The wild plants may possess the advantage of resistance to herbicides.
Credit Xiao Yang
One of the most common methods used to make crops more resistant to herbicides was found to offer advantages over weedy forms of rice. These results suggest that such modifications could have a wide variety of impacts that extend beyond farms, and even into the wild.
A variety of varieties of crops are created genetically to be resistant to the glyphosate. This herbicide, originally known as Roundup, was introduced to the market in 1996 under the tradename Roundup. This allows farmers to eliminate most weeds from their fields without causing harm to their crops.
Glyphosate inhibits plant growth by blocking an enzyme referred to as EPSP synthase. This enzyme is involved in the creation of certain amino acids and other molecules that make up approximately 35% of the plant’s mass. ラウンドアップ lv25 Genetic modification, which is used by Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops, which are located in St Louis (Missouri), typically involves inserting genes into the DNA of a plant to boost EPSP synthase’s production. Genes are typically derived from bacteria that infect the plants.
This extra EPSP synthase allows the plant to withstand the effects from glyphosate. Biotechnology labs also tried to use plants’ genes to increase the EPSP synthase enzyme, in part to exploit an American loophole which permits the approval of regulatory authorities of transgenes which are not derived from by bacterial pests.
There aren’t many studies that have examined the possibility that transgenes, such as glyphosate-resistant ones could — after introduction to wild or weedy plants by cross-pollination — enhance the competition of plants in survival, reproduction and growth. Norman Ellstrand of University of California Riverside states, “The conventional expectation is that any transgene found in the wild could be detrimental if there’s no selection pressure because the extra machinery could reduce the fitness.”
Lu Baorong from Fudan University in Shanghai is in the process of challenging this notion. The study demonstrates that glyphosate resistance , even when not applied to the weedy variety of the rice crop can give a significant health benefit.
Lu and colleagues modified cultivars of rice to increase the production of EPSP synthase. The modified rice was then crossed with a wild ancestor.
The team then allowed the breeding offspring from the cross to mix with each other, resulting in second-generation hybrids genetically identical to one another except in the number of copies of gene that encodes EPSP synthase. ラウンドアップ The ones who had more copies expressed higher amounts of the enzyme, and produced more amino acids tryptophan than the unmodified ones.
Researchers also discovered that transgenic hybrids are more photogenic, produced more plants per plant and had 48-125 percent more seeds than non-transgenic varieties.
Making the weedy rice more competitive could cause more problems for farmers around the world who’s plots are infested by the pest, Lu says.
Brian Ford Lloyd, a UK plant scientist, said that the EPSP Synthase gene is able to get into wild rice species. This could threaten the genetic diversity of their species, which is very crucial. ラウンドアップ 効果 “This is a clear illustration of the extremely plausible detrimental effects [of GM plants] on our surroundings.”
This study challenges popular belief that crops modified genetically carrying extra copies of their own genes are safer than those containing genes from microorganisms. Lu claims that the research “shows that this isn’t always true”.
Researchers say this discovery requires review of the regulations for the future on the use of genetically modified plants. Ellstrand says that “some people believe that biosafety regulations can be relaxed because we have a high degree of comfort with genetic engineering for the past two decades.” ラウンドアップ This study isn’t proof that new products are safe.