1st Edition

Genetically Modified Crops Their Development, Uses, and Risks

By G.h. Liang Copyright 2004
    408 Pages
    by CRC Press

    408 Pages
    by CRC Press

    Gain state-of-the-art knowledge of new research and developments in transgenic technology!

    Genetically Modified Crops: Their Development, Uses, and Risks provides groundbreaking information on the integration of foreign DNA into the nucleus of a plant cell to produce a positive transformation. This volume details methods of gene delivery, laboratory tools and techniques to increase success rates, and the benefits, risks, and limitations of these methods. Authors at the forefront of this developing technology provide a comprehensive overview of transgenic crops and vital research on specific plant genera that have undergone transgenic transformation.

    Agricultural biotechnology has become a national and necessary mainstay of farming and food production, and this book is an important scientific tool to keep you informed of the latest protocols of genetic transformation. This book also outlines the goals that scientists are striving to reach, such as targeted gene expression where the gene only expresses itself at a certain time in the plant’s life cycle, but disappears before human consumption. One of the greatest concerns is maintaining the welfare of the consumer, and in this volume the authors repeatedly discuss their findings in terms of safety for human consumption.

    With Genetically Modified Crops: Their Development, Uses, and Risks, you’ll explore:

    • the history of crop transformation and the techniques most commonly used for gene delivery, including biolistic bombardment and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation
    • various methods of determining successful gene transfer in putative transgenic plants, such as blotting, functional assaying, and progeny testing
    • the utilization of recombinase-directed plant transformation to improve faithful and consistent gene delivery and transference
    • the successful reproduction of an insecticidal protein from chicken eggs in transgenic corn—and its benefits to society
    • the current status of risk assessment and examples of incidents that have raised the level of concern about genetically modified plants outside the lab
    This book also contains several chapters about current methods of transformation involving specific crops such as:
    • cotton
    • wheat
    • alfalfa
    • sorghum
    • rice
    • and more!
    Genetically Modified Crops: Their Development, Uses, and Risks is an indispensable guidebook for agronomists, plant and molecular geneticists, and students in agronomy, genetics, entomology, horticulture, and plant pathology. This manual is also useful to concerned consumers who wish to know the latest scientific findings on genetically modified crops. Complete with references, figures, and photographs, this book is a must-read to keep up to date with science and technology.

    • About the Editors
    • Contributors
    • Preface
    • Chapter 1. Transformation: A Powerful Tool for Crop Improvement (D. Z. Skinner, S. Muthukrishnan, and G. H. Liang)
    • Introduction
    • Incorporation of Transgenes into Crops
    • Methodology of Producing Transgenic Plants
    • Confirmation of Putative Transgenic Plants and Transformation Efficiency
    • Crop Species Amenable to Transformation
    • Current and Future Transgenic Crops
    • Food Safety and Risk Analysis
    • Chapter 2. Mechanism(s) of Transgene Locus Formation (David A. Somers, Paula M. Olhoft, Irina F. Makarevitch, and Sergei K. Svitashev)
    • Introduction
    • Plant Genetic Engineering Systems
    • Transgene Loci
    • Mechanisms for Transgene Locus Formation
    • Chapter 3. Gene Stacking Through Site-Specific Integration (David W. Ow)
    • Introduction
    • Heterologous Site-Specific Recombination Systems
    • Targeting via Cre-lox
    • Targeting via FLP-FRT
    • Expression of Targeted Transgenes
    • Prospects for Gene Stacking
    • C31 Site-Specific Recombination System
    • Concluding Remarks
    • Chapter 4. Transgenics of Plant Hormones and Their Potential Application in Horticultural Crops (Yi Li, Hui Duan, Yan H. Wu, Richard J. McAvoy, Yan Pei, Degang Zhao, John Wurst, Qi Li, and Keming Luo)
    • Introduction
    • Auxins
    • Cytokinins
    • Gibberellins
    • Ethylene
    • Abscisic Acid
    • Concluding Remarks
    • Chapter 5. Avidin: An Egg-Citing Insecticidal Protein in Transgenic Corn (Karl J. Kramer)
    • Introduction
    • Mechanism of Action
    • History of Commercialization
    • Demonstration of Host Plant Resistance and Spectrum of Activity
    • Allergenicity
    • Safety
    • Male Sterility and Nonuniform Expression
    • Concluding Remarks
    • Chapter 6. Genetic Engineering of Wheat: Protocols and Use to Enhance Stress Tolerance (Tom Clemente and Amitava Mitra)
    • Introduction
    • Selection and Visual Marker Genes for Transformation
    • Future Needs for Wheat Transformation
    • Potential Transgenes for Resistance to Pathogens
    • Potential Transgenes for Enhanced Tolerance Toward Abiotic Stress
    • Concluding Remarks
    • Chapter 7. Development and Utilization of Transformation in Medicago Species (Deborah A. Samac and Stephen J. Temple)
    • Introduction
    • Plant Regeneration
    • Plant Transformation
    • Promoters for Constitutive and Tissue-Specific Expression of Transgenes in Medicago
    • Utilization of Transformation for Crop Improvement
    • Development of Roundup Ready Alfalfa: A Case Study
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 8. Sorghum Transformation for Resistance to Fungal Pathogens and Drought (S. Muthukrishnan, J. T. Weeks, M. R. Tuinstra, J. M. Jeoung, J. Jayaraj, and G. H. Liang)
    • Introduction
    • Constraints to Sorghum Transformation
    • Sorghum Tissue Culture
    • Transformation Methods
    • Transgenic Sorghum Plants with Increased Stress Tolerance
    • Utilizing Transgenic Sorghums for Crop Improvement
    • Chapter 9. Rice Transformation: Current Progress and Future Prospects (James Oard and Junda Jiang)
    • Introduction
    • Production of U.S. Transgenic Rice Lines and Field Evaluation of Herbicide Resistance
    • New Rice Polyubiquitin Promoter and Potential for Enhanced Transgene Expression
    • Transgene Delivery and Expression Studies
    • Transgenic Advances in Pest and Stress Tolerance
    • Novel Methods of Gene Transfer for Rice
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 10. Cotton Transformation: Success and Challenges (Roberta H. Smith, James W. Smith, and Sung Hun Park)
    • Development of Cotton Transformation Technology
    • Insect- and Herbicide-Resistant Cotton
    • Commercial Use of Genetically Engineered Cotton
    • Chapter 11. Progress in Transforming the Recalcitrant Soybean (Jack M. Widholm)
    • Introduction
    • Organogenic Systems
    • New Transformation Method Possibilities and Improvements
    • Conclusions
    • Chapter 12. Progress in Vegetable Crop Transformation and Future Prospects and Challenges (Zamir K. Punja and Mistianne Feeney)
    • Introduction
    • Transformation Technologies Used for Vegetable Crops
    • Stress-Resistant Vegetable Crops
    • Improvement of Horticultural Traits Through Genetic Engineering
    • Issues to Be Addressed
    • Future Prospects
    • Chapter 13. Genetic Transformation of Turfgrass (Barbara A. Zilinskas and Xiaoling Wang)
    • Introduction
    • Regenerable Tissue Culture Prerequisite
    • Transformation Systems
    • Development of Value-Added Transgenic Turfgrass
    • Future Prospects
    • Chapter 14. Risks Associated with Genetically Engineered Crops (Paul St. Amand)
    • Introduction
    • Risks versus Benefits
    • Legal Risks
    • Risks to Humans
    • Risks to the Environment
    • The Unexpected
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    G.h. Liang