What are GMOs ? Dr. Jeanne Harris - PowerPoint Presentation

1. What are GMOs?Dr. Jeanne HarrisAssociate Professor,Plant Biology

2. What are GMO’s?Genetically Modified Organisms

3. What are GMO’s?Genetically Modified OrganismsConventional breedingGenetic Engineering

4. What are GMO’s?Genetically Modified OrganismsConventional breedingGenetic Engineering

5. Conventional BreedingSelecting individuals for breeding that have desired traits.

6. Conventional BreedingwolfSelecting individuals for breeding that have desired traits.

7. Conventional Breeding

8. Effects of conventional breeding on familiar cropscultivated tomatowild tomatoPrakash, 2001

9. Effects of conventional breeding on familiar cropsModern cornWild teosinteTeosinte/cornhybridcultivated tomatowild tomatoPrakash, 2001

10. Conventional breedingIs based on selecting individuals for breeding based on desired traits Is a genetic engineering technique Is a recent invention None of the aboveWhich statement is true?

11. How do you make a GMO?

12. How do you make a GMO?How does Genetic Engineering work?or

13. How do you make a GMO?1. Biolistics2. Agrobacterium tumefaciensShirley Owens

14. Why do people make GMOs?Agricultural reasonsHealth reasons“Factory” reasonsEnvironmental reasons

15. Why do people make GMOs?1. Agricultural Reasons Confer herbicide resistance Confer pathogen resistance Control fruit ripening/rotting Increase production

16. Why do people make GMOs?1. Agricultural Reasons Confer herbicide resistance Confer pathogen resistance Control fruit ripening/rotting Increase production

17. Herbicide resistance“RoundUp Ready” soybeansPlants engineered to be resistant to the common herbicide, RoundUp.

18. How RoundUp resistance works:RoundUp inactivates an essential enzyme - EPSP synthase

19. How RoundUp resistance works:RoundUp inactivates an essential enzyme - EPSP synthase

20. How RoundUp resistance works:RoundUp inactivates an essential enzyme - EPSP synthaseThe plant DIES

21. How RoundUp resistance works:The plant LIVESIn RoundUp Resistant plants EPSP synthase no longer binds RoundUp.Gly96-> Ala1 amino acid is changed in this enzyme to make it resistant.The other 443 amino acids remain the same.

22. Why do people make GMOs?1. Agricultural Reasons Confer herbicide resistance Confer pathogen resistance Control fruit ripening/rotting Increase production

23. Papaya PathogenPapaya ringspot virus (PRSV)Interferes with the plant’s ability to photosynthesizeTransmitted by aphidsSymptomsMost plants fail to flowerPlants die youngFruits are marred with green spots

24. History of PRSV in HawaiiFirst reported in Hawaii in the 1940’sWiped out papaya production in Oahu in the 1950’s and 1960’s.Commercial Papaya production moved to the Puna district on Hawaii IslandPRSV found in backyard gardens in the 1970’sIn 1992 PRSV was discovered in PunaBy 1994, PRSV was wide-spread in PunaBy 1997, commercial papaya production was cut by 50% due to losses from PRSVPuna

25. Goal: develop a PRSV-resistant papaya No naturally resistant cultivarsPrevious finding: tobacco plants that make a protein from the virus were resistant to the virusTried the same approach with PRSV - it worked!

26. Who developed the transgenic papaya?Dennis Gonsalves (virologist) - Cornell University (USDA)Jerry Slightom (molecular biologist) - Upjohn CompanyRichard Manshardt (horticulturalist) - University of Hawaii Maureen Fitch (tissue culture specialist)- University of Hawaii (USDA)

27. Field trials of the transgenic papayaStarted in 1992, just months before PRSV swept through PunaThe transgenic lines were made from cultivars already popular with Puna farmers (Sunset, Kapaho)Rainbow (transgenic)Non-transgenicNon-transgenicRainbow (transgenic)

