Transgenic Rice Plants Essay -- essays research papers

For centuries, rice has beenone of the most important staple crops for the world and it now currently feedsmore than two one million million people, mostly living in developing countries. Riceis the major food source of Japan and China and it enjoys a long history ofuse in both cultures. In 1994, worldwide rice production peaked at 530 millionmetric tons. Yet, more than 200 million tons of rice argon lost each year tobiotic stresses such as disease and plant louse infestation. This extreme lossof crop is estimated to cost at least several(prenominal) billion dollars per year andheavy losses often leave third world countries desperate for their staple food.Therefore, measures must be taken to decrease the quantity of crop loss andincrease yields that could be employ to feed the populations of the world. Onemethod to increase rice crop yields is the institution of transgenic rice plantsthat express insect resistance constituents. The two major ways to accomplish insectresistance in rice atomic number 18 the origination of the potato proteinase inhibitorII gene or the introduction of the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene into theplants genome. Other experimental methods of instituting insect resistanceinclude the use of the arcelin gene, the snowdrop lectin/GNA (galanthus nivallisagglutinin) protein, and phloem specific promoters and finally the SBTI gene.The introduction of the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene, or PINII,marks the first time that useful genes were successfully transferred from adicotyledonus plant to a monocotyledonous plant. Whenever the plant is woundby insects, the PINII gene produces a protein that interferes with the insectsdigestive processes. These protein inhibitors can be detrimental to the growthand development of a wide range of insects that attack rice plants and willin insects eating less of the plant material. Proteinase inhibitors are ofparticular interest because they are part of the rice plants natural defensesystem a gainst insects. They are also beneficial because they are inactivatedby cooking and therefore pose no environmental or health hazards to the humanconsumption of PINII treated rice. In order to produce fertile transgenicrice plants, plasmid pTW was used, coupled with the pin 2 promoter and theinserted rice actin intron, act 1. The combi... ... SBTI gene is being cloned into vectors and is being used totransform other types of embryos using the particle gun technique. Inconclusion, through the use of new technologies such as the introduction ofpotato proteinase inhibitor II gene, the establishment of the Bacillus thuringiensistoxin gene and the experimental methods of using the arcelin gene, the snowdroplectin/GNA (galanthus nivallis agglutinin) protein, and phloem specific promotersand finally the SBTI gene, rice plants have become nigh completely rebarbativeto insects that used to destroy much of the crop. This has been an importantstep in biotechnology because the improvement of rice plants is a major concernthat could potentially effect almost all of the populations of the world. Biotechnology has become an increasingly accepted method of solving some ofthe major problems in agriculture, medicine, and industry. Potentially, withthe advancements of many techniques, almost whenever people eat, drink, takemedicine, or go to work, they will be touched in some way by the many complicatedprocesses of biotechnology, that are striving to make our world a better place to exist in.