Genetic modification

3. Applications of new GM

The first major product of new GM was developed in 1982, for the production of human insulin by bacteria for the treatment of diabetes. In 1990, the first GM food product, an enzyme employed in cheese making, was approved for use in the USA. In 1994 the first food product was sold commercially, the so-called FlavrSavr tomato, that had reduced activity of a gene essential for ripening. The development of GM animals with disrupted gene function is providing numerous insights into the molecular basis of disease, and there is the distinct possibility of modifying pigs to provide organs for human transplants.

Recent commercial applications of new GM include the introduction of herbicide tolerance into crops such as soya bean and oilseed rape, and the ability to synthesize insecticidal proteins in cotton and maize. Many other applications of new GM are being developed, including conferral of the ability to make antibodies in fruits and the ability to decontaminate polluted land by degrading organic pollution. New GM also provides opportunities to alter the composition of food to increase its nutritive value, such as increasing the mineral and vitamin content of grain (e.g. ’ golden rice’). Increases in food production are also possible, by improving overall plant qualities (e.g. dwarfing rice) and by increasing tolerance to biotic stresses (pests and diseases) and abiotic stresses (e.g. low temperature, drought or salinity).