28. Papayas in Hawaii todayhttp://www.agbioforum.org/v7n12/v7n12a07-gonsalves.htmThe researchers gave seeds of the transgenic plants, “Rainbow”, to growers for free. (1998).http://www.apsnet.org/ONLINE/FEATURE/RINGSPOT/http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi

29. Why do people make GMOs?1. Agricultural Reasons Confer herbicide resistance Confer pathogen resistance Control fruit ripening/rotting Increase production

30. Why do people make GMOs?2. Health Reasons Increase nutrition vitamin biosynthesis (ex. Golden rice) (Plants can make many vitamins humans can’t) increase protein content Decrease allergenicity Decrease toxicity Edible vaccines

31. Golden RiceVitamin A deficiency Each year 250,000 to 500,000 children go blind worldwide Half of those children will die from vitamin A deficiency within a year. For many people, rice contributes 80% of their daily calorieshttp://www.goldenrice.org/

32. Golden RiceDeveloped by two independent researchers:http://www.goldenrice.org/Ingo PotrykusPeter BeyerGolden Rice: Increased beta-carotene content Can supply daily requirement of vitamin ARice naturally produces beta-carotene--> but not in the rice grain

33. Golden Ricehttp://www.goldenrice.org/Potrykus and Beyer turned ON the genes for beta-carotene synthesis in the rice grain, by transferring the gene from daffodils.--> now the rice is yellow!Rice naturally produces beta-carotene--> but not in the rice grainDeveloped by two independent researchers:Ingo PotrykusPeter Beyer

34. Golden Rice - current statushttp://www.goldenrice.org/The plan is to give seed for free to farmers All patents have been waived (took only 6 months!)Now have a collaboration with Syngenta for productionCurrently going through the testing process before seed is available to farmers (since 2000)First US field trial in 2004, in LouisianaMany countries in south-east Asia did not have a regulatory process in place, since this is the first GM crop there

35. Why are most GM crops that make it to farmers’ fields produced by large companies?A multi-year, very expensive regulatory process. This process has taken over 10 years so far for Golden Rice.Scientists associated with a university or research organization do not have the financial resources to fund all the research teams necessary for the different parts of the process.

36. Why do people make GMOs?2. Health Reasons Increase nutrition vitamin biosynthesis (ex. Golden rice) (Plants can make vitamins, humans can’t) increase protein content Decrease allergenicity Decrease toxicity Edible vaccines

37. Edible VaccinesWill vaccines in plants replace injected vaccines?

38. Edible VaccinesDr. Charles ArntzenArizona State UniversityVaccines in:potatoestomatoesbananas

39. The idea:Make transgenic plants that contain proteins from disease-causing organisms that would trigger an immune response but NOT cause disease.Norwalk virusPathogenic E. coli CholeraHepatitis B

40. In the developing world, diarrhea means death for many children2.5 million children each year die from diarrhea-causing illnesses

41. Why have Edible Vaccines?Traditional Vaccines work well in the developed world.

42. Why have Edible Vaccines?Traditional Vaccines work well in the developed world.Problems with traditional vaccines in the Third World:Lack of refrigerationLack of sterile syringesDifficulty tracking people for repeat booster shots

43. Advantages to delivering vaccines in plantsEasy to produceEasy to transportAvoid allergies to animal proteinNo refrigeration neededDon’t need specialized training to administer

44. Disadvantages to edible vaccinesControlling the dose?Controlling access to a medicine that looks like a “food”Food AllergiesDeveloping “oral tolerance”Aversion to GMO’sPreventing the transgenic plant from spreading out of cultivated areas

45. Disadvantages to edible vaccinesIt must be eaten raw. - this is a problem with potatoes…

46. An anthrax vaccine in tobacco?Anthrax bacteriaDr. Henry DaniellUniversity of Central FloridaMajor bioterrorism threatCurrent vaccine has unpleasant side effectsShortage of vaccine (difficult to produce)

47. An anthrax vaccine in tobacco?Dr. Henry DaniellUniversity of Central FloridaMice immunized with this vaccine survived lethal doses of anthraxOne acre of the transgenic tobacco could provide enough vaccine for the entire country. Lacks side effects caused by current vaccine (produced in bacteria)

