The Effects of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) on Environment and Molecular Techniques to Minimize Its Risk

Abstract

Biotechnology is the application of scientific techniques to modify and improve plants, animals, and microorganisms to enhance their value. Genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Transgenic technology deals with the integration of exogenous DNA into the plant genome using gene transfer technologies. Genetically modified (GM) crop plants contain artificially inserted gene (s) or “transgenes” from another unrelated plant or from a completely different species via advanced genetic engineering techniques. Transgenic crops do not present new categories of environmental risk compared to conventional methods of crop improvement. Transgenic plants can be generated using (1) biolistic technique where in the desired gene is coated on to either gold or tungsten particles are shot into plant cells using a gene-gun. The necessary criterion for this is that cells or plant tissues should be suitable for transformation permit regeneration of a whole plant thereafter. (2) The other major gene transfer technique makes use of the soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, containing a tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid including virulence (vir) gene (s) and a transferred-DNA (T-DNA) region, in which genes of interest can be inserted. Generally the gene that transfer from other organism to the desired crop (GM) can cause different environmental risks like, generation of super weed, development of tolerance to target herbicide, loss of biodiversity and sustainable resistance in insect pests, through gene flow. These risks can be minimized using different molecular techniques such as, maternal inheritance, male sterility, cleistogamy and apomixes, genetic use restriction technologies, genome incompatibility, controlling gene expression and transgenic mitigation.