Tag: Genetics
But, how safe is it? On transgenics, cisgenics, and mutants.
Good news from Africa – “Scientists and crop researchers at Kenya´s Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) developed the new wheat seeds over the past decade. Through a process called ‘mutation plant breeding’, they applied radiation-based techniques to modify crop characteristics and traits.” In 2001, KARI plant breeders released Njoro-BW1, their first mutant wheat variety. It is…
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Mini-chromosomes
Where a transgene incorporates into a plant’s chromosomes can not be controlled. So, scientists have to transform many plants, and hope that at least one individual didn’t have the transgene interrupt a native gene. One solution to this problem is called a mini-chromosome. This technique uses the natural centromere sequence of an organism to build…
Teosintes are a puzzlebox of genes
Teosinte is a so-called primitive version of corn. Basically it’s corn’s version of our monkey, but corn and teosinte can still interbreed. To a corn breeder, teosinte is a puzzle box of genes that have been lost from maize cultivars. What secrets wait for us to discover? We could find disease resistance, drought resistance, improved…