Concept explainers
Improving the nutritional value of food has long been one of the goals in agricultural genetics. Crossing different strains of plants and animals followed by generations of artificial selection have yielded some successes, including the development of high-protein maize. The use of gene transfer
Scientists are now turning their attention to using gene transfer technology to nutritionally enhance animal foods. Recently, biotechnology was used to produce a sheep with increased amounts of an omega-3 essential fatty acid that plays an important role in the development of the nervous system and, in adults, reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. Once a small number of transgenic animals have been produced, they can be bred by conventional methods to establish a source of nutritionally enhanced meat and milk.
The use of biotechnology is presenting consumers with many new choices, which will become more common in the future. Increasingly, we will all have to educate ourselves about the pros and cons of such decisions.
How would you explain your decision to eat nutritionally enhanced meat from animals modified by biotechnology?
To explain: The choice of eating nutritionally improved meat of the animals that are modified by biotechnology.
Introduction: The alteration in a DNA sequence of an organism by using the genetic engineering techniques results in the formation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The motive behind the formation of GMOs is to obtain the enhanced quality products from the animals and also provide resistance to the animals from the unfavorable conditions.
Explanation of Solution
The field of biology that deals with the enhancement in the production rate of the animal products are genetic engineering and biotechnology. These branches have applications in increasing the nutritional value of the food products that are produced by animals and plants.
The crossing between the varieties of strains of animals followed by the generations of artificial selection has produced some success in the production of genetically modified organism. A genetically modified sheep was produced which has increased amount of an omega-3 fatty acid in its meat. Omega-3 fatty acid play an important role in the development of nervous system. In adults, omega-3 decreases the risk of coronary artery disease.
Animals produced by the modification in their gene have increased values of essential substrates that are important for the growth and development.
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Chapter 13 Solutions
Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Course List)
- Improving the nutritional value of food has long been one of the goals in agricultural genetics. Crossing different strains of plants and animals followed by generations of artificial selection have yielded some successes, including the development of high-protein maize. The use of gene transfer biotechnology has led to other advances, including the creation of nutritionally enhanced rice to combat vitamin A deficiency and blindness. Researchers are now turning their attention to the nutritional enhancement of animals that are used as food. Scientists are now turning their attention to using gene transfer technology to nutritionally enhance animal foods. Recently, biotechnology was used to produce a sheep with increased amounts of an omega-3 essential fatty acid that plays an important role in the development of the nervous system and, in adults, reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. Once a small number of transgenic animals have been produced, they can be bred by conventional methods to establish a source of nutritionally enhanced meat and milk. The use of biotechnology is presenting consumers with many new choices, which will become more common in the future. Increasingly, we will all have to educate ourselves about the pros and cons of such decisions. On the other hand, how would you explain your preference for meat from animals without higher levels of beneficial fatty acids?arrow_forwardGenetic engineering has been a debatable topic in science as many people are only aware of its risk than benefits. Which among the scenarios below are the benefits of using GMOs? I. Genetic engineering in food can be used to alter genes in crops leading to new diseases in pants. II. Genetic engineering in crops such as rice, corn and tomato can be used to obtain new strains with better nutritional qualities. III. Genetic engineering in food can be used to create totally the same substances such as proteins and other food nutrients. IV. Genetic engineering can be used to increase the immunity to diseases in plants leading to uncontrolled transfer of the resistance genes to the harmful pathogens. V. Genetic engineering can restrict the diversity in organisms. VI. Genetic engineering can be used to suppress negative traits in human like certain genetic diseases. a. II, III, IV and VI b. II, III and VI c. I, II, IV and V d. I, III,…arrow_forwardGenetic engineering applied for generating food sources is said to be different from traditional breeding. Which of the following is different in the case of genetic engineering? It always involves the mixing of different genes from similar species. It mixes genes of different organisms such as viruses and crops, spiders, and goats. It selects from the combination of genes that recombine on their own It involves the gene of the whole organism.arrow_forward
