How Genetics Affects What Plants How Genetics Affects What Plants We Grow and How We Grow ThemWe Grow and How We Grow Them

Peggy G. LemauxCooperative Extension

SpecialistUC Berkeley

CELLS

Cell WallNucleus

Dividing cell

Chromosomes

Chromosome

Genes

Triticum aestivum

Modern bread varietyTriticum monococcum

Ancient variety

How is a new plant variety created by

classical breeding?

Chemical units represented by alphabetic letters

Random retention of information from each parent

of wheat

Yield Increase by year

Used for Marker-Assisted Breeding

wheat

1700 books (or 1.7 million pages)

Genomics

SOURCE: “Body announces plan to develop drought-tolerant maize for Africa”, April 1, 2008, Checkbiotech.orghttp://www.checkbiotech.org/green_News_Genetics.aspx?infoId=17403

Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) uses marker-assisted breeding and biotechnology to

develop African maize varieties

equivalent to a gene

Inserts randomly

in genome

Genetic Engineering Methods

GMO Genetically Modified OrganismGEO Genetically Engineered OrganismLMO Living Modified OrganismrDNA Recombinant DNABiotechnology

TERMS USED

Classical Breeding

Uses plant machinery in plant Uses plant machinery in laboratory

Genetic Engineeringcompared to

Gene exchange is random involving entire genome

Gene exchange is specific, single or a few genes

Only between closely related or within species

Source of gene from any organism

When/where genes expressed not controlled by breeder

When/where gene expressed can be controlled precisely

SOURCE: NCFAP; USDA

GE Corn73% of 2007 acreage

(Insect Resistant: 25% Herbicide resistant: 21% Stacked gene: 15%)1% of corn with Bt (ECB) + Bt (rootworm) + herbicide

GE Canola75% of 2004 acreage

GE Cotton87% of 2007 acreage

(Insect Resistant: 18% Herbicide resistant: 26% Stacked gene: 39%)

GE Soybean91% of 2007 acreage

(Herbicide resistant: 89%)

GE Alfalfa~1.5% of 2007 acreage

SOURCE: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Global Area of Biotech Crops, 1996 to 2007:Industrial and Developing Countries (Million Hectares)

Total

Industrial

Developing

Source: Clive James, 2008

23 industrial and developing countries in order of acreage: US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, China, Paraguay, South Africa, Uruguay, Philippines, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, France, Honduras, Czech Republic, Portugal, Germany, Slovakia. Romania, Poland.

282 million acres worldwide: comparable in size to combined areas of CA and TX

Estimated 75% of Processed Foods Have GE Ingredients

GE Papaya

GE Squash

Only a few whole foods on the market

are genetically engineered

GE Sweet Corn

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE?

SOURCE: http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/agnet/2007/4-2007/agnet_april_10.htm#story0

Arcadia Biosciences develops canola that uses 50% less nitrogen fertilizer

SOURCE: Rivero, R.M., Kojima, M., Gepstein, A., Sakakibara, H., Mittler, R., Gepstein, S. and Blumwald, E. 2007. Delayed leaf senescence induces extreme drought tolerance in a flowering plant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104: 19631-19636.

Engineered drought tolerance leads to vigorous growth of plants after prolonged

drought while control plants died

Mitigating food allergies, like peanut,

soy and wheat, through engineering of

plants

SOURCE: Niederberger et al., 2004. Vaccination with genetically engineered allergens prevents progression of allergic disease. PNAS early edition (August 13, 2004)

Genetically engineered pollen reduces allergy symptoms in sufferers

“Production of specific vaccinesfor lymphoma in tobacco”

“Production of specific vaccinesfor lymphoma in tobacco”

S O U R C E : P N A S 9 6 : 7 03 - 7 0 8 , M c C o r m ic k , e t a l .

SOURCE: Fierobe et al. 2005. Action of Designer Cellulosomes on Homogeneous Versus Complex Substrates:

CONTROLLED INCORPORATION OF THREE DISTINCT ENZYMES INTO A DEFINED TRIFUNCTIONAL SCAFFOLDIN. J. Biol. Chem. 280:16325-16334.

Genetic engineering used to improve Genetic engineering used to improve breakdown of global wastepaper glutbreakdown of global wastepaper glut

SOURCE: Doty, S.L., James, C.A., Moore, A.L., Vajzovic, A., Singleton, G.L., Ma, C., Khan, Z., Xi, G., Kang, J.W., Park, J.Y., Meilan, R., Strauss, S.H., Wilkerson, J., Farin, F. and Strand. S.E. 2007. Enhanced phytoremediation of volatile environmental pollutants with transgenic trees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104:16816-16821.

Engineered poplar removes environmental pollutants through roots and air

Removal of carbon tetrachloride

P h o to c o u r te s y o f M ic h a e l B a r n e s , S e n io r W r ite r , U n iv e r s ity o f C a lif o r n ia O f fic e o f th e P r e s i d e n t

Green algae have a switch that can changemetabolic processes and produce hydrogen gas -

potentially providing a renewable, clean fuel source

ENERGY FARMS

What is the U.S. regulatory What is the U.S. regulatory process that governs these process that governs these

engineered plants?engineered plants?

• Field testing-Permits-Notifications

• Determination ofnon-regulated status

U.S. Regulatory AgenciesU.S. Regulatory Agencies(based oversight on existing (based oversight on existing

regulations)regulations)

USDAUSDAUSDAUSDA FDAFDAFDAFDA EPAEPAEPAEPA• Food

safety

• Feed safety

• Pesticidal plants-tolerance exemption-registrations

• Herbicide registration

Safety of engineered food: Safety of engineered food: Is it as safe as a conventional food?Is it as safe as a conventional food?

Concept of Concept of substantial substantial equivalence:equivalence:Modified food has essentially all characteristics of Modified food has essentially all characteristics of

nonmodified food with respect to food and feed valuenonmodified food with respect to food and feed value exceptexcept

SOURCE: Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Aproaches to Assessing Unintended Health Effects 2004. Natl Acad Press

for the introduced genetic material and the for the introduced genetic material and the products made from it. These products have to products made from it. These products have to be tested and analyzed separately. Regulators be tested and analyzed separately. Regulators

look at, for example, specificity and mode of look at, for example, specificity and mode of action of protein, source of protein, its stability action of protein, source of protein, its stability

during digestion and processingduring digestion and processing

Substantial

SOURCE: Catchpole et al. 2005. Hierarchical metabolomics demonstrates substantial compositional similarity between genetically modified and conventional potato crops. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105: 14458-14462.

“…“…apart from targeted changes, these GM potatoes in this apart from targeted changes, these GM potatoes in this study appear substantially equivalent to traditional cultivars.”study appear substantially equivalent to traditional cultivars.”

Hierarchical metabolomics demonstrates substantial compositional Hierarchical metabolomics demonstrates substantial compositional similarity between genetically modified and conventional potato cropssimilarity between genetically modified and conventional potato crops

Precautionary principleThe assumption that experimentation should only proceed where there is a

guarantee that the outcome will not be harmful.