GMO Info
Environment
GMOs allow plants to be modified to grow in environments that would be normally inhospitable.
Genetically modifying crops improve their cold tolerance. Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato and strawberries. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings. Because the plants can survive in harsher conditions that they previously couldn’t have, the farmers are able to harvest more crops to feed the growing population of the world.
Drought tolerance and salinity tolerance of genetically modified plants is improved so that they can survive in different environments. As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places.
Genetic diversity populations are typically more resistant to biotic stress such as pathogens or pests. With a monoculture population, a disease that is able to attack one member of the population is likely to be able to attack the entire population because all members are essentially identical. However, a diverse population is more likely to have a subset of individuals that are resistant to the pathogen due to their genetic makeup. This means that a food production system built upon a diverse population is more resilient to biotic stresses and hence more secure. To avoid monoculture, it is important to have multiple types, or strains, of a particular crop with the characteristics that make them suitable for commercial production. Genetic engineering can be used to take the genes responsible for these traits and move them into different varieties of a
GMOs allow plants to be modified to grow in environments that would be normally inhospitable.
Genetically modifying crops improve their cold tolerance. Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato and strawberries. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings. Because the plants can survive in harsher conditions that they previously couldn’t have, the farmers are able to harvest more crops to feed the growing population of the world.
Drought tolerance and salinity tolerance of genetically modified plants is improved so that they can survive in different environments. As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places.
Genetic diversity populations are typically more resistant to biotic stress such as pathogens or pests. With a monoculture population, a disease that is able to attack one member of the population is likely to be able to attack the entire population because all members are essentially identical. However, a diverse population is more likely to have a subset of individuals that are resistant to the pathogen due to their genetic makeup. This means that a food production system built upon a diverse population is more resilient to biotic stresses and hence more secure. To avoid monoculture, it is important to have multiple types, or strains, of a particular crop with the characteristics that make them suitable for commercial production. Genetic engineering can be used to take the genes responsible for these traits and move them into different varieties of a