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4.12 Advantage and Disadvantages of GM Organisms - Coggle Diagram
4.12 Advantage and Disadvantages of GM Organisms
Genetically Modified Crops
They are engineered to be resistant to insects and to herbicides
This will result in increased yields as less crops will die
Genetic Modification in Medicine
It may be possible to use genetic engineering to cure inherited disorders
It is called gene therapy and involves transferring normal genes (not faulty) into patients so the correct proteins are produced
Benefits and Risks
Benefits
In agriculture it can be used to improve yields by
Introducing modifications that allow the crops to grow in different conditions, e.g. hotter or drier climates
Introducing modifications that allow plants to make their own pesticide or herbicide
Improving growth rates
Crops with extra vitamins can be produced in areas where they are difficult to obtain
It can be very useful in medicine to mass produce certain hormones in microorganisms (bacteria and fungi)
Greater yields can help solve world hunger, which is becoming an increasingly bigger issue due to population growth
Risks
People are worried that we do not completely understand the effects of GM crops on human health
Genetic engineering in agriculture could lead to genetic engineering in humans. This may result in people using the technology to have designer babies
They pose a selection pressure, which could lead to increased resistance in other species, creating super weeds and pests
GM crops might have an effect on wild flowers
and therefore insects
GM crops are infertile and these genes could spread into wild plants, leading to infertility in other species, which affects the entire environment
Growing with herbicides and pesticides can kill insects and other plants, which would reduce biodiversity
Bt Crops
The crop will then produce the toxin - any insects that eat the crop will die
As a result, less of the crop gets eaten by insects, increasing the crop yield and profits
Genes are cut out from the bacteria using restriction enzymes, and re-inserted into the crop using ligase, as described above
However, there are concerns over this method - we don’t know if the toxin has any effect on human health, for example
This is a useful function for crops, so we use genes from the bacteria in crops to increase their insect resistance
Killing insects also results in a loss of biodiversity, which can affect the entire ecosystem
Bacillus thuringiensis is the name of a bacteria that produces toxins that kill insect larvae