Agricultural Biotechnology
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Agricultural biotechnology, also known as agritech, is an area of
agricultural science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professio ...
involving the use of scientific tools and techniques, including
genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...
,
molecular markers In molecular biology and other fields, a molecular marker is a molecule, sampled from some source, that gives information about its source. For example, DNA is a molecular marker that gives information about the organism from which it was taken. F ...
,
molecular diagnostics Molecular diagnostics is a collection of techniques used to analyze biological markers in the genome and proteome, and how their cells express their genes as proteins, applying molecular biology to medical tests, medical testing. In medicine th ...
,
vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an ag ...
, and
tissue culture Tissue culture is the growth of tissue (biology), tissues or cell (biology), cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-s ...
, to modify living organisms:
plants Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars f ...
,
animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...
, and
microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...
.
Crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...
biotechnology is one aspect of agricultural biotechnology which has been greatly developed upon in recent times. Desired trait are exported from a particular species of Crop to an entirely different
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
. These
transgene A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...
crops possess desirable characteristics in terms of flavor, color of flowers, growth rate, size of harvested products and resistance to diseases and pests.


History

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...
s have manipulated plants and animals through
selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...
for decades of thousands of years in order to create desired traits. In the 20th century, a surge in technology resulted in an increase in agricultural biotechnology through the selection of traits like the increased yield, pest resistance,
drought resistance In botany, drought tolerance is the ability by which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tole ...
, and
herbicide resistance Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...
. The first food product produced through
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
was sold in 1990, and by 2003, 7 million farmers were utilizing biotech crops. More than 85% of these farmers were located in developing countries.


Crop modification techniques


Traditional breeding

Traditional
crossbreeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...
has been used for centuries to improve crop quality and quantity.
Crossbreeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...
mates two sexually compatible species to create a new and special variety with the desired traits of the parents. For example, the honeycrisp apple exhibits a specific texture and flavor due to the crossbreeding of its parents. In traditional practices, pollen from one plant is placed on the female part of another, which leads to a hybrid that contains genetic information from both parent plants. Plant breeders select the plants with the traits they're looking to pass on and continue to breed those plants. Note that crossbreeding can only be utilized within the same or closely related species.


Mutagenesis

Mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, ...
s can occur randomly in the
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
of any organism. In order to create variety within crops, scientists can randomly induce mutations within plants.
Mutagenesis Mutagenesis () is a process by which the genetic information of an organism is changed by the production of a mutation. It may occur spontaneously in nature, or as a result of exposure to mutagens. It can also be achieved experimentally using lab ...
uses radioactivity to induce random mutations in the hopes of stumbling upon the desired trait. Scientists can use mutating chemicals such as
ethyl methanesulfonate Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is an organosulfur compound with the formula . It is the ethyl ester of methanesulfonic acid. A colorless liquid, it is classified as an alkylating agent. EMS is the most commonly used chemical mutagen in experimenta ...
, or radioactivity to create random mutations within the DNA. Atomic gardens are used to mutate crops. A radioactive core is located in the center of a circular garden and raised out of the ground to radiate the surrounding crops, generating mutations within a certain radius. Mutagenesis through radiation was the process used to produce
ruby red grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...
s.


Polyploidy

Polyploidy Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...
can be induced to modify the number of chromosomes in a crop in order to influence its fertility or size. Usually, organisms have two sets of
chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
s, otherwise known as a
diploidy Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...
. However, either naturally or through the use of chemicals, that number of chromosomes can change, resulting in fertility changes or size modification within the crop. Seedless watermelons are created in this manner; a 4-set chromosome
watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...
is crossed with a 2-set chromosome watermelon to create a sterile (seedless) watermelon with three sets of chromosomes.


Protoplast fusion

Protoplast fusion Somatic fusion, also called protoplast fusion, is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants are fused together to form a new Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid ...
is the joining of cells or cell components to transfer traits between species. For example, the trait of male sterility is transferred from radishes to red cabbages by protoplast fusion. This male sterility helps
plant breeders Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It is used to improve the quality of plant products for use by humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varie ...
make hybrid crops.


RNA interference

RNA interference RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules are involved in sequence-specific suppression of gene expression by double-stranded RNA, through translational or transcriptional repression. Historically, RNAi was known by ...
(RNAIi) is the process in which a cell's
RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...
to protein mechanism is turned down or off in order to suppress genes. This method of genetic modification works by interfering with messenger RNA to stop the synthesis of proteins, effectively silencing a gene.


Transgenics

Transgenics A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
involves the insertion of one piece of DNA into another organism's DNA in order to introduce new genes into the original organism. This addition of genes into an organism's genetic material creates a new variety with desired traits. The DNA must be prepared and packaged in a test tube and then inserted into the new organism. New genetic information can be inserted with
gene gun In genetic engineering, a gene gun or biolistic particle delivery system is a device used to deliver exogenous DNA (transgenes), RNA, or protein to cells. By coating particles of a heavy metal with a gene of interest and firing these micro-projec ...
s/biolistics. An example of a gene gun transgenic is the rainbow papaya, which is modified with a gene that gives it resistance to the
papaya ringspot virus ''Papaya ringspot virus'' (PRSV) is a pathogenic plant virus in the genus ''Potyvirus'' and the virus family ''Potyviridae'' which primarily infects the papaya tree. The virus is a non-enveloped, flexuous rod-shaped particle that is between 760& ...
.


