It may take 6-15 years before a new transgenic hybrid is ready for commercial release. Science. Chaudhary B, Gaur K: The development and regulation of Bt-brinjal in India. The ISAAA website is www.isaaa.org. Other crops have been engineered to be resistant to specific plant diseases and insect pests, which can make pest control more reliable and effective, and/or can decrease the use of synthetic pesticides. 
The term genetic engineering is used to describe the process by which the genetic makeup of an organism can be altered using recombinant DNA technology. This involves the use of laboratory tools to insert, alter, or cut out pieces of DNA that contain one or more genes of interest.
10.7326/0003-4819-105-3-351. The papaya ringspot virus threatened to derail the Hawaiian papaya industry until papayas resistant to the disease were developed through genetic engineering. Classically-bred and GM crops are the outcomes of genetic modifications created through different means of gene transfer technology. Thus, undesirable genes can be transferred along with the desirable genes and at the same time some genes may be lost in the offspring. Ann Intern Med. Enhanced Phosphorous Uptake in Transgenic Tobacco Plants that Overproduce Citrate. To rectify these problems plant breeders carry out repeated back-crossing to the desirable parent. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for protecting U.S. agriculture from pests and diseases. Assessment of Potentials and Constraints for Development and Use of Plant Biotechnology in Relation to Plant Breeding and Crop Production in Developing Countries. In contrast, genetic engineering allows the direct transfer of one or just a few genes of interest, between either closely or distantly related organisms to obtain the desired agronomic trait (Figure 1). 10.1094/MPMI-20-6-0717. Backcross breeding is the final step in the genetic engineering process, where the transgenic crop is crossed with a variety that possesses important agronomic traits, and selected in order to obtain high quality plants that express the inserted gene in a desired manner. Petersen W, Umbeck P, Hokanson K, Halsey M: Biosafety considerations for selectable and scorable markers used in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) biotechnology. GM strategies are being employed to minimize yield losses due to various stresses (biotic and abiotic) and are being used extensively for value addition in food crops by enrichment with quality proteins, vitamins, iron, zinc, carotenoids, anthocyanins and so on. In fact, the extent of alteration in genomes, from breeding is much more than that for GM crops. It was found to be non-allergenic and safe for consumption using the mouse model [6]. Thus, classical (non-GM) breeding methods can have unintended effects and generate potentially hazardous new products. https://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/agricultural_biotechnology/download/. Iron Fortification of Rice Seed by the Soybean Ferritin Gene. Genetically-modified (GM) crops can help us to meet the demand for high-yielding, nutritionally-balanced, biotic and abiotic stress tolerant crop varieties [27]. Developing plant varieties expressing good agronomic characteristics is the ultimate goal of plant breeders. 2011, 62: 571-582. Developers are using biotechnology to try to reduce saturated fats in cooking oils, reduce allergens in foods, and increase disease-fighting nutrients in foods. Issue Paper 6. http://cms.daegu.ac.kr/sgpark/life&chemistry/future.pdf. Many other types of crops are now in the research and development stages. 10.1073/pnas.0909329107. Nature Biotechnology 18: 1151-1155. J Exp Bot. These crop production options can help countries keep pace with demands for food while reducing production costs. PubMed Central With genetic engineering, more than one trait can be incorporated or stacked into a plant. 2022 International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). Agricultural biotechnology is a range of tools, including traditional breeding techniques, that alter living organisms, or parts of organisms, to make or modify products; improve plants or animals; or develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses. When we introduced a single gene encoding C-5 sterol desaturase (FvC5SD) from Collybia velutipes to the tomato, we obtained a crop with multiple beneficial traits, including improved drought tolerance and fungal resistance [7, 15]. In addition to these efforts, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work to ensure that crops produced through genetic engineering for commercial use are properly tested and studied to make sure they pose no significant risk to consumers or the environment. Kamthan A, Kamthan M, Chakraborty N, Chakraborty S, Datta A: A simple protocol for extraction, derivatization, and analysis of tomato leaf and fruit lipophilic metabolites using GC-MS. Protocol Exchange. Nat Biotechnol. Integration of modern biotechnology, with conventional agricultural practices in a sustainable manner, can fulfil the goal of attaining food security for present as well as future generations. Genetic Modification Technology and Food: Consumer Health and Safety. They are also researching ways to use genetically engineered crops in the production of new medicines, which may lead to a new plant-made pharmaceutical industry that could reduce the costs of production using a sustainable resource. This allows farmers to spend less of their time managing their crops and more time on other profitable activities. Insect resistant Bt crops and/or herbicide tolerant GM crops which are currently under commercial cultivation have benefited farmers through better insect and weed management, higher yields and reduced chemical pesticide use [8, 10, 22, 23]. The importance of optimal nutrition for human health and development is well recognised. In addition to genetically engineered crops, biotechnology has helped make other improvements in agriculture not involving plants. The report issued from the survey contains a section specific to the major biotechnology derived field crops and provides additional detail on biotechnology plantings. The three principal agencies that have provided primary guidance on the experimental testing, approval, and eventual commercial release of these organisms to date are the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These include herbicide tolerant and insect resistant maize, soybean and cotton. Moreover, GM techniques allow introduction of new traits at one time without involving extensive cross-breeding as in the case of classical breeding. 