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In this blog post, we will focus on the topic of GM crops in I/GCSE Biology. Let's get started! 🐿️
Making GM crops
- Bacteria called agrobacterium used
- gets gene inside nucleus of cells
- joins with cell’s DNA
Different modifications
In I/GCSE Biology, make sure you understand the following points!
Herbicide – a chemical that kills plants, used to treat weeds in crops
- Some GM crops have gene for herbicide resistance
Plants compete for water + nutrients
- Weed plants reduce amount of food harvested
- Herbicides damage weed plant
- Crops resistant to herbicide ➡️ crops sprayed by herbicide ➡️ kills weeds + crop not damaged
- Crops modified with poison which kills insects that eat plants
- reduces damage to crops in yield
The pros and cons of GM crops
In I/GCSE Biology, the pros and cons of GM crops is commonly asked in exam!
- GM crop seeds cost more
- Companies producing seed for herbicide resistant crops also produce the herbicide the crop is resistant to – good for company, not for farmer
- Concern – gene transfer through pollination – happens occasionally between close related plants, the gene for herbicide resistance could be transferred to the weed crops
- People concerned about safety of food produced from GM crops (tested on animals)
Look at the summary below!
And we're done with this topic! Well Done!
Drafted by Alyssa (Biology)
References:
- "Agrobacterium", https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/l80BGqZeB-U1feISfi-zZmwB7q7vWvb7L1I8RTj0xqQXKx1SRZyLeY-H3HSXYe7a3bqwyv8ov_F-e6C3A02PEkr98jsN_jLQYMUAwzpQgXVDd505qnsQOYteS8ofieZDeuqJ0fk
- "What Is Herbicide Resistance?", https://www.cottoninc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Slide3.PNG_lesson3.png
- "iGCSE Biology Section 5 lesson 2", https://slideplayer.com/slide/10472590/35/images/65/Genetically+Modified+Crops.jpg