Selective breeding and GM food

Genetic engineering

A faster way of producing new varieties is to transfer the genes for the desired characteristic into an organism artificially. This is genetic engineering. The gene may have come from the same species, but genetic engineering also allows the genes from an unrelated organism to be transferred – something that's not possible with selective breeding.

Examples of genetic engineering

Example	Gene donor	Gene receiver	Benefit
Golden rice	Carotene gene from carrots	Rice	People lacking vitamin A in their traditional diet can make the vitamin if they eat genetically modified ‘golden’ rice.
Humalin	Insulin gene from humans	Bacteria	‘Human’ insulin can be made cheaply and quickly by bacteria to treat diabetics.
Weedkiller resistance	Resistant gene from plant	Soya beans	Genetically modified soya beans can be sprayed with weedkiller and remain unaffected, so only weeds are killed. This increases yields of soya.

Genetic engineering can be used to create new varieties of plant and animal, but there's a risk that there could be unexpected harmful effects, either to the new organism or if the gene ‘escapes’ into the surrounding populations. Some people are concerned about the health risk of eating genetically modified food – others think it wrong to create new life forms, or move genes between different species, especially if this causes harm to the receiver.

Taken from :http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_gateway/living/genesrev3.shtml

Posted by : Swe Mar Tun  @ Sweety