scholarly journals Transgenic plants: Risks, Concerns and Effects on Ecosystem and Human Health

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad S Islam ◽  
Siddique Ali Miah
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Toxic Substance ◽  
Chloroplast Transformation ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Oral Vaccines ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Gm Crop

The review portrays the current status of transgenic crops in the backdrop of sharply divided opinion of anti-GM group vis-à-vis those who advocate that genetically engineered crops do not pose any threat to human or animal health nor does it disrupt the environment through introduction of superweeds. While acknowledging the concern of anti-GM activists, the article supports the view of NE Borlaug who sees no difference between the birth of a genetically complex crop such as hexaploid bread wheat and a bioengineered crop except that the former occurs in mother nature and the latter in the laboratory through genetic manipulation by molecular breeders. The article brings into focus that the methods now being employed to bring about genetic change in crops are safer as the use of antibiotic markers have been replaced by biolistic mode of gene delivery or use of chemicals such as mannose 6-phosphate marker. The article also points out that the chances of birth of ‘superweeds' destroying the environment will be minimized, if genetic transformation is brought about using chloroplasts. Another important role of biotechnology that is expected to be realized soon is its use in commercial production of oral vaccines for both humans and animals. The article mentions of some of the recent gene discovery such as genes for submergence tolerance in rice or genes that minimizes allergenicity in peanuts. Production of rice varieties capable of withstanding flood will dramatically increase rice yield in flood-prone countries and peanut lines with minimum or no allergen will be welcome in the consumer market where a sizeable portion of people suffer from peanut allergy. The article emphasizes the fact that every GM crop must be subject to rigorous scrutiny to ensure that it is free from any allergen, or hazardous toxic substance and that it is environmentally safe. The article supports the idea that in Europe GM crops with built-in terminator gene and traditional crops may coexist; i.e., may be planted in the same area as the European farmers buy their seeds every year unlike their counterparts in Asia and Africa. Finally the article recommends that the selected GM crops should be grown in the developing countries where the option before the resource-poor population lies between going without food or fall prey to the misinformation of anti-GM activists.Key words: GM Crops, Anti-GM activists, Coexistence, Superweed, Chloroplast Transformation, Oral vaccines, Golden rice, Biosafety, Food securityDOI = 10.3329/ptcb.v16i2.1114Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 16(2): 139-164, 2006 (December)

scholarly journals Current Status of Genetically Modified Crops in Iran and the world: Overview of Production and Consumption Challenges

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abolfazl Baghbani-Arani ◽  
Mona Poureisa ◽  
Hossein Alekajbaf ◽  
Rezvan Karami Borz- Abad ◽  
Khodadad Khodadadi-Dashtaki
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Food Allergies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
The World

Abstract Transgenic technologies expanded in many countries regarding the nutritional needs of the increasing population. There are, however, some concerns about possible risks in growing genetically modified (GM) food such as threats of biodiversity and food allergies making it a challenge. This study aimed at examining the economic effects and political scopes of GM food in the production sector and policies made by different countries in the world and Iran. Moreover, essential (practical and legal) solutions and guidelines for GM food production and consumption are provided, which are useful for governmental entities and Iranian politicians and consumers' rights. transgenic technology has been accepted by high-rank farmers to produce genetically modified crops due to an increase in net profit caused by improved yield in spite of the high cost of transgenic seeds. Among 11 countries producing GM crops in the world in 2018, the USA is the first country followed by Brazil and Argentina at second and third ranks. In 2018, 78, 76, 30 and 29% of soybean, cotton, corn and canola production areas respectively were under cultivation of GM varieties. Although Iran has been one of the leading Asian countries not only in the field of transfer of technical knowledge of genetic engineering, but also in the development of specialized knowledge of biosafety, and despite the production of several transgenic plant lines by Iranian researchers, no GM crop has obtained release and cultivation license except for genetically modified rice that its growing process was banned after government change. This study implies that GM crops growing and production process does not follow the global trend owing to scientific and legal infrastructures.

Pros and Cons of GMO Crop Farming

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rene Van Acker ◽  
Motior Rahman ◽  
S. Zahra H. Cici
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Herbicide Tolerance ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Crop Area ◽  
And Control

