Genetically engineering cotton for insect resistance essay
Concerns over pesticidal traits include the enhanced evolution of resistant pest strains, the toxicity or allergenicity of the gene products to humans, the hybridization of transgenic pest-protected plants with neighboring wild relatives, and adverse effects on nontarget organisms.
Many self-pollinated crops are released as inbred lines for example, soybeans, Glycine max, and barley, Hordeum vulgare.
Bt resistant pests
No health hazards due to rare use of insecticides particularly who is engaged in spraying of insecticides. Gabarra, J. They observed highest mortality of the predator Crysoperla carnea Stephens Hilbeck et al. Specifically, carbamates and organophosphates are known to affect the nervous system by disrupting a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine [3]. Biological parameters of convergent lady beetle Coleoptera: Coccinellidae feeding on aphids Homoptera: Aphididae on transgenic potato. However, other strategies to improve plant defenses against insects have been explored. The USDA assessments for this crop address such concerns as the likelihood of creating new plant viruses via recombination of the introduced coat-protein gene with naturally occurring viruses, the potential of the two new virus-resistance genes to cause squash to become a weed, and the movement of the genes to wild squash relatives. Edwards, J. Other studies including analyses of different types of soils under Bt-crops cultivation are necessary to clarify the contrasting differences observed in the persistence of Bt cry1Ac protein between laboratory assays and field observations. Such gaps in our knowledge are preventing a full assessment of the environmental, economic, and other impacts of GE crops on farm sustainability.Along with a herbicide resistance gene, the three Bt versions were " shot" by a biolistic gene gun into immature corn embryos taken from developing seeds about 15 days after pollination.
Somaclonal variation is variation that occurs during the tissue-culture process, and its phenotypic outcomes are often similar to other forms of mutagenesis.
The possible interference on food webs and on non-target organisms is another issue for careful consideration in tropical areas, especially if the varieties were developed aimed at the control of insects that are mainly pests in temperate regions.
Research to transfer insect resistance genes from Bt to crop plants is well under way. For example, crop plants with different life cycles annual versus perennial will differ in their associated arthropod communities.
These breeders use the natural plant genetic variation and induced mutations to select desirable traits and introduce them into cultivated plants, using a combination of classical and modern plant breeding methods.
Picard-Nizou et al. Ecological impact of Bt-transgenic plants: 1.
These studies show that, while Bt pollen does have some toxic effects when fed to butterfly larvae, the pollen densities likely to be encountered in the field are too low to pose a risk to monarch larvae.
Even so, studies show that farmers value the greater flexibility in pesticide spraying that GE crops provide and the increased safety for workers from less exposure to harmful pesticides.