48. Why do people make GMO’s?3. “Factory” ReasonsMake plant “chemical factories” --> plastics and oilsReduce our reliance on petroleumReduce greenhouse gasesProducts are often biodegradablePhytomining – mine naturally occurring metals from the soil

49. Why do people make GMO’s?3. “Factory” ReasonsMake plant “chemical factories” --> plastics and oilsReduce our reliance on petroleumReduce greenhouse gasesProducts are often biodegradablePhytomining – mine naturally occurring metals from the soil

50. PhytominingAlyssumUsing plants to mine metals from soil.

51. PhytominingAlyssumNickel

52. Alyssum - PhytominingAlyssumHyperaccumulatesNickelCobaltUp to 2.5% of dry weightNOT a GMO

53. Nickel farming with AlyssumNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNi

54. Nickel farming with AlyssumNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNi

55. Nickel farming with AlyssumNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNi

56. Nickel farming with AlyssumNiNiNiHarvest shoots, make hayNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNi

57. Nickel farming with AlyssumNiNiNiHarvest shoots, make hayNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiIncinerate hayNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiAsh with high nickel content

58. Nickel farming with AlyssumNiNiNiHarvest shoots, make hayNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiIncinerate hayNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiNiAsh with high nickel content

59. Advantages to Phytomining over conventional miningMinimal effect on the environmentCan extract metals from soils - an unavailable resource using conventional mining techniquesCan clean up contaminated soils (heavy metals are toxic!) --> PhytoremediationCan generate power when burning the hayMetal content of ash is superior to commercial mined ore

60. Phytomining can be lucrativeCompare: Low-grade pasture or forest-->$50-100 per hectare per yearPhytomining produces: 400 kg of nickel per hectare-->$2000 per hectare per yearIf you add in the energy produced by burning the hay-->$3000 per hectare per year

61. Phytomining/Phytoremediation - would it be more effective with larger plants?

62. Why do people make GMOs?3. “Factory” ReasonsMake plant “chemical factories” --> plastics and oilsReduce our reliance on petroleumReduce greenhouse gasesProducts are often biodegradablePhytomining – mine naturally occurring metals from the soil

63. Why do people make GMOs?4. Environmental ReasonsPhytoremediation - remove toxic compounds from the environment  ex. Arsenic or NickelPhytosensors – plants that report the presence of explosives, heavy metals or other compounds present in soils, water or air.

64. Phytosensors!Plants that can detect explosives!(more effective than the TSA?)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kObTt_dR7IMDr. June MedfordColorado State University

65. Transgenic plants can help scientific researchPlants that can indicate when they areStressedGrowingSense gravitySense a hormoneEtc.

66. Who benefits the most from GMOs?A. Large companiesB. Individual researchersFarmersThe consumer

67. What GM crops are grown throughout the world?http://www.isaaa.org/Resources/Publications/briefs/39/executivesummary/default.html

68. Would you eat food made from GMO’s?Class responses:55.5%44.4%

69. What % of crops in the US are GM?93% of soybeans86% of corn80% of papaya93% of canola

70. Concerns about GMOs Harmful to consumers? --> would you eat food made from GMO’s? Crops will breed with weeds and transgenes will spread. Herbicide-resistant plants will increase use of herbicides. Pathogen-resistant plants will cause pathogens to evolve to be more infectious.

71. Risk ToleranceKnown risks vs. New risks

72. Lecture ReviewWhat is meant by the expression ‘genetically modified organism?’ Is the process of genetically modifying organisms a new phenomenon? Explain.Briefly describe two biotechnological methods used to move genes from one organism to another.Once a foreign gene has been moved successfully into the cell of a different organism, how is the cell with the new gene identified? How do you get from a genetically modified cell to a genetically modified plant?Discuss two “for profit” and two “not for profit” applications of GMO technology.Are genetically modified foods common or uncommon on grocery store shelves in the U.S. today? Explain.