The global area sown to genetically modified (GM) varieties of leading commercial crops (soybean, maize, canola, and cotton) has expanded over 100-fold over two decades. Thirty countries are producing GM crops and just five countries (United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and India) account for almost 90% of the GM production. Only four crops account for 99% of worldwide GM crop area. Almost 100% of GM crops on the market are genetically engineered with herbicide tolerance (HT), and insect resistance (IR) traits. Approximately 70% of cultivated GM crops are HT, and GM HT crops have been credited with facilitating no-tillage and conservation tillage practices that conserve soil moisture and control soil erosion, and that also support carbon sequestration and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Crop production and productivity increased significantly during the era of the adoption of GM crops; some of this increase can be attributed to GM technology and the yield protection traits that it has made possible even if the GM traits implemented to-date are not yield traits per se. GM crops have also been credited with helping to improve farm incomes and reduce pesticide use. Practical concerns around GM crops include the rise of insect pests and weeds that are resistant to pesticides. Other concerns around GM crops include broad seed variety access for farmers and rising seed costs as well as increased dependency on multinational seed companies. Citizens in many countries and especially in European countries are opposed to GM crops and have voiced concerns about possible impacts on human and environmental health. Nonetheless, proponents of GM crops argue that they are needed to enhance worldwide food production. The novelty of the technology and its potential to bring almost any trait into crops mean that there needs to remain dedicated diligence on the part of regulators to ensure that no GM crops are deregulated that may in fact pose risks to human health or the environment. The same will be true for the next wave of new breeding technologies, which include gene editing technologies.

scholarly journals Current Status of Veterinary Vaccines

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Els N. T. Meeusen ◽  
John Walker ◽  
Andrew Peters ◽  
Paul-Pierre Pastoret ◽  
Gregers Jungersen
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Effective Manner

SUMMARY The major goals of veterinary vaccines are to improve the health and welfare of companion animals, increase production of livestock in a cost-effective manner, and prevent animal-to-human transmission from both domestic animals and wildlife. These diverse aims have led to different approaches to the development of veterinary vaccines from crude but effective whole-pathogen preparations to molecularly defined subunit vaccines, genetically engineered organisms or chimeras, vectored antigen formulations, and naked DNA injections. The final successful outcome of vaccine research and development is the generation of a product that will be available in the marketplace or that will be used in the field to achieve desired outcomes. As detailed in this review, successful veterinary vaccines have been produced against viral, bacterial, protozoal, and multicellular pathogens, which in many ways have led the field in the application and adaptation of novel technologies. These veterinary vaccines have had, and continue to have, a major impact not only on animal health and production but also on human health through increasing safe food supplies and preventing animal-to-human transmission of infectious diseases. The continued interaction between animals and human researchers and health professionals will be of major importance for adapting new technologies, providing animal models of disease, and confronting new and emerging infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Rapid target validation in a Cas9-inducible hiPSC derived kidney model

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasaman Shamshirgaran ◽  
Anna Jonebring ◽  
Anna Svensson ◽  
Isabelle Leefa ◽  
Mohammad Bohlooly-Y ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Disease Model ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Target Validation ◽  
Direct Differentiation ◽  
Kidney Organoids

AbstractRecent advances in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), genome editing technologies and 3D organoid model systems highlight opportunities to develop new in vitro human disease models to serve drug discovery programs. An ideal disease model would accurately recapitulate the relevant disease phenotype and provide a scalable platform for drug and genetic screening studies. Kidney organoids offer a high cellular complexity that may provide greater insights than conventional single-cell type cell culture models. However, genetic manipulation of the kidney organoids requires prior generation of genetically modified clonal lines, which is a time and labor consuming procedure. Here, we present a methodology for direct differentiation of the CRISPR-targeted cell pools, using a doxycycline-inducible Cas9 expressing hiPSC line for high efficiency editing to eliminate the laborious clonal line generation steps. We demonstrate the versatile use of genetically engineered kidney organoids by targeting the autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) genes: PKD1 and PKD2. Direct differentiation of the respective knockout pool populations into kidney organoids resulted in the formation of cyst-like structures in the tubular compartment. Our findings demonstrated that we can achieve > 80% editing efficiency in the iPSC pool population which resulted in a reliable 3D organoid model of ADPKD. The described methodology may provide a platform for rapid target validation in the context of disease modeling.

scholarly journals Keeping Dairy Cows for Longer: A Critical Literature Review on Dairy Cow Longevity in High Milk-Producing Countries

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 808
Author(s):  
Gabriel M. Dallago ◽  
Kevin M. Wade ◽  
Roger I. Cue ◽  
J T. McClure ◽  
René Lacroix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Age At First Calving ◽  
Productive Life ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Critical Literature

