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Genetically modified foods - techniques

Geneticallymodified(GM)foodsarecreatedusingbiotechnologytochangetheirgeneticmaterial. Avarietyoftechniquesisused.Foodmaybegeneticallymodifiedtoincreaseitsshelflife,makeit resistanttopesticidesandinsecticides,orimprovethecropnutritionalyield.

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How genetic modification works

Genesaretheblueprintsforourbodiesandcontrolfactorssuchasgrowthanddevelopment. Withinalmosteverycellofthebody,genesarebeadedalongtightlybundledstrandsof deoxyribonucleicacid(DNA)calledchromosomes.Theseareencasedbyamembrane(thenuclear membrane)toproduceanucleus. Genesusechemicalmessagestoinstructthecelltoperformitsfunctionsbymakingproteinsor enzymes.Byintroducingaforeigngene,scientistspromptthealteredcelltomakenewproteinsor enzymes,sothatthecellperformsnewfunctions.Forexample,thegenethathelpsacoldwater fishsurvivelowtemperaturescanbeinsertedintoastrawberrytomakeitfrost-resistant.The genesmaybetakenfromananimal,plantormicro-organism.Ifthegenesareinsertedinto anotherspecies,theresultingorganismisreferredtoastransgenic.

A range of techniques
Someofthetechniquesusedtotransferforeigncellsintoanimalsandplantsinclude: Bacterialcarriers Biolistics Calciumphosphateprecipitation Electroporation Genesilencing Genesplicing Lipofection(orliposometransfection) Microinjection Viralcarriers.

Bacterial carriers
ThebacteriumAgrobacteriumcaninfectplants,whichmakesitasuitablecarrierfordelivering DNA.Thebacteriumispreparedinaspecialsolutiontomakeitscellwallsmoreporous.The selectedgeneisinsertedintoabacteriumextrachromosomalDNAmolecule(calledaplasmid)and droppedintothesolution.Thesolutionisheated,whichallowstheplasmidtoenterthebacterium andexpressthenewgene. Thegeneticallyalteredbacterium(orrecombinant)isallowedtorecover(isrested)andgrowand, dependingontheplasmid,makeextracopiesofthenewgene.Thebacteriumisthenallowedto infectthetargetplantcellssoitcandelivertheplasmidandthenewgeneintothecellstobe transformed.

Biolistics
TheselectedDNAisattachedtomicroscopicparticlesofgoldorthemetaltungsten.Likefiringa gun,theseDNA-ladenparticlesareshotintothetargetcellsusingaburstofgasunderpressure.

Calcium phosphate precipitation

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TheselectedDNAisexposedtocalciumphosphate.Thismixturecreatestinygranules.Targetcells respondtothesegranulesbysurroundingandingestingthem(endoocytosis),allowingthegranules toreleasetheDNAanddeliverittothehostnucleiandchromosome(s).

Electoporation
ThepreparedtargetcellsareimmersedinaspecialsolutionwiththeselectedDNA.Ashortbut intenseelectricshockisthenpassedthroughthesolution.Theresultissmallpores/tearsinthecell walls,whichallowthenewgeneticmaterialaccesstothenuclei.Then,thecellsareplacedinto anothersolutionandencouragedtorepairtheirbreachedwalls,lockingthedonorDNAinsidethe cell.TheselectedDNAisincorporatedintothehostchromosomestoprovidethehostwithanew gene.

Gene silencing
Thegeneresponsiblefortheorganismsundesirabletraitisidentified.Onemethodofsilencing thatparticulargeneistoattachasecondcopyofthegenethewrongwayaround.Thistechniqueis usedtopreventplantslikepeanutsandwheatfromproducingtheproteins(allergens)commonly responsibleforhumanallergies.AnotherapproachistoinsertforeignDNAwithinageneto inactivateit.

