br What are GMOs and

What are GMOs and GM foods? Genetic modification is a biological technique that effects alterations in the genetic machinery of all kinds of living organisms. GMO is defined as follows by WHO (World Health Organization): “Organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination” [2]. The definition seeks to distinguish the direct manipulation of genetic material from the millennial-old practice of improvement in the genetic stock of plants and animals by selective breeding. With DNA recombinant technology, genes from one organism can be transferred into another, usually unrelated, organism. Similarly, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the European Commission define a GMO as a product “not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination” [3]. “GM foods” refer to foods produced from genetically modified plants or animals. However, Oliver [1] pointed out the aforementioned definitions are somewhat imperfect, giving Triticale as an example. Triticale is a grain widely used in bread and pasta. It was developed the 19th century by crossing wheat with rye (a conventional, selective breeding approach). However, the resulting hybrid is sterile, and in the 1930s, the chemical colchicine was used to generate polyploid Lomibuvir cells, which are fertile. Triticale would seem unambiguously to fit the definition of a GMO, even if the genetic modification is somewhat primitive by current molecularly biological standards. Thus, Oliver suggests “biotechnologically modified organism” as a closer definition for GMO [1].
History of GM foods The genesis of DNA modification technology can be traced back to 1944, when scientists discovered that genetic material can be transferred between different species [4]. Several hallmark papers paved the way to the modern science of molecular biology. In 1954, Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA, and the “central dogma” – DNA transcribed to messenger RNA, translated to protein – was established. Nobel Laureate Marshall Nirenberg [5] and others had deciphered the genetic code by 1963. In 1973, Cohen et al. [6] developed DNA recombination technology, showing that genetically engineered DNA molecules can be transferred among different species. The history really begins with Charles Darwin\'s notions of species variation and selection. Table 1 presents a sort of time-capsule of the seminal discoveries that are crucial to modern genomics. The first genetically modified plants – antibiotic resistant tobacco and petunias – were produced by three independent research groups in 1983 [7–9]. Scientists in China first commercialized genetically modified tobacco in early 1990s. In 1994 the US market saw the first genetically modified species of tomato with the property of delayed ripening approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, several transgenic crops have received FDA approvals, including “Canola” with modified oil composition, cotton and soybeans resistant to herbicides, etc. GM foods that are available in the market include potatoes, eggplants, strawberries, carrots, and many more are in pipeline [10].
Do we need GM foods?
Generation of GM crops
Benefits of GM foods
Potential risks of GM foods The debates over GM foods focus mostly on uncertainties concerning the potential adverse effects of GM foods on human health and environmental safety. The anxiety among consumers can be attributed to four sources: the difficulty of the scientific community in explaining concisely to the lay public the biological techniques involved; concerns about the improper dissemination of GM foods; and the ethical principles inherent in traditional food processing; the misgivings with regards to the adequacy of evaluation of the GM foods [22,35,36].