By Jef Akst
Since the mid 1990's, scientists have been researching about crops and how to make them more resistant to insects. They were able to create a new type of crop that was genetically modified to withstand the pests. These new crops are called GMO's. They were prominently using Bt. toxins to save the crops however, the protein does not stop all insects. Scientists went in search for another protein that could stop the insects. Some researches turned to spiders to find the solution to their problem. A peptide in the venom of the Australian Funnel - Web spider was seen as useful. After the discovery scientist tested the peptide by placing it in tobacco and cotton. Both crops were successful since they effectively killed of the pests while allowing some insects to pollinate both types of crops. Even with the success of the project it is unlikely that crops containing spider genes will hit the market any time soon because of the lack of acceptance of GM crops. Over the course of several years and with lots of support though these crops may be accepted and sold in markets for everyone to enjoy.
This is connected to what we learned in term two because genetic engineering was a topic that we discussed in class in detail. Genetic engineering has become a widely discussed topic because of the research and development being done in that field. Over a short period of time scientists had been able to make it so far. In class we talked about GMO's and how they have become a debated topic of our generation. In class we talked about how genetically modified organisms are created and what there purpose is. For example we talked about plasmids and how the DNA is coded and inserted into the organism.
Akst, Jef. "Along Came a Spider." The Scientist. N.p., 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/41498/title/Along-Came-a-Spider/
Do Bt crops only kill specific pests that damage the crop? Also, will insects develop resistance to the toxins produced in Bt crops?
ReplyDeleteYes Bt. toxins are very specific and only affect certain insects. The toxin binds itself to the gut of the insect to cause harm but different insects have different receptors so there are multiple strains of the toxin. Insects can become resistant to Bt. toxins just like any other pesticide. Scientists are working on ways to minimize that. The below link was one I found that has a lot of information about Bt.
Deletehttp://www.bt.ucsd.edu/index.html
Is the peptide that was found in the spider venom toxic to humans, if it was used to genetically modify food?
ReplyDeleteI was not able to find anything when researching but it is most likely that scientists would have done something to prevent any harm to the human consumers. Most likely they would have hanged the amount of toxin created by the plant itself so that it was enough to kill the insects but not enough to harm any human. Scientists may have also altered the toxin so that it would not harm any humans consuming it.
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