Quick Facts…
- Genetic modification (GM) technology allows transfer of genes for specific traits between species using laboratory techniques.
- GM crops were first introduced within the U.S. in mid-1990s. Most current GM crops grown within the U.S. are engineered for insect resistance or herbicide tolerance. Corn, soybeans, and cotton are the three largest acreage GM crops.
- GM crops grown in Colorado include corn, alfalfa, sugar beet, soybeans, and canola.
- Potential future applications of the technology include nutritional enhancements, stress tolerance, disease resistance, biofuel efficiency, and remediation of polluted sites.
- GM crops are regulated at federal level by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and therefore the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), each authoritatively to oversee specific aspects of the crops and their products.
What are GM crops?
The term genetically modified (GM), because it is usually used, refers to the transfer of genes between organisms employing a series of laboratory techniques for cloning genes, splicing DNA segments together, and inserting genes into cells.
What are potential GM crops of the future?
Some potential applications of GM crop technology are:
- Nutritional enhancement: Higher vitamin content; more healthful carboxylic acid profiles;
- Stress tolerance: Tolerance to high and low temperatures, salinity, and drought;
- Disease resistance: For instance, orange trees immune to citrus greening disease or American chestnut trees immune to fungal blight;
- Biofuels: Plants with altered cell membrane composition for more efficient conversion to ethanol;
- Phytoremediation: Plants that extract and concentrate contaminants like heavy metals from polluted sites.
