Genetically modified foods - pros and cons. Abstract - "Genetically modified products" Recipes from Mother Nature

Article for the competition "bio / mol / text": Perhaps it is difficult to come up with another biological problem that would be so actively discussed in the media, in the subway car and in the queue for a loaf. GMO... These three letters, alas, are frightening and distrustful. I would like to once again dot the "e" and figure out why GMOs are needed, what are the advantages of modern genetic engineering technologies and what difficulties and precautions they are associated with.

The general sponsor of the competition, according to our crowdfunding, was an entrepreneur Konstantin Sinyushin , for which he has a huge human respect!

The sponsor of the Audience Award was Atlas.

The sponsor of the publication of this article is Yuri Viktorovich Loshkarev.

What are GMOs?

So, the site "Wikipedia" gives the following definition of GMOs: “A GMO (genetically modified organism) is an organism whose genotype has been artificially altered using genetic engineering methods. This definition can be applied to plants, animals and microorganisms. Genetic changes are usually made for scientific or economic purposes. Genetic modification is different targeted genotype change organism, in contrast to the random, characteristic of the natural and artificial mutational process ".

It is worth saying a few words about how the history of GMOs began. 1973 can be considered the year of birth of genetic engineering. Then in the laboratory of Stanley Norman Cohen, they learned to "combine and transplant" genes: into cells E. coli began to introduce recombinant circular DNA ( plasmids). These experiments showed that certain genes included in the plasmid can easily be transported to another organism, where they will work. But this technology was not used immediately in medicine and agriculture: the first recombinant drug appeared in 1982, and the first agricultural crop - in 1992. Why was this technology treated with such caution?

Recipes from Mother Nature

As you know, laziness is the engine of progress. Why invent a bicycle when there is a ready-made natural gene construct. Biotechnologists take the plasmid A. tumefaciens, cut out oncogenes from it and insert the desired (target) sequences. The deceived bacterium faithfully inserts the modified T-DNA into the plant cell and waits for it to divide and produce opines. But instead, the plant produces what man needs. For example, this "devious" approach has been able to produce drought-resistant maize MON87460. The gene was introduced into this corn cspB, which is responsible for the production of a protein that stimulates the transcription of genes necessary to overcome stress (drought in particular), and most importantly, it plays the role of an RNA chaperone that facilitates protein synthesis by “untangling” interfering secondary RNA structures. The consumer should be pleased that the taste of transgenic corn cobs does not differ from ordinary ones. The history of the bacteria's brutal deception is reflected in Figure 1.

The main disadvantage of the so-called agrobacterial transformation is the inability to control exactly where the plant DNA will integrate a new structure. But now a new technology has appeared that allows you to control this process - CRISPR / Cas9, - and you must definitely stop at it.

CRISPR / Cas9. In the image and likeness of the chromosomal

It is one of the trendiest technologies for online genome editing. Interestingly, we also borrowed this system from bacteria. Let's say a few words about the history of its discovery.

In 1987, Japanese scientists discovered regions with a regular structure in the genomes of bacteria - short identical sequences alternated with unique fragments that had nothing in common in different bacteria, even of the same species. Such sites were named CRISPR ( clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). It turned out that the CRISPR system, surprisingly, plays the role of acquired immunity in bacteria. If a virus (phage) enters the bacterium, it cuts out a fragment of the viral DNA and inserts it into its own genome, namely the CRISPR locus. This is how spacer, and at the same time - and another repeat, separating the new spacer from the previous one. According to the spacer, the bacterium then builds an RNA probe (scientifically - RNA guide), which binds to the Cas protein and floats in the cell in search of complementary nucleic acids ( protospacers). In the event that they are found, that is, the same phage invaded again, the Cas scissor protein, an endonuclease, begins to work, which cuts the recognized sequences, and therefore blocks the multiplication of the virus. In other words, if a bacterium re-encounters a virus, a fragment of which is embedded in its genome, it will be resistant to this infection.

The most simple of the CRISPR / Cas systems are type II systems, where Cas9 serves as the effector (target destroying) protein (Fig. 2). This mechanism is typical, for example, of bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes... In bacterial immune control, in addition to Cas-effectors, “patrol” proteins Cas1 and Cas2 are usually involved, which in the complex recognize the violator of cell boundaries and integrate its fragment at the very beginning (closer to the promoter) of the CRISPR locus - “for memory”. In type II systems, Cas9 apparently participates in the process of acquiring spacers, helping Cas1 / Cas2 to select the most suitable fragments.

From the above, it becomes clear why CRISPR immunity adaptive: he is improving and learning to resist new types of infection. This is also emphasized by a decrease in the efficiency of spacers as they move away from the promoter of the CRISPR locus: if many generations of bacteria have not encountered this or that agent for a long time, the “tension of immunity” to it decreases. CRISPR is an interesting example of Lamarck evolution: the events of an organism's life directly affect its DNA, altering it so that the organism becomes more adaptable.

