Plant Engineering

• What are transgenic plants?

  Plants with other genes inserted into it.

  Studying the crown galls of Agrobacterium tumfaciens has developed this field
• What causes crown gall tumors?

  Agrobacterium tumfaciens, a soil dwelling bacterium. Enters the wound of dicot plants and causes an overproduction of cytokines and auxins.
• What mediates the formation of these galls?

  Ti Plasmids that the bacterium inject into the plant. It is a tumor inducing plasmid with genes for cytokinin and auxin production.
• What makes A. Tumefaciens a good vector?

  Genetic transferring by inserting other DNA strands into its plasmid.
• How are modified cells isolated from non-modified cells?

  Herbicide resistance gene is added
• How have plants been modified?

  Corn, soybeans, cotton, and canola have been modified with insect and herbicide resistance genes
• How has golden rice been modified?

  Has had beta carotene production genes inserted (vitamin a precursor)
• What are the pros of transgenic plants?

  Fewer chemicals are used in the field
• What are the cons of transgenic plants?

  Biodiversity loss, farmers still use chemicals, terminator genes, herbicide resistance can be transferred to weeds, patent issues