01-22-2014, 12:19 PM
“Mutations happen all the time in nature”
GM proponents say, “Mutations happen all the time in nature as a result of various natural exposures, for example, to ultraviolet light, so mutations caused by genetic engineering of plants are not a problem.”
In fact, mutations occur infrequently in nature.9 And comparing natural mutations with those that occur during the GM transformation process is like comparing apples and oranges. Every plant species has encountered natural mutagens, including certain types and levels of ionizing radiation and chemicals, throughout its natural history and has evolved mechanisms for preventing, repairing, and minimising the impacts of mutations caused by such agents. But plants have not evolved mechanisms to repair or compensate for the insertional mutations that occur during genetic modification. Also, the high frequency of mutations caused by tissue culture during the GM process is likely to overwhelm the repair mechanisms of crop plants.
Natural recombination events that move large stretches of DNA around a plant’s genome do occur. But these involve DNA sequences that are already part of the plant’s own genome, not DNA that is foreign to the species.
9. Jain SM. Mutagenesis in crop improvement under the climate change. Romanian Biotechnological Letters. 2010; 15(2): 88–106.
- Armed citizens provide security of a free State.
GM proponents say, “Mutations happen all the time in nature as a result of various natural exposures, for example, to ultraviolet light, so mutations caused by genetic engineering of plants are not a problem.”
In fact, mutations occur infrequently in nature.9 And comparing natural mutations with those that occur during the GM transformation process is like comparing apples and oranges. Every plant species has encountered natural mutagens, including certain types and levels of ionizing radiation and chemicals, throughout its natural history and has evolved mechanisms for preventing, repairing, and minimising the impacts of mutations caused by such agents. But plants have not evolved mechanisms to repair or compensate for the insertional mutations that occur during genetic modification. Also, the high frequency of mutations caused by tissue culture during the GM process is likely to overwhelm the repair mechanisms of crop plants.
Natural recombination events that move large stretches of DNA around a plant’s genome do occur. But these involve DNA sequences that are already part of the plant’s own genome, not DNA that is foreign to the species.
9. Jain SM. Mutagenesis in crop improvement under the climate change. Romanian Biotechnological Letters. 2010; 15(2): 88–106.
- Armed citizens provide security of a free State.