Agricultural biotechnology is a science that includes modifying organisms by manipulating, replacing or removing genes. Up next, see an example of a genetically modified food.
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The intentions of genetic modification often are noble. For example, what if we had a seedless tomato? Or one that would be juicy and delicious while also matching the size of the burger patty? Would it be worth it? What are we willing to sacrifice to improve the flavor, convenience or abundance of the foods we love most?
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Advances in agricultural biology could make it possible to create hearty varieties of plants that are able to survive in barren ground instead of lush, fertile soil. This would mean more crops, and thus, more food to go around.
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Are foods that have been genetically modified safe to eat? In most cases, yes -- you're probably not eating a plant that's been dipped directly into a mysterious chemical solution. However, it's important that any new crops are tested again and again to ensure that they're as nutritious as possible.
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Some critics of agricultural biotechnology say it's unnatural and dangerous.
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This scientist is out in the field, so to speak, to examine cotton plants. Cotton resistant to insects was commercialized in 1996. Cottonseed oil is a common genetically modified food product that has fueled its own controversy.
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How do scientists create genetically modified foods? It's not easy, but it's getting easier every day because of genomics, or the study of how genes make up an organism. Scientists have mapped all of the genomes in a human. It took them five years to map the first plant -- the mustard weed.
Image Credit: National Institutes of Health/National Human Genome Project
Agricultural biotechnology is a technique used to alter living organisms in an effort to make or modify products; improve plants or animals; or develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses. The practice provides farmers with tools that can make production cheaper and more manageable. Here, plant pathologist Frank Martin studies cultures of different root pathogens that can reduce yields of strawberries grown in poorly or non-fumigated soil.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
Ranchers in California set aside portions of their farms for studies to find alternatives to the pesticide methyl bromide. Scientists Carolee Bull (right) and Adria Bordas assess different biologically based methods for weed and disease control at a strawberry ranch.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
In Salinas, Calif., geneticist Robert Lewellen and technician Jose Orozco study different ways to breed sugar beets for disease resistance.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
Canola berries fall into the realm of common genetically modified foods. Canola oil has the lowest saturated fat content of all the common edible oils, and it has no trans fats.
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Genetically modifying plants can help reduce disease and create healthier crops. Here, plant pathologist Stephen Alderman (left) and Bill Pfender compare a rust-resistant tall fescue (seen in magnifying lens) with a variety that is susceptible to the disease.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
This won't hurt a bit. As corny as it sounds, genetically modified foods have upset the apple cart. Science can alter foods to add desired qualities, but who's to say it's safe?
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Republic of Moldovia scientist Sergiu Cealic works to map the genetics of eastern gamagrass. If scientists can determine the specific location of the genes that control aerenchyma (the air channels in the roots that allow the exchange of gases between the shoot and the root), those genes may eventually be transferred into corn.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
Soybeans are extremely versatile crops, and they are constantly being genetically modified. In fact, more than half of the world's soybean crops have been modified, and the beans are used to feed both humans and livestock.
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Plant pathologist Scott Abney (left) and research assistant Tom Richards study the growth of soybeans inoculated with field isolates of Phytophthora sojae, a soil-borne plant pathogen that causes stem and root rot.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
Entomologist Robert Mangan and technician Jaya Cummaragunta study the effects of CA gas injections on mangos. The hope is that injecting the fruits with the CA gas will help extend their shelf life.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
More CA-treated mangos are studied by plant physiologist Krista Shellie. Here she's examining circled areas and measuring the fruit's color at the same spot before and after the CA treatment.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service
This researcher is checking on containers that hold tiny experimental peach and apple trees grown from lab-cultured cells to which researchers have given new genes.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
In the Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) study near Phoenix, Ariz., scientists measure the growth of wheat surrounded by elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The study, which is the largest experiment of its kind ever undertaken, is meant to measure carbon dioxide's effect on plants.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Lignocellulose in switchgrass (pictured) or other plants may one day become biofuels that can be distributed through the existing pipeline and gas station infrastructure.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
At Michigan State University, researchers are assessing the possibility of a variety of bioenergy crops for their yield and quality, impacts on microbial-plant interactions, and biogeochemical and biodiversity responses.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Here, Michigan State University's Ming W. Lau is hard at work on a genetically modified yeast strain capable of producing ethanol from glucose and xylose.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Michigan State University has developed a procedure in which rutabaga plants are engineered to convert carbohydrates into oil.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
If the United States plans to use biofuels in the future, we'll need to grow large-scale crops of perennial grasses. The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers are currently studying several species of perennial woody plants and grasses that grow best in different regions of the country.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
On Jan. 31, 2010, farmers and Greenpeace activists gathered together dressed up as Bt brinjal eggplants when Indian environment Minister Jairam Ramesh visited a public hearing on a genetically modified eggplant crop. India halted its commercial release on Ramesh's suggestion.
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Bees, among other creatures, are incredibly important and highly adapted pollinators. How genetically modified organisms will fit into the picture is hard to predict.
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Rex Spray is a regional winner of a sustainability award presented by the USDA. An organic farmer since the 1970s, Spray rotates soybeans, corn, wheat and hay with alternating grasses and legumes to improve fertility and even build soil.
Image Credit: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), USDA
It's easy to tell what the scientists are thinking, but what about the poor hen? Maybe she's even seeing double. Cloning and genetic modification are hot topics around the world, and bioethics is a big concern. Who can you believe?
Now that you've seen agricultural biotechnology in pictures, test your knowledge by taking our plant genomics quiz!
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