- Before, plant breeding was done by crossing the genes of two plants with desirable characteristics. This technique has been successful in producing improved varieties of crop plants, but it is time consuming and complicated. Because of genetic engineering, these problems can now be avoided. Plants are inserted with "super" genes to exhibit improved or better traits compared to their ordinary counterparts. These plants are therefore called transgenic plants. Plant Improved Quality or Characteristic 1. Rice Resistant to pests, drought, and insecticides 2. Grape 3. Рарaya 4. Corn 5. Orchid 6. Mangoarrow_forwardGenetically modifying seeds to produce herbicide-resistant plants that increase crop yields has revolutionized modern agriculture. However, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have come under fire in recent years, with consumer groups calling for mandatory GMO labeling on all food packages that contain GMO ingredients. GMO labeling laws have been in force in the European Union and other countries for several years, but the threat to the U.S. food industry is only now surfacing. Although bills requiring GMO labeling have been introduced in many state legislatures, Vermont is the only state where such a law has so far withstood the first round of legal battles from the industry. Leading chemical companies, including Monsanto, BASF, and DuPont, are the world’s largest suppliers of seeds that grow the food that feeds the world. To counter the GMO labeling threat, they now are turning to mutagenesis as an alternative technique to create herbicide-resistant crops. Mutagenesis mimics the…arrow_forwardTo create genetically modified organisms (often called GMOS) scientists directly manipulate the genes of an organism, often by inserting or deleting one or more genes. The inserted gene is usually from another species. The purpose of this manipulation is to give the target organism and its offspring a new trait that improves it in some way. The improvement might, for example, give the organism higher vitamin content. The process is called genetic engineering. 1. What are genetically modified organisms? 2. What is Genetic engineering?arrow_forward
- Briefly discuss the following concerns of Biotechnology;(i) Monoclonal antibodies technology versus gene technology for cancer treatment.(ii) Traditional plant breeding versus Gene technology: Which is the more efficient way for pesticide resistant crop production?(iii) Chemical technology versus Enzyme technology in industrial application.(iv) Are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) a threat to the environment?arrow_forward(11) Genetic engineering utilized to create food sources has been said to be both like and unlike traditional breeding. One way it is different is: (a) It mixes genes from different individuals of the same or similar species (b) It involves whole organisms living in the field (c) It selects from combinations of genes that come together on their own (d) It mixes genes of different organisms such as viruses and crops, or spiders and goatsarrow_forwardWhat modern-day problem can be solved by Genetic Engineering? Explain the unique characteristics will be exhibited by the GMO that will solve the problem. Briefly describe each.arrow_forward
- Genetic engineering of plants provides an opportunity to alter their properties or performance in order to improve upon their utility. Such technology may be used to modify the expression of genes already present in the plants, or to introduce new genes of other species with which the plant cannot be bred conventionally. In fact, humans have engaged in genetic manipulation for millennia, producing plant and animal varieties through selective breeding and hybridization that significantly modify genomes of organisms. How has this technology created novel genetic information by specific alteration of cloned genes? (provide an example). Why do you think modern genetic engineering, has met with so much opposition? Should some forms of genetic engineering be of greater concern than others? Explain. In your response provide a specific example from literature to describe the implications of this technology (good or bad).arrow_forwardThink of a modern-day problem that can be solved by Genetic Engineering. Say you are the genetic engineer tasked to create a GMO to solve this problem, what unique characteristics (at least 3) will it exhibit? Describe each.arrow_forwardGenetic engineering has been used in many different ways, such as human growth hormone for the treatment of pituitary dwarfism (recombinant DNA) plants engineered to be resistant to herbicides and pests an “antifreeze” gene inserted into some Atlantic salmon and halibut pick one of the examples of genetic engineering listed above to expand on. Provide a description of the technology in terms of how it works and what steps are takenarrow_forward
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