as well as induced the overproduction of EPSPS in petunia (Shan et al., 1986). Using these strategies, glyphosate resistance has also been achieved in soybean (Padgette et al., 1996), canola, cotton, and sugarbeet (Briggs and Koziel, 1998). Recently, a new mutant aroA gene encoding a highly glyphosate-resistant EPSPS was identified from Pseudomonas fluorescens strain G2, which was isolated from a storage area with a history of glyphosate pollution (Zhu et al., 2003).
Maize is not only a staple food crop but also an important raw material for feed and industry; however, the threat of weeds leads to a serious decline in its output and quality. The G2-aroA gene confers glyphosate herbicide tolerance to crops. In this study, the food safety of genetically modified (GM), glyphosate-tolerant maize with the G2-aroA gene was evaluated in a 90-day feeding study in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Maize grain from GM or non-GM isogenic control lines were separately formulated into rodent diets at concentrations of 12.5% (low level), 25% (middle level), and 50% (high level). An additional group of rats were fed a commercialized diet as a control. The toxicological response variables, including body weights, food consumption, serum biochemistry, hematology, and absolute and relative organ weights, were compared between rats fed GM maize and those fed non-GM maize after consumption of test diets for 90 days. In addition, gross and microscopic pathology were conducted among treatment groups. No adverse effects related to the consumption of GM maize were detected in the subchronic feeding study. These results indicated that the GM glyphosate-tolerant maize was as safe and nutritious as conventional maize.
Scenarios on the future of biotechnology
2001, Technological Forecasting and Social Change
The major areas of research and development in biotechnology are maturing at a rapid rate, and may soon converge with one another. These emerging biotechnology areas range from the development of new medicines and drugs, genetically engineered foods, biologically controlled industrial manufacturing processes, and biologically based computing devices to the creation of new industrial materials and devices based upon biological structures and the use of biotechnology in food production. Each of these research areas carries the potential for strong societal reaction. To explore the potential impact of biotechnology on society, two fundamental drivers that influence societal acceptance of biotechnology are described. First, the extent to which technological integration proceeds may strongly impact the way society uses and perceives biotechnology. Second, the degree to which the public eventually accepts biotechnologically derived products and processes as legitimate and reliable alternatives to current products may shape both market demand and public policy. Taken together, these drivers suggest four discrete alternative scenarios for the future of biotechnology. Implications of these scenarios are discussed.
Field evaluation of seed production, shattering, and dormancy in hybrid populations of transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) and the weed, red rice (Oryza sativa)
2000, Plant Science
The genetic and agronomic consequences of transferring glufosinate (Liberty™) herbicide resistance from transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) lines to the noxious weed red rice (Oryza sativa L.) were evaluated under field conditions. Replicated field trials in Louisiana (LA) and Arkansas (AR) were conducted in 1997 to evaluate ten vegetative and reproductive traits of eight F₂ populations produced from controlled crosses of two transgenic, glufosinate-resistant rice lines and four red rice biotypes. Plant vigor and plant density at both locations were similar among populations derived from either transgenic or non-transgenic parents. Significant differences in plant height and maturity were observed among LA populations produced from transgenic lines when compared to corresponding populations developed from non-transgenic material. However, values for these traits were not greater than those detected in the red rice biotypes. Seed dormancy and seed production were not significantly different at either location among transgenic and non-transgenic populations. Dominant Mendelian segregation of glufosinate resistance was detected in 40% of the populations evaluated. Results of this study indicated that those populations segregating for glufosinate resistance responded in a location-specific manner with respect to life history and fecundity traits.
Potential impact of genetically modified plants on biodiversity
2019, Yuzuncu Yil University Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Identification and characterization of promoters specifically and strongly expressed in maize embryos
2014, Plant Biotechnology Journal

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Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Abstract

References (21)

Phage display of Bacillus thuringiensis (CrylA(a) insecticidal toxin

FEBS Lett

Development, identification, and characterization of a glyphosate-tolerant soybean line

Crop Sci

Glyphosate-tolerant cotton: genetic characterization and protein expression

J Agric Food Chem

Transgenic sugarbeet tolerant to glyphosate

Euphytica

Herbicide resistant transgenic sugarcane plants containing the bar gene

Crop Sci

Development, field evaluation, and agronomic performance of transgenic herbicide resistant rice

Mol Breeding

Field resistance of canola transformants (B. napus L) to Ignite™ (phosphinthricin)

Transgenic cotton products from Stoneville

Weed management in no-tillage bromoxynil-tolerant cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Weed Technology

Genetically improved potatoes: protection from damage by Colorado potato beetles

Plant Mol Biol

Cited by (13)

Genetic modifications of corn

A 90-day feeding study of glyphosate-tolerant maize with the G2-aroA gene in Sprague-Dawley rats

Scenarios on the future of biotechnology

Field evaluation of seed production, shattering, and dormancy in hybrid populations of transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) and the weed, red rice (Oryza sativa)

Potential impact of genetically modified plants on biodiversity

Identification and characterization of promoters specifically and strongly expressed in maize embryos