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BIOTECHNOLOGY
……A.Sulthana begum
Biotechnology is defined as the use of micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi,
yeast in a way to perform certain industrial and biological process.
Applications include the production of certain drugs, synthetic hormones, and
bulk foodstuffs as well as the bioconversion of organic waste and the use of genetically
altered bacteria in the cleanup of oil spills. Besides its numerous application and
advantages there are some problems in it.
PROBLEMS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY:
Studies are indicating that the profitability of GE crops for farmers may not be as
expected. A report on over 8000 university-based field studies has found lower yields and
increased use of herbicide compared to conventionally bred soy.
Connection between glyphosate (Roundup from Monsanto) and Cancer:
A recent study by oncologists Dr. Lennart Hardell and Dr. Mikael Eriksson in
Sweden, concluded that exposure to the herbicide glyphosate was associated with
increased risk for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), a kind of cancer. They stress that
with the rapidly increasing use of glyphosate since the time the study was carried out,
further epidemiological studies should be done. (15 March 1999 Journal of American
Cancer Society). Plants resistant to Glyphosate represent a considerable portion of
genetically engineered crops.
Some farmers in the US have, independently of each other, reported cases of
cattle and other animals avoiding GE crops as food. In one case the cattle went through a
field of RoundUp ready corn, not touching it and broke through a fence and ate non-GE
corn. In another case weight loss occurred in the cattle after switching to GE feed. An
organic farmer says he had a great problem with deer eating his non-GE soy beans, while
the field with RoundUp Ready beans across the road was left untouched by them.
Likewise raccoons did not touch any Bt corn but ate plenty of non-GE corn.
Advantages include:
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The design of diagnostic kits
The creation of genome analysis tools through bioinformatics
Genetic engineering techniques to improve food crops
Molecular biology method to help understand the nature of diseases
Finding targets for drugs
Molecular breeding methods to help improve livestock
Creation of genetically modified foods to feed the ever growing world population
Use of DNA fingerprinting in the court of law
Use of the PCR reaction to clone DNA and make millions of identical copies
Use of stem cells to treat diseases
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Diagnosing genetic disorder
BT-COTTON:
Bt Cotton is produced by inserting a synthetic version of a gene from the
naturally occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, into cotton. The primary reason
this is done is to induce the plant to produce its own Bt toxin to destroy the bollworm, a
major cotton pest. The gene causes the production of Bt toxin in all parts of the cotton
plant throughout its entire life span. When the bollworm ingests any part of the plant, the
Bt cotton toxin pierces its small intestine and kills the insect.
WHY BT-COTTON WAS INTRODUCED:
When cotton farming was introduced as a lucrative alternative to food
crops in the 1980s, farmers invested in expensive varieties of seeds and pesticides. This
put small farmers in conditions of severe indebtedness, often driving them to suicide. The
spate of suicides that began from Andhra Pradesh, first in 1987 and then again in 199899, have so far taken a heavy toll, spreading to Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. This desperate situation was caused basically by the
resistance the American bollworm insect developed, to all kinds of pesticides and
pesticide cocktails. Farmers found themselves on a “pesticide treadmill' where higher
pesticide use led to greater resistance which in turn led to even higher pesticide use, an so
on. Today we find 55% of all pesticide use in India is used on the cotton crop! The intial
claims that Bt cotton plant would be resistant to the bollworm, leading to decreased
pesticide use have been proved false.
Environmental Dangers
Increased Pest Resistivity:
As the insects feeding on the Bt crops are exposed to the toxin regularly, unlike in the
case of Bt sprays where the plants are exposed to intense concentrations for short periods
of time, they are likely to develop a stronger and quicker resistance to the toxin. If this
happens, both the genes in transgenic plants and Bt sprays will be rendered ineffective.
This makes the effective life of a Bt crop not more than 2 to 3 years.
Gene flow to wild relatives:
As Bt crops are grown close to their wild relatives, it is highly possible that the Bt gene
can spread to the wild relatives through pollen transfer. The new genes in the wild plants
may produce enough toxins to ward off insects that normally feed on them. Some of the
wild plants could grow hardier and act as weeds in the fields. This technology also leads
to contamination of other species, as the transgenic plants displace other plants.
Inability to address complexity of pest attack: Farmers still need to use pesticides. Bt
Cotton produces a toxin, which is effective against the bollworm and other lepidopteron
pests. However there are a number of other secondary pests (a total estimate of 160). In
the absence of bollworm, they act as primary pests.