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Scientific Basis for Biotech Crops
Citation:
VanEmon, J. Scientific Basis for Biotech Crops. American Chemical Society National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 16 - 21, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
Efforts to change the genetic makeup of plants have been ongoing since the beginning of agriculture, thousands of years ago. Early plant improvements relied on simply cross-breeding cultivars with desired traits. Advancements in mutation breeding through chemicals and radiation have led to varietals still on the market today. Over 3200 mutagenic plant varietals were officially released between 1930 and 2014. Of this number, over 1,000 mutant varietals are of major staple crops being grown worldwide. However, plants developed via mutagenic processes or cross breeding, possess random multiple and unspecific genetic changes often leading to thousands of undersirable plants to finally obtain the ones with the desired traits. This high background noise has lead to searches for more efficient and controllable ways to transfer genetic traits among plants. Biotechnology tools such as omics (i.e., genomics, proteomics, transctriptomics, metabolomics) provide insights to the molecular mechanisms of insect resistance to pesticides, and the tolerance of plants to herbicides. Linking genes to traits provides more scientific certainty leading to improved cultivars and an understanding of the mechanisms of drought tolerance, insect and weed resistance, and other traits necessary to thrive in harsh environments. The increased knowledge and insights gained from plant omic studies are leading to unexpected discoveries, conceptual advances, and a scientific basis for understanding plant biology for the development of new cultivars.