Genome editing

Genome editing Genome editing, or genome engineering, or gene editing, is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted, modified or replaced in the genome of a living organism. Unlike early genetic engineering techniques that randomly insert ge ...
is the use of an enzyme system to modify the DNA directly within the cell. Genome editing is used to develop herbicide resistant canola to help farmers control weeds.


Improved nutritional content

Agricultural biotechnology has been used to improve the nutritional content of a variety of crops in an effort to meet the needs of an increasing population. Genetic engineering can produce crops with a higher concentration of vitamins. For example,
golden rice Golden rice is a variety of rice ('' Oryza sativa'') produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of the rice. It is intended to produce a fortified food to be grown and ...
contains three genes that allow plants to produce compounds that are converted to
vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...
in the human body. This nutritionally improved rice is designed to combat the world's leading cause of blindness—
vitamin A deficiency Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) or hypovitaminosis A is a lack of vitamin A in blood and tissues. It is common in poorer countries, especially among children and women of reproductive age, but is rarely seen in more developed countries. Vitamin A pla ...
. Similarly, the Banana 21 project has worked to improve the nutrition in bananas to combat
micronutrient deficiencies Micronutrient deficiency is defined as the sustained insufficient supply of vitamins and minerals needed for growth and development, as well as to maintain optimal health. Since some of these compounds are considered essentials (we need to obtain t ...
in Uganda. By genetically modifying bananas to contain vitamin A and iron, Banana 21 has helped foster a solution to micronutrient deficiencies through the vessel of a staple food and major starch source in Africa. Additionally, crops can be engineered to reduce toxicity or to produce varieties with removed
allergen An allergen is an otherwise harmless substance that triggers an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals by stimulating an immune response. In technical terms, an allergen is an antigen that is capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivi ...
s.


Genes and traits of interest for crops


Agronomic traits


Insect resistance

One highly sought after trait is insect resistance. This trait increases a crop's resistance to pests and allows for a higher yield. An example of this trait are crops that are genetically engineered to make insecticidal proteins originally discovered in (''
Bacillus thuringiensis ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (or Bt) is a gram-positive bacteria, gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. ''B. thuringiensis'' also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types ...
''). Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium that produces insect repelling proteins that are non-harmful to humans. The genes responsible for this insect resistance have been isolated and introduced into many crops.
Bt corn Genetically modified maize (corn) is a genetically modified crop. Specific maize strains have been genetically engineered to express agriculturally-desirable traits, including resistance to pests and to herbicides. Maize strains with both trait ...
and cotton are now commonplace, and
cowpeas The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...
,
sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...
,
soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...
,
tomatoes The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...
,
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
,
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
,
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
, and
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
are all being studied in relation to Bt.


Herbicide tolerance

Weeds have proven to be an issue for farmers for thousands of years; they compete for soil nutrients, water, and sunlight and prove deadly to crops. Biotechnology has offered a solution in the form of herbicide tolerance. Chemical herbicides are sprayed directly on plants in order to kill weeds and therefore competition, and herbicide resistant crops have to the opportunity to flourish.


Disease resistance

Often, crops are afflicted by disease spread through insects (like
aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...
s). Spreading disease among crop plants is incredibly difficult to control and was previously only managed by completely removing the affected crop. The field of agricultural biotechnology offers a solution through genetically engineering virus resistance. Developing GE disease-resistant crops now include
cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...
,
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
, and
sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...
.


Temperature tolerance

Agricultural biotechnology can also provide a solution for plants in extreme temperature conditions. In order to maximize yield and prevent crop death, genes can be engineered that help to regulate cold and heat tolerance. For example, tobacco plants have been genetically modified to be more tolerant to hot and cold conditions, with genes originally found in Carica papaya. Other traits include water use efficiency,
nitrogen use efficiency Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seventh in ...
and salt tolerance.


Quality traits

Quality traits include increased nutritional or dietary value, improved food processing and storage, or the elimination of toxins and allergens in crop plants.


Common GMO crops

Currently, only a small number of
genetically modified crops Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of '' Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of ...
are available for purchase and consumption in the United States. The USDA has approved soybeans, corn, canola, sugar beets, papaya, squash, alfalfa, cotton, apples, and potatoes. GMO apples ( arctic apples) are non-browning apples and eliminate the need for anti-browning treatments, reduce
food waste The causes of food going uneaten are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during food production, production, food processing, processing, Food distribution, distribution, Grocery store, retail and food service sales, and Social clas ...
, and bring out flavor. The production of Bt cotton has skyrocketed in India, with 10 million hectares planted for the first time in 2011, resulting in a 50%
insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...
application reduction. In 2014, Indian and Chinese farmers planted more than 15 million hectares of Bt cotton.


Safety testing and government regulations

Agricultural biotechnology regulation in the US falls under three main government agencies: The
Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
(USDA), the
Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...
(EPA), and the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...
(FDA). The USDA must approve the release of any new GMOs, EPA controls the regulation of insecticide, and the FDA evaluates the safety of a particular crop sent to market. On average, it takes nearly 13 years and $130 million of research and development for a
genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
to come to market. The regulation process takes up to 8 years in the United States. The safety of GMOs has become a topic of debate worldwide, but scientific articles are being conducted to test the safety of consuming GMOs in addition to the FDA's work. In one such article, it was concluded that Bt rice did not adversely affect digestion and did not induce
horizontal gene transfer Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring (reproduction). HGT is an important factor in the e ...
.


References

* Momoh James Osamede (2016). Crop Biotechnology in Nigeria. Procedure for Postgraduate workshop, UNIBEN, Nigeria 27 April 2016. BENIN CITY, Nigeria {{Agriculture footer
Biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
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