Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Land area used for genetically modified crops by country (1996–2009), in millions of hectares. In 2011, the land area used was 160 million hectares, or 1.6 million square kilometers. [54] In the US, by 2014, 94% of the planted area of soybeans, 96% of cotton and 93% of corn were genetically modified varieties.
Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are genetically modified plants that are used in agriculture. The first crops developed were used for animal or human food and provide resistance to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, spoilage or chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a herbicide).
Half of all GM crops planted were genetically modified soybeans, either for herbicide tolerance or insect resistance. Eleven countries grew modified soybean, with the USA, Brazil and Argentina accounting for 90% of the total hectarage. Of the 111 hectares of soybean grown worldwide in 2014, 82% was genetically modified in some way.
Genetically modified plants have been engineered for scientific research, to create new colours in plants, deliver vaccines, and to create enhanced crops. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of Agrobacterium for the delivery of sequences hosted in T-DNA binary vectors .
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with the most common being an organism altered in a way that "does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination". [1]
An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be genetically modified (GM) and the resulting entity is a genetically modified organism (GMO). The first GMO was a bacterium generated by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen in 1973. Rudolf Jaenisch created the first GM animal when he inserted foreign DNA into a mouse in 1974.
This trait increases a crop's resistance to pests and allows for a higher yield. An example of this trait are crops that are genetically engineered to make insecticidal proteins originally discovered in (Bacillus thuringiensis). Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium that produces insect repelling proteins that are non-harmful to humans.
HarvestPlus, a major NGO in the development of biofortified crops, primarily use conventional breeding techniques, and have not yet spent more than 15% of their research budget on genetically modified crops when conventional methods fail to meet nutritional requirements. [5] [6] Golden rice is an example of a GM crop developed for its ...