Genetically modified crops have greater benefits than herbicides

The wild plants may have an herbicide resistance advantage.

Credit to Xiao Yang
A well-known method of the genetic modification of plants to make them herbicide resistant is found to confer advantages to the weedy varieties of rice even when the herbicide isn't in use. This suggests that the genetic modification may also have potential to affect wild animals.

Many varieties of crops have been genetically engineered to be resistant to the glyphosate.https://www.kohnan-eshop.com/shop/g/g4957919634894/ The herbicide, initially known as Roundup it was released on the market in the year 1996 under the trade name Roundup. This allows farmers to remove the majority of herbicides from their fields, without harming their crops.

Glyphosate hinders growth of plants through blocking an enzyme, known as EPSP synthase. It is involved in the production of certain amino acids and other molecules that account for about 35% of the plant's mass. The genetic modification technique, which is used by Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops, which are located in St Louis (Missouri), generally involves inserting genes into a crop's DNA to increase EPSP synthase's production. Genes are usually derived from bacteria that are infected with plants.

The extra EPSP synthase lets the plant be resistant to the effects of glyphosate. Biotechnology labs are also attempting to utilize genes that come from plants instead of bacteria to increase EPSP synthase. This is mainly due to the US law permits regulatory approval to allow organisms with transgenes to be approved.

There aren't many studies that have examined whether transgenes such as those that confer resistance to glyphosate could -- after they are wild or weedy relatives by cross-pollination -- make those plants more competitive in terms of survival and reproduction. Norman Ellstrand, a University of California plant geneticist states that without competition, any kind of transgene could be expected to confer disadvantage on wild plants. The added machinery will decrease fitness.

https://shop.takii.co.jp/products/detail/MSH992 Lu Baorong (an ecologist at Fudan University, Shanghai) has now challenged that view. It has proven that resistance to glyphosate can provide a significant fitness boost to the weedy rice crop known as Oryza sativa even when not being used.

Lu and his associates modified cultivars of rice to produce more EPSP synthase. They also crossed the modified rice with a weedy-related. Their work was published in NewPhytologist 1..

The researchers allowed offspring of crossbreeding to crossbreed with each other, creating second-generation hybrids genetically identical to each other except for the amount of copies the gene encodes EPSP synase. As expected, those with more copies expressed higher amounts of the enzyme, and produced more of the amino acid tryptophan than their unmodified counterparts.

Researchers also discovered that transgenics have higher rates, had more flowers and 48-125% more seeds/plant than nontransgenics.

Lu believes that making weedy, aggressive rice more competitive could hinder farmers to recover from the harm caused by this insect.

Brian Ford-Lloyd, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK, says "If the EPSP synthase gene is introduced to wild rice varieties their genetic diversity is crucial for conserving, could be endangered because it will surpass the regular varieties." "This is one the most clear instances of the highly probable negative effects (of GM crops] upon the natural environment."

https://www.ikeda-green.com/item/gaichu-33/ Many people believe that plants with genetically modified genes containing more than one copy of their genes than those from microorganisms are more safe. This belief is also challenged by this study. Lu states that "our study is not proving that this is true."

https://www.komeri.com/disp/CKmSfGoodsPageMain_001.jsp?GOODS_NO=1013169 Researchers have said that this discovery requires reconsideration of the regulation for genetically modified crops. Ellstrand believes that biosafety regulations can be relaxed since we can benefit from a high degree of security from two decades of genetic engineering. The study does not prove that new products are safe.