You’re enjoying a refreshing strawberry smoothie, its rich red color swirling in the glass, thanks to genetic engineering that enhances the fruit’s hue. Such scenes are no longer rare as genetic engineering is transforming the world of agriculture. Bioluminescent animals to cabbages secreting scorpion venom, the market is full of innovations that push the conventional boundaries of biology and agriculture.
Genetic engineering or genetic modification refers to the process of altering the DNA code of an organism to introduce new traits. As the CRISPR/Cas9 technology tool has demonstrated, precision gene editing allows scientists to control crop quality by finding the right balance of crop qualities such as looks, taste, and nutrients. The tool works like molecular scissors, where scientists can snip, insert, or modify segments of DNA with incredibly high precision.
Consider the example of the Enviropig, a genetically engineered pig with enhanced phosphorus digestion that minimizes pollution in the environment. Scientists at the University of Guelph developed the Enviropig and made it to secrete phytase through its salivary glands using E. coli genes and mouse promoter sequence. The technology is applied to address the environmental problem of phosphorus runoff from pig manure, creating toxic algae blooms in water. While the Enviropig offers a solution to phosphorus pollution, it also has concerns of economic feasibility and market acceptability problems for genetically modified animals. Commercialization of the animal has regulatory approval and popular acceptability problems as raised by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.
Similarly, AquaBounty’s genetically altered salmon with doubled growth rate over conventionally bred salmon illustrates the potential of genetic engineering for food security. By introducing a Chinook salmon growth hormone and an ocean pout promoter, this salmon accelerates to market size, which may reduce pressures of overfishing. Its safety and impact on the environment remain controversial, nonetheless, Living Oceans states.
Besides animals, genetic modification is also transforming plant farming. Edible vaccines, for instance, provide a different route from conventional vaccinations. Researchers have managed to genetically engineer crops like bananas and potatoes to produce vaccines against diseases such as hepatitis B and cholera. Edible vaccines trigger the body’s immune system when ingested, and they provide people with a needle-free and affordable way of protection against diseases. But their use is problematic since they are derived from genetically modified crops, and thus regulatory approval processes become complicated, as in the case of Edible Vaccines: Promises and Challenges.
Genetic engineering applications extended to environmental cleansing, too. Researchers at the University of Washington are developing transgenic poplar trees that can absorb and degrade groundwater pollutants using a natural process of purification. Transgenic trees can eliminate aqueous solutions up to 91% from trichloroethylene, illustrating how genetically modified organisms could offer solutions to environmental issues.
With increasing developments in genetic engineering, not only does it promise potential opportunity, but it also creates questions of ethics. Producing animals with human genetic diseases, e.g., the implantation of cerebral matter in mice and luminescent cats, questions the nature of tampering with life on a basic level. Though such developments hold promise for human health and coexistence with nature, they have to be critiqued on whether they would ultimately impact society and nature in a positive manner.
The journey from fluorescent cats to toxic cabbages demonstrates the immense potential of genetic engineering. As researchers and business leaders advance these technologies, they must guide the complex dance between science, ethics, and public opinion so that the benefits of these technologies are reaped responsibly and sustainably.