Gene splicing
Bacteriacontainrestrictionenzymesthatformpartofthebacteriumsimmunesystemagainst invasionbyanotherorganismorbacteriophage(abacterialvirus).Therestrictionenzymesattack theforeignDNAbycuttingitintoprecisesectionsandpreventingitfrombeinginsertedintothe bacteriumschromosome. DifferentbacteriaproducedifferentrestrictionenzymesthatcutanyDNAatdifferentplaces, makingtheDNAstickyinsomecases,whichmeanstheycanbepasteddirectlyontothetarget organismspreparedDNA. Usingtheserestrictionenzymesfrombacteria,molecularbiologistscangeneticallyengineerthe DNAforinsertionintotarget(host)cellstomodifygenetraits.Themolecularbiologistthenuses anotherenzyme(DNAligase)tofusethenewgenesequencesintothechromosome. Alternatively,insteadofpasting,thenewgenemaybeinsertedintoabacteriumsextra chromosomalDNAmolecule(aplasmid),whichcarriesinvasiongenesthatallowittoinvadethe targetcellanddeliverthegene.Anexampleofthisistheinvasionofplantcellsby Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Lipofection
SmallbubblesoffatcalledliposomesareusedasthecarriersofselectedDNA.Thetargetcellsand theliposomesareplacedintoaspecialsolution.Theliposomesmergewithphospholipidsinthecell membrane,allowingtheDNAentryintothecellsforinclusioninthechromosome.

Microinjection
TheselectedDNAisinjectedintoafertilisedovum(femaleeggcell)throughanextremelyslender devicecalledaglasscapillarytube.Thegeneticallymodifiedeggisthentransplantedintothe prepareduterusofareceptivefemaleandallowedtogrowtoterm.Thismethodensuresthat almosteverycellinthedevelopingorganismsbodycontainsthenewDNAbutnotalltheoffspring willcarrythetransgene(isdeemedatransgenicanimal).

Viral carriers
Avirusthatwillinvadethetargetcellsbutnotcausedamageordeathischosen.TheselectedDNA isaddedtothegeneticmakeupofthevirusandthenthevirusisallowedtoinfectthetarget.As thevirusinvadescellsandreplicates,theselectedDNAisaddedtothetargetcells.

Examples of genetically modified foods

Somecurrentexamplesinclude:

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Cropsaregeneticallyengineeredtoberesistanttoparticularinsectpests.Forexample, toxingenes(Bttoxin)fromabacteriumfoundinsoil(Bacillus thuringiensis)areinserted intoplantcropDNAsothattheplantsproducetoxinsspecificallydeadlytothelarvaeof theirpestinsects.Thismakestheplantsinsect resistant (IR). Soybeanshavebeengeneticallymodifiedtotoleratehighlevelsofweed-killingherbicides thatwouldnormallykillthem.Thismakesthemherbicide tolerant (HT). Plantsaregeneticallymodifiedtoensurelongershelflifeorgreaterresistancetofrost. Farmanimals(suchaspigs,cowsandchickens)aregeneticallymodifiedforfastergrowth rates,leanermuscle-to-fatratios,betterresistancetodiseaseorabilitytoproducehigher levelsofomega-3sinthemeats. Plantsaremodifiedtoyieldhigherproteinornutrientlevelsortoproducehealthieroils containingfunctionalfoodcomponentssuchasomega-3fattyacids. Geneticallymodifiedcowscanproducemilkthatcontainshigherlevelsofbioactivemilk proteinsorhumanbloodclottingcomponentsorahumanbreastmilkcomponent.

Safety tests
InAustralia,foodsoringredientsthathavebeengeneticallymodified(GMfoods)mustbe subjectedtoapre-marketsafetyassessmentbythegovernmentfoodregulatorFoodStandards AustraliaNewZealand(FSANZ).Apartfromcertainexemptions,GMfoodsofferedforsalemust havetheirGMstatusidentifiedonthefoodlabel.

Where to get help

FoodStandardsAustraliaNewZealandTel.(02)62712222 TechNyou(formerlytheGeneandNanotechnologyInformationServiceTel.1800631276 http://technyou.edu.au/ OfficeoftheGeneTechnologyRegulatorTel.1800181030www.ogtr.gov.au

Things to remembers
Byintroducingaforeigngene,scientistspromptthealteredorganismtomakenew proteinsorenzymes,sothatthecellperformsnewfunctions.Thealteredorganismissaid tobegeneticallymodified(GM). Someofthemanytechniquesusedtogeneticallymodifyfoodsincludeintroducingthe desiredDNAviabenignbacterialorviralinfection. Ifthegenesareinsertedintoanotherspecies,theresultingorganismisreferredtoasa transgenicorganismexamplesincludetransgeniccowsorpigsandtransgenic strawberries.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

DeakinUniversity-SchoolofExerciseandNutritionSciences
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