The ability of dairy farmers to keep their cows for longer could positively enhance the economic performance of the farms, reduce the environmental footprint of the milk industry, and overall help in justifying a sustainable use of animals for food production. However, there is little published on the current status of cow longevity and we hypothesized that a reason may be a lack of standardization and an over narrow focus of the longevity measure itself. The objectives of this critical literature review were: (1) to review metrics used to measure dairy cow longevity; (2) to describe the status of longevity in high milk-producing countries. Current metrics are limited to either the length of time the animal remains in the herd or if it is alive at a given time. To overcome such a limitation, dairy cow longevity should be defined as an animal having an early age at first calving and a long productive life spent in profitable milk production. Combining age at first calving, length of productive life, and margin over all costs would provide a more comprehensive evaluation of longevity by covering both early life conditions and the length of time the animal remains in the herd once it starts to contribute to the farm revenues, as well as the overall animal health and quality of life. This review confirms that dairy cow longevity has decreased in most high milk-producing countries over time and its relationship with milk yield is not straight forward. Increasing cow longevity by reducing involuntary culling would cut health costs, increase cow lifetime profitability, improve animal welfare, and could contribute towards a more sustainable dairy industry while optimizing dairy farmers’ efficiency in the overall use of resources available.

BRAZILIAN GMO REGULATION: DOES IT HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH?

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. 1250013 ◽  
Author(s):  
DENISE GALLO PIZELLA ◽  
MARCELO PEREIRA DE SOUZA
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Institutional Issues ◽  
Institutional Aspects ◽  
Biosafety Evaluation

Brazil is the second largest producer of genetically modified crops (GM crops) and the National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) the decision making agency on this matter. The country uses Risk Analysis (RA) and project EIA as tools for biosafety evaluation. This paper aims to review the appropriateness of these tools for evaluating the environmental impacts of GM crops, also considering institutional aspects. An overview of the process of release of GM crops in Brazil along with important operational and institutional aspects is provided. The results indicate that project EIA could be applied to GM crops in specific sites and RA could give support to the evaluation of GM crop itself. Regarding institutional issues, it is concluded that decisions should be made by the environmental bodies, and not by the CTNBio.

scholarly journals Toll-Like Receptor-Based Strategies for Cancer Immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Saghar Pahlavanneshan ◽  
Ali Sayadmanesh ◽  
Hamidreza Ebrahimiyan ◽  
Mohsen Basiri
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Tlr Signaling ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Immunotherapy Of Cancer ◽  
Signaling Components

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed and play multiple functional roles in a variety of immune cell types involved in tumor immunity. There are plenty of data on the pharmacological targeting of TLR signaling using agonist molecules that boost the antitumor immune response. A recent body of research has also demonstrated promising strategies for improving the cell-based immunotherapy methods by inducing TLR signaling. These strategies include systemic administration of TLR antagonist along with immune cell transfer and also genetic engineering of the immune cells using TLR signaling components to improve the function of genetically engineered immune cells such as chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells. Here, we explore the current status of the cancer immunotherapy approaches based on manipulation of TLR signaling to provide a perspective of the underlying rationales and potential clinical applications. Altogether, reviewed publications suggest that TLRs make a potential target for the immunotherapy of cancer.

Are GM Crops the Answer to Africa's Critical Food Security Status?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1688-1708
Author(s):  
Nira Ramachandran
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Technological Advance ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
Cultivable Land

Despite unprecedented technological breakthroughs and rising incomes, the most basic human requirement–food security remains out of reach of many. The countries of Africa are the worst affected, and consistently score lowest on the Global Hunger Index. The downside of technological advance and increasing urbanisation is the decrease in cultivable land and water availability exacerbated by climatic unpredictability. While concerted efforts are on to control the crisis, it is time to take positive action and capture technology to boost food security. Genetically Modified (GM) crops engineered to be drought/flood resistant, reduce pesticide requirements or provide vitamins open up tremendous possibilities for enhancing food and nutrition security and counteracting negative environmental impacts. This paper reviews the current status of GM crops in Africa, the scope for expansion, possible impacts on food security and the validity of existing concerns about bio-safety and farmers' needs in the light of developing country experience.

Are GM Crops the Answer to Africa's Critical Food Security Status?

2016 ◽  
pp. 157-177
Author(s):  
Nira Ramachandran
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Technological Advance ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
Cultivable Land

Despite unprecedented technological breakthroughs and rising incomes, the most basic human requirement–food security remains out of reach of many. The countries of Africa are the worst affected, and consistently score lowest on the Global Hunger Index. The downside of technological advance and increasing urbanisation is the decrease in cultivable land and water availability exacerbated by climatic unpredictability. While concerted efforts are on to control the crisis, it is time to take positive action and capture technology to boost food security. Genetically Modified (GM) crops engineered to be drought/flood resistant, reduce pesticide requirements or provide vitamins open up tremendous possibilities for enhancing food and nutrition security and counteracting negative environmental impacts. This paper reviews the current status of GM crops in Africa, the scope for expansion, possible impacts on food security and the validity of existing concerns about bio-safety and farmers' needs in the light of developing country experience.

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