Genetic Engineering for Sustainable Agricultural Production: Separating the Myths from Reality Troy L. Ott, Ph.D., PAS

Transcription

1 Genetic Engineering for Sustainable Agricultural Production: Separating the Myths from Reality Troy L. Ott, Ph.D., Professor of Reproductive Physiology Associate Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Department of Animal Science Center for Reproductive Biology and Health Society struggles with notions of agriculture: The good old days vs industrial agriculture 1

2 Modern Dairy 1/3 the cows, 500% more milk. 2

3 Corn: 20% Less land, ~700% more corn How was this achieved? Biotechnology! 3

4 People are concerned about biotechnology in agriculture especially genetic engineering. I have heard about it What is it? Why are we doing it? How is it done? Should I be worried? Why Genetic Engineering? It is about all the people and the environment! We need to produce ~70% more food with roughly the same amount of land and less water, while reducing the impact of farming on the environment..in the next 30 years! 4

5 Growth greatest Africa and Asia GE v 1.0 Genetic engineering the early days telgraph.co.uk mentalflos.com leanvaluesires.com 5

6 But something has changed How did we go from making changes slowly over hundreds of years to being able to make them quickly? 6

7 Scientists learned from the natural world. A G C T 3,000,000,000 letters in the story of life Arranged in ~25,000 sentences 7

8 A sentence in the story of life: TCT AGT CAT TTG Evolution of genetic engineering. GE v 1.0 Breeding and selection GE v 2.0 Mutation breeding GE v 3.0 Transgenesis 8

9 GMO v 4.0 Cisgenesis/Gene Editing TALENS CRISPR CAS 9 Zn + Finger Nucleases 9

10 The power of CRISPR CAS 9 10

11 War of the (microbial) worlds! CRISPR CAS9 Locate, cut, edit. theodessey.com 11

12 CRISPR CAS9 Locate, cut, edit. theodessey.com 12

13 NYT April 15 th, By Jacob Bunge and Amy Dockser Marcus Non browning mushrooms Silencing a gene that leads to discoloration 13

14 Fear of the unknown GM Concerns We could lose control It s not natural I m afraid: It is good to be cautious. up to a point! Caution advised Too much caution 14

15 We could lose control! It s not natural! Gene transfer between species? whatisgnetic.com 15

16 GE plants widely available for more than 20 years. Arctic Apple What about GE animals? 16

17 Genetically modified EnviroPigreduces phosphorus pollution Transgenic Res Apr;22(2): Genetically modified chickenresists bird flu transmission Suppression of Bird Flu Transmission in Transgenic Chickens (Lyall et al. Sciene 2011, 331:223 6; picture from The Roslin Institute) 17

18 Genetically modified AquAdvantage salmon grows 2 4 times faster From Ball, Food and Drug Journal 2013, Vol 268, page 281 Genetic modification to benefit animal welfare Genetic horn removal Horns Scurs Polled 18

19 Non transgenic transgenic Courtesy of K. Folta UFL 19

20 Natural or unnatural? 20

21 Genetically modified cattlefaster, more efficient growth. Courtesy of Dr. Chuck Long, Texas A & M University Is genetic engineering risky? Hazard versus Risk 21

22 Let s be clear about the safety of GE food. There is not one documented case of someone falling ill or in any way experiencing any negative health effects from consuming GE foods since they were introduced in

23 GE crops reduce pesticide use. Insecticide use in the US is way down 23

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25 Post hoc, ergo propter hoc ( after this, therefore because of this ) 9/28/ gmoanswers.com 25

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27 Take Home Messages The fact that a crop or animal is produced using genetic modification tells us absolutely nothing about the risks or benefits of that plant or animal It s a process. Each GMO must be evaluated individually (AND IS) for its benefits and risks and the regulatory path must be clear and science based. GMO are not the only solution to feeding a growing population sustainably, but they are an essential tool to that end. 27

28 The future? Young people care more about the environment than they fear technology. 28