Muhammad Umair Yasin*1, Hina Ahmed Malik2.
1Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
2Soil Agriculture Research Center Lab D-138, Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
*Corresponding author’s email: [email protected]
Introduction
Transgenic plants are those plants, whose DNA is modified by genetic engineering methods. The purpose is to introduce a new trait to the plant that does not occur naturally in the species. A transgenic plant contains a gene or no. of genes which have been artificially put-in. The inserted gene succession is called transgene. It may come from different plant or from a completely un-related species. The prospect of inserting a sequence of genes in a plant is to produce it as useful and productive as possible so far as. This phenomenon provides benefits like enhancing shelf life, higher yield, better quality, pest resistance, tolerant to heat, cold and drought resistance, up-to a variety of biotic and a-biotic stresses. These plants can also be produced in another way that they show foreign proteins with industrial and pharmaceutical attributes. Those Plants which are made up of vaccines or antibodies plants are free of human diseases, so mitigating screening expenses for viruses and bacteria toxins. The first transgenic plant was documented in 1983. Since then, Numerous recombinant proteins have been evinced in many important agronomic species of plants including, canola. corn, tomato, potato, banana, alfalfa and tobacco.
Production of transgenic crops
Genetically modified plants are produced in a laboratory by changing the genetic-make-up, often by adding single or no. of genes of a plant’s genome. The nucleus of the plant cell is the target point for new transgenic DNA. The Gene Gun method is also known as the “Biolistic” method is most commonly use in the species like rice and corn.
In this technique, DNA is bound to the small particles of Gold and Tungsten, which is afterwards shoot into plant tissue, under high pressure using the gun. The speeded up particles are intermingled into the cell wall and membranes. The DNA reprint from the coated metal and it incorporate into the plant genome interior the nucleus. This method has been used for no. of crops especially for monocots e.g. wheat and maize for which transfer of using (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) has been less successful. This method safe and clean. The only drawback of this process is that severe damage can be occurring to the cellular tissue.
The succeeding method used for the production of genetically modified plants is the “Agrobacterium” method. It affects the use of abode bacteria, called as Agrobacterium tumefaciens. It has the attribute to taint plant cells with a part of its DNA. The part of DNA infects the plant is incorporated into a plant chromosome, through a Ti plasmid. The Ti plasmid can regulate the plant’s cellular system and use it to make several copies of its own bacterial DNA. Ti plasmid is a larger round DNA particle that replicates apart of the bacterial chromosome. The significance of this plasmid is that, it contains locations of transfer DNA (t DNA), on the other hand a researcher can put a gene, which can be shifted to a plant cell through a phenomenon known as the “floral dip”. This process is beneficial, because it is a natural process of shifting and therefore it is a more acceptable technique. “Agrobacterium” is able to transferring large parts of DNA very effectively. There is serious limitation of Agrobacterium is that, not all significant food crops can be infected by these bacteria. This technique works especially good for the dicot plants like tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco plants.
Advantages of Transgenic plants
Genetically modified Technology has been used to evolve a variety of crop plants. As the world population continues to increasing day by day, food becoming a limited resource. This technique offers important benefits by enhancing yield, mitigating transportation expenses and increasing the nutritional contents. Innovations, resulting in commercially produced varieties in countries like USA and Canada, have focus on hash out resistance to insect, pests or viruses and producing tolerance to specific herbicides. While these attributes had benefits for the farmers, it has been hard for the farmers to observed any benefit other than these. In confined cases, a decreased price owing to reduced cost and increased ease of production.