Let's take a concrete example of how bacteria fight viruses. For example, a bacterium Streptococcus thermophilus it is used to obtain lactic acid products, but, unfortunately, it suffers from various viral infections. It is no coincidence that it was on this model organism that key experiments were carried out to refine the function of CRISPR systems. If a living culture S. thermophilus were infected with bacteriophages, most of the bacteria died, but a very small part survived. How did the survivors differ from the original culture? It turned out that their genome became 0.01% longer due to the addition of 1–4 new fragments (spacers) to the CRISPR sequence. Upon repeated infection of this culture with the same viruses, all clones survived. As if, having had a viral infection, the bacterium became a little more experienced and wrote down something important about this virus in its "medical record", and now it is not afraid of such an infection. If scientists specially cut out small fragments from the viral genome and inserted them in the form of new spacers, then the cell turned out to be immune to the original virus, even if it had never met it before.

What practical benefit could a person derive from this system? How does it work in eukaryotic cells? If you just run CRISPR / Cas9 into a cell, this system will cut both DNA strands at a place that a specially designed RNA guide will indicate, but the cut will be closed by ordinary cellular repair machines - by non-homologous connection of the ends ( non-homologous end joining, NHEJ) or homologous recombination - if there is a template with flanks that are complementary to DNA regions on both sides of the gap, a "darning according to the pattern" will occur. This means that depending on the goals of a person, one can arrange a deletion in the right place - "turn off" the problem region of the genome - or "substitute" a matrix with the necessary properties in order to simply replace, for example, a mutant, pathological variant of a gene with a normal one.

MCR, pros and cons

Figure 3. History of moratoriums in biology. In 1975, a moratorium was introduced on the research of recombinant DNA, in 1997 - on human cloning, in 2012 - on experiments to change the properties (virulence) of the bird flu virus.

And that's not all. You can make the cell perceive the "repaired" chromosome as a template for the repair of the second chromosome. In 2015, scientists from the University of California, to test the method as a patch, used the CRISPR / Cas9 cassette itself, which was then expressed by the X chromosome of flies and modified the homologous chromosome. As a result, altered chromosomes were passed on to the offspring, and the CRISPR / Cas9 insertion “self-propagated” from generation to generation, replacing normal alleles. This method is called "Mutagenic chain reaction" (mutagene chain reaction, MCR) .

In the same year, Liang et al. Performed work on triploid (known to be nonviable) embryos with beta-thalassemia. Of the 86 CRISPR-edited embryos, only 71 continued to develop, and only four of them had their gene edited correctly. This article has sparked an explosion of controversy about how ethical it is to conduct such research.

IN Nature Edward Lanfear, one of the researchers on ZF nucleases (scissor proteins containing the zinc finger DNA-binding domain) and his colleagues have called for a moratorium on any experiments involving the editing of genes in human embryos or germ cells: “Is it worth it to tempt fate even if the therapeutic effect of the modification of germ cells is noticeable? We are ready to enter into an open discussion on the topic of further research in this area "... By the way, biology has already written a whole history of moratoriums on various studies (Fig. 3). But back to CRISPR. Some time later, a group of scientists came up with a proposal to avoid attempts to modify cells of the human germ line, but supported the idea of \u200b\u200bworking with human cells in the event that they are not involved in the development and maintenance of pregnancy (for example, somatic cells).

Now it is worth touching on the prospects for using this technology. MCR could allow, for example, the creation of mosquitoes that are unable to carry malaria and dengue fever. It will be possible to quickly breed strains of mice with multiple mutations for laboratory research and not waste time on thorough screening. In addition, there is work on testing CRISPR / Cas9 in mice to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Nevertheless, there are concerns that we simply do not know about the possible side effects of such changes in germ and embryonic cells, in connection with which a moratorium was proposed.

Why are GMOs good for you?

We will confine ourselves to some striking applied examples related to ecology, nutrition and materials.

"Eco-pig"

At first glance, it may seem that pigs, phosphorus and environmental disasters have nothing in common. But this is not the case. There is a serious agricultural problem: pigs cannot assimilate most of the phosphorus in compound feed, since it is in the form of phytates, phytic acid salts. Undigested phosphorus in pig manure eventually ends up in water bodies, where algae begin to proliferate - they happily eat phytates. Fish and other aquatic organisms die due to toxic metabolic products of algae. In general, a disaster. But genetic engineers proposed the Eco-pig project. Unfortunately, it still remains a project that has not entered the market. But the idea is very beautiful. We are talking about genetically modified pigs that can absorb phytates. The idea was to insert a gene into the pig genome that encodes an enzyme needed to break down phytates (and you can get it from the same E. coli). Let's hope that someday scientists will make life easier for pigs :-)

Steel goat, transgenic cotton, super sweet and kosher cheese

Now let's look at examples of useful GMOs that are in no way related to each other: they are just beautiful, and I wanted to talk about them. In 2002 in Science there was an article that genetically modified mammalian cells can produce spider webs. The Canadian firm Nexia has bred goats with a cobweb protein gene inserted into their genome. It turned out that the milk of such goats can be used to obtain biostal, which is even stronger than Kevlar - the material from which modern body armor is made.

