GMO foods are the order of the day. Still, they are often viewed by the general public as a product of a dystopian society and therefore tend to be shunned. It is natural, the human being fears what he does not know. Modifying something as established as the genetic code of what surrounds us cannot be good, right?
Thus, different interviews have shown that the rejection of these foods is greater, since 33.4% of those interviewed think that they bring more harm than good, while their acceptance corresponds to only 22.8%. This issue is full of lights and shadows to clarify, but first, it is necessary to clarify what a transgenic is.
What are transgenic foods?
They are those foods that have been produced from an organism modified by genetic engineering, and to which genes from another living being have been incorporated to produce the desired characteristics. Thus, we see that not all commercial foods fall within this definition.
You have to know how to differentiate between genetic and transgenic selection. There are many foods that are products of the intentional crossing of plants with the best possible genetics (those with the largest seeds, the most striking fruits, the best colors, etc.), and these are not considered transgenic.
In order for them to meet this condition, their genome must have been artificially modified in some way. It may sound complex and in fact it is, so we are going to limit the explanation of how a transgenic is produced to its most basic concepts.
The bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is capable of transferring genetic information to plants, entering through lesions produced in them. It is located in its intercellular spaces and introduces genetic information in the form of a plasmid, which is integrated into some area of the plant’s genome.
Thus, this bacterium acts as a vehicle for the transmission of DNA. The plasmid it transmits has been modified in advance by introducing genetic information from apparently another bacterium with the desired trait.
Bacteria with initial trait- Plasmid within Agrobacterium- Plant genome
This is a simple way to understand one of the most widespread methods of GMO production.
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