Recent Research Initiatives in GM Crops- Environment Impact

While recent research efforts have been in the areas of higher agricultural production, build a resistance to insects, as well as improving the nutritional value and content of the plants, efforts are also to address issues of environment and improve efficiency in the agricultural sector . A little effort, as in this area and are connected:

Increased antioxidant content. Several other content related to tomatoes have been increased, as is the case of soybeans. These nutrients are known to improve health or prevent disease. The research in this area is in a relatively early stage of development, as knowledge of the inner content is still limited and not all plant nutrients are beneficial for human consumption.

Environmental stress. Tolerance to environmental stresses by genetic modification is an area that is in the early stages of R & D. Resistance to salinity and drought are the subject of intense research. Salinity is estimated to affect 20% of agricultural land and 40% of irrigated land worldwide. Salt and drought tolerance involve many genes interact in complex requiring endless effort to unravel the mystery. Because of this multigenic character, traditional breeding techniques have had little success in creating varieties of salt or drought tolerant. tolerance to salt sensitive crops may be conferred on the transfer of multiple genes linked to an appropriate way in a plant tolerant. The expected time frame for commercialization of GM crops is not known, research is still in its infancy and there are complex issues that are faced by scientists.

The tolerance of aluminum (a limiting factor for growth in acid soils) is in the initial phase of R & D for crops, including papaya, tobacco, rice and corn, but should not be used commercially for many years.

Attempts have been made to improve the photosynthesis in plants through genetic modification. Crops such as corn and sugar cane are more efficient in converting energy into sugars that most broadleaf plants. With the introduction of genes for photosynthesis from one culture to another more efficient, the efficiency could be improved by 10% with better performance.

Characteristics of male sterility have been introduced to obtain 100% hybrid seed planting to contain the environmental impact of GM crops. Male sterile maize varieties have been approved for marketing in the United States. In addition, several male sterile oilseed rape and canola varieties were approved for environmental release and food use in the European Union (EU), Canada and the United States. Another strategy to contain the flow of genes between plants of the attempts to introduce the spread of asexual seed (seed production without pollination).