Download Chapter 16.7

Designer Plants
AP Biology
Fall 2010
Designer Plants

There is worldwide pressure to produce
more food at lower cost and with less
damage to the environment
Designer Plants
Some farmers are turning to genetically
engineered crop plants
 Accomplished by transferring a gene
from one species to another

Designer Plants
Cotton plants are engineered to have an
insecticide gene that kills only the
insects that feed on it
 Genetically modified wheat has greater
yields per acre
 Transgenic tomato plants survive in
unusually salty soils

Designer Plants

Engineering plant cells starts with
vectors that can carry genes into plant
cells
Designer Plants

An early experiment showed that a
plasmid from a bacterium that normally
causes tumors in plants could be
modified by replacing the tumor gene
with desirable genes
Designer Plants

Such modified bacteria have been
injected into plant cells where they
expressed their “foreign genes”
Designer Plants
Due to the increasing vulnerability of the
world’s food supply, botanists have
collected seeds of the wild ancestors of
crop plants and older, diverse varieties of
plants
 Sent them to seed banks to store and
safely preserve plant genetic diversity

Assignment

Write a 3 page paper
 Typed, double spaced , size 12 font

Topic: genetic engineering
 Pick a side pro or con (get specific)
 Introduction (thesis), body (3 ideas), conclusion
 At least 3 supporting ideas
○ Remember: idea, supporting details, how does
this relate to thesis
 At least 3 sources

http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.htm
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