10.1080/10408390701855993. Chakraborty S, Chakraborty N, Datta A: Increased nutritive value of transgenic potato by expressing a nonallergenic seed albumin gene from Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Commercial cultivation of this GM papaya resulted in a considerable increase in papaya production. The application of biotechnology in agriculture has resulted in benefits to farmers, producers, and consumers. During the mid-20th centurys green revolution, the use of agrochemicals and high-yielding crop varieties developed through conventional plant breeding practices led to a significant boost in crop productivity in India. PubMed Breeders have been evaluating new products developed through agricultural biotechnology for centuries. Cambridge University Press. ISAAA. These glycoalkoloids cause alkaloid poisoning leading to gastrointestinal, circulatory, neurological and dermatological problems. Molecular cloning and its overexpression to confer resistance to fungal infection in transgenic tobacco and tomato. From the scientific point of view, foods developed either by conventional breeding or by GM technology can impart the same effects on human health and the environment. Other potential risks considered in the assessment of genetically engineered organisms include environmental effects on birds, mammals, insects, worms, and other organisms, especially in the case of insect or disease resistance traits. 2011, 28: 396-406. Nat Biotechnol. More than 90 percent of farmers growing biotech crops are resource-poor farmers in developing countries. J Sci Food Agric. 1996, 118: 145-155. Adverse environmental conditions, such as drought, flooding, extreme heat and so on, affect crop yields more than pests and diseases. Genetically-modified (GM) crops can prove to be powerful complements to those produced by conventional methods for meeting the worldwide demand for quality foods. Several virus-resistant transgenics harbouring either the coat protein [16] or overexpressing siRNAs [17] have been developed and released for commercial purposes. CAS ISAAA Brief No. 2002. California Privacy Statement, If the DNA is from an edible plant it will make the regulatory process before commercialisation easier and it will also improve consumer acceptance; as, for example, in our laboratory where the Ama1 gene was isolated from the edible crop Amaranthus and used to develop protein-rich GM potato. statement and Products are regulated according to their intended use, with some products being regulated under more than one agency. No harmful effects have been documented after several years of extensive cultivation of GM crops in diverse environments and consumption of GM foods by more than a billion humans and by a larger number of animals [10, 18]. The genes derived from plant viruses can also be considered as safe transgenes as these viruses are not known to be human pathogens. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark. 2000, 97: 3724-3729. ISAAA: Ithaca, NY. 1995, 68: 249-255. 10.1016/0168-9452(96)04435-4. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. With conventional plant breeding, however, there is little or no guarantee of obtaining any particular gene combination from the millions of crosses generated. Google Scholar. Biotech crops may provide enhanced quality traits such as increased levels of beta-carotene in rice to aid in reducing vitamin A deficiencies and improved oil compositions in canola, soybean, and corn. Crops developed by genetic engineering can not only be used to enhance yields and nutritional quality but also for increased tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Correspondence to Genetic engineering for improving quality and productivity of crops. Biotechnology may also be used to conserve natural resources, enable animals to more effectively use nutrients present in feed, decrease nutrient runoff into rivers and bays, and help meet the increasing world food and land demands. 1993, 11: 1543-1547. Nap JP, Bijvoet J, Stiekema WJ: Biosafety of kanamycin-resistant transgenic plants.
1999. Studies have shown that NptII is non-toxic and it is not expected to result in increased weediness or invasiveness and it also does not affect the non-target organisms [1921]. Biotech crops can make farming more profitable by increasing crop quality and may in some cases increase yields. Engineering the Provitamin A (b-carotene) Biosynthetic Pathway into (Carotinoid-Free) Rice Endosperm. 2010, 28: 319-321. It is the time to promote sustainable agricultural practices for boosting crop productivity with the utmost conservation of all available natural resources. Food insecurity and malnutrition are currently among the most serious concerns for human health, causing the loss of countless lives in developing countries. 1998, 36: 415-437. 2000. A number of biotechnology-derived crops that have been deregulated by the USDA and reviewed for food safety by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been adopted by growers. This is a time-consuming task and may not always be able to separate a tightly linked unsafe gene. These basic traits, like insect and disease resistance, have allowed plants to survive and evolve over time.
