Selective Breeding, Zinc Fingers and Mutagenesis as Alternatives to GMOs

Alternatives to GM seeds include a selective breeding technique that introduces no foreign DNA such as that used in GM seeds. The technology uses old-school practices in which plants with desirable characteristics such as longer shelf life or resistance to insects are crossbred to create new, hardier specimens. The new twist to the old technique is the use of genetic markers, which make it much easier to isolate plants with a positive trait along with the gene that causes it. Newly grown plants can also be quickly tested for the presence of the isolated gene. The technology cuts traditional selective breeding time in half.

A number of companies are utilizing gene markers in their breeding programs. Arcadia Biosciences (www.arcadiabio.com) developed seeds for wheat, under the brand GoodWheat, that can be eaten by people with the intestinal disorder called Celiac Disease, which affects 1% of Americans and 4% of Europeans. Arcadia has also developed technologies that enable crops to utilize nitrogen (part of common fertilizers) more efficiently, thus reducing the amount of fertilizer needed overall. It is working to develop plants that use water more efficiently, thus producing high crop yields in low water conditions. It has even developed technology that enables plants to be irrigated with saltwater.

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