From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia.
Transgenic plants are
plants that have been
genetically engineered using
recombinant
DNA techniques to make plants
with new characteristics.
Transgenic plants are produced by
adding one or more
genes to a plants
genome, using a process called
transformation.
Transgenic plants have been
developed for a variety of
reasons: longer shelf life,
disease resistance, herbicide
resistance, and pest resistance.
The first transgenic crop approved
for sale in the US, in 1994, was
the
FlavrSavr tomato, which was
intended to have a longer shelf
life. There are many controversial
issues surrounding the use of
transgenic crops. One of the most
far-reaching issues is what could
happen if these crop plants were
to escape from the fields and
enter into the environment.
Today there are more than
10,677,000 kmē of transgenic
plants being grown throughout the
world1. There are
three general types of transgenic
plants; those with genes to
improve the quality of the
product, those with genes to allow
them to resist disease or
herbivory (consumption by
herbivores, usually insects), and
plants with genes that allow them
to be resistant to the effects of
specific
herbicides.
Transgenic crops are grown
world wide, although the greatest
concentration of transgenic crops
is in the United States, at 63% of
the world total in 2003. At that
time, 81% of the
soybeans, 73% of the
cotton and 40% of the
corn being grown were
transgenic. At that time most of
the transgenic crops had genes
either for herbicide resistance or
for insect resistance1.
See also
Reference
1. Pilson, D. & Prendeville, H.
R. Ecological Effects of
Transgenic Crops and the Escape of
Transgenes into Wild Populations.
Annual Review of Ecology,
Evolution, and Systematics 0 (0).
