Page 11 - Breeding Edge ebook

The first genetically modified plant was produced in 1983, using an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant. In

1988, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first application of genetically modified
organisms in food production. In the early 1990s, recombinant chymosin – an enzyme with a role in

digestion in some animals -- was approved for use in several countries.

The first genetically modified food approved for release was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994. This tomato
was developed by Calgene to have a longer shelf life.

A year earlier, China had introduced virus-resistant tobacco, becoming the first country to
commercialize a transgenic crop. Transgenics refers to processes that impose a gene or genes from an
unrelated species into a plant or animal species nucleus.

The first pesticide-producing crop, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) potato, was approved in the U.S. in 1995.
That same year saw the approval for marketing of other GM crops, including canola with modified oil
composition, Bt maize, cotton resistant to the herbicide bromoxynil, Bt cotton, glyphosate-tolerant
soybeans, virus-resistant squash, and another delayed ripening tomato. Golden rice was created in 2000,
the first time scientists had genetically modified food to increase its nutrient value.

The full genomes of a rainbow trout and salmon were also sequenced a few years ago, and researchers
used such access to tweak the genes of Atlantic salmon, inserting a gene from another fish, called the
ocean pout. The change allows the salmon to grow and gain weight twice as fast as conventional
varieties.

Two years ago, after more than 25 years of research, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved
that fish, Aquadvantage, as the first genetically engineered food animal it has ruled as safe to eat. But
Alaska lawmakers worked to stop the sale of the product in the U.S. and it's currently for sale only in
Canada.

The new piece in the breeder’s pipeline

Many genetics laboratories and crop and animal breeders are knee-deep in new gene editing processes.

Gene editing takes an approach to genetic alteration that is fundamentally new and different from the
kinds of transgenic modifications – popularly known as GMOs -- that

researchers have pursued with varying success for two decades. Instead,
they’ve found quick, inexpensive ways to edit the proteins within plant

and animal chromosomes and with precise and predictable results.

Gene editing is akin to cutting and pasting text within a document,
explained Jennifer Doudna, professor of molecular and cell biology
and chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, at a recent
conference on gene editing on that campus.

In the 25 years of her cell biology and biochemistry career, she has
“never seen science moving at the pace it is moving right now,” and

she sees GE as generating much of the stampede.

Brummer, the plant breeder from UC, Davis, says most breeders and Biochemist and Professor
agricultural professionals he knows, after decades of persistent popular Jennifer Doudna
suspicion and opposition to transgenic crops, see gene editing as
potentially less objectionable. 9

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