But genetic engineering helps to create not only new materials, but also to successfully grow old ones. Back in 1997, China began to grow genetically modified cotton, supplied with the bacterial gene Bacillus thuringiensis... The Cry1Ac protein encoded by this gene is toxic only to the caterpillars of some butterflies and appears to be harmless to all other animals, including humans. This has led to a decrease in the population of the cotton bollworm, a dangerous pest of many crops. As a result, not only cotton producers but also farmers who grow soybeans, corn, peanuts and various vegetables were the beneficiaries.

As for the sweet, there is such a plant as Thaumatococcus daniellii, and it has a gene that encodes a protein called thaumatin, which is thousands of times sweeter than sugar! Now work is underway to create microorganisms and plants that produce this protein. Besides sweetness, thaumatin increases the plant's resistance to a number of infections.

And finally, about kosher cheese. It is known that for the preparation of ordinary cheese, an enzyme isolated from abomasum, one of the parts of the digestive tract of ruminants, was previously used. But now biotechnologists have inserted rennet genes into the genome of bacteria, making it possible to produce kosher cheese. This seems to be a rare example of cooperation between science and religion.

Precautions

On the one hand, the above examples of the usefulness of GMOs are “a grain of sand like in sea waves, like a small spark in eternal ice”. On the other hand, any technology has its own ethical and safety concerns. Above, we have already discussed the moratorium on the use of CRISPR / Cas9 in relation to human embryos. In experiments on monkeys, it was shown that out of ten embryos edited with this system, alas, no more than half are born. With regard to the use of GMOs, here the most feared are reactions to the product, which are not always possible to foresee. For example, in 1992, breeding company Pioneer developed GM soy, adding the Brazil nut gene to it, thereby eliminating the natural deficiency of the amino acid methionine in soybeans. These beans were intended primarily for those people for whom soy is a staple food. But it soon turned out that in a small percentage of people, Brazil nuts are allergic. Accordingly, such GM soy can also cause allergies.

The above facts do not detract from the dignity of genetic technologies, but indicate that any method requires competent and careful use. Therefore, I would like to end the article with the words of molecular geneticist George Church of Harvard Medical School in Boston, who believes that de facto a moratorium should be imposed on all technologies until their safety is proven: "The challenge is to prove that the benefits of technology are greater than the risks." .

Literature

1. Molecular cloning, or how to put foreign genetic material into a cell;
2. Kazantseva A. Someone is wrong on the Internet! M .: CORPUS, 2016 .-- 376 p.;. Science. 347 , 1301–1301;
3. Cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy: group competition, unity of techniques;
4. Panchin A. The sum of biotechnology. M .: CORPUS, 2016 .-- 432 p .;
5. Elements: "Transgenic cotton helped Chinese farmers defeat a dangerous pest";
6. Matt R. Genome. Autobiography of a species in 23 chapters. M .: EKSMO, 2015 .-- 432 p.

Introduction

Pros of genetically modified organisms

Danger of genetically modified organisms

Consequences of the use of genetically modified foods for human health

The consequences of the spread of GMOs for the ecology of the Earth

Results of experiments on mice consuming GMOs

GMOs in Russia

GM plants in Russia

Conclusion

List of references

INTRODUCTION

The number of inhabitants of the Earth over the last century has increased from 1.5 to 5.5 billion people, and by 2020 it is expected to grow to 8 billion, thus creating a huge problem facing humanity. This problem lies in the huge increase in food production, although production has increased 2.5 times over the past 40 years, it is still not enough. In connection with this, there is social stagnation in the world, which is becoming more and more urgent. Another problem arose with medical treatment. Despite the tremendous achievements of modern medicine, the drugs produced today are so expensive that the world's population now fully rely on traditional pre-scientific methods of treatment, primarily on unrefined herbal preparations.

In developed countries, 25% of medicines are composed of natural substances isolated from plants. The discoveries of recent years (anticancer drugs: taxol, podophyllotoxin) indicate that plants will remain a source of useful biologically active substances (BTA) for a long time, and that the ability of a plant cell to synthesize complex BTAs still significantly exceeds the synthetic abilities of a chemical engineer. That is why scientists have tackled the problem of creating transgenic plants.

The creation of genetically modified (GM) foods is now her most important and most controversial task.

The advantages of GM products are obvious: they are not susceptible to the harmful effects of bacteria, viruses, they are distinguished by high fertility and a long shelf life. The consequences of their use are not obvious: genetic scientists cannot yet answer the question of whether genetically modified foods are harmless to humans.

TYPES OF GMO

Genetically modified organisms appeared in the late 80s of the twentieth century. In 1992, China began to grow tobacco that was "not afraid" of harmful insects. But the beginning of the mass production of modified products was laid in 1994, when tomatoes appeared in the United States that did not spoil during transportation.

GMOs unite three groups of organisms:

1. genetically modified microorganisms (GMM);

2. genetically modified animals (GMO);

3. genetically modified plants (GMP) are the most common group.

Today, there are several dozen lines of GM crops in the world: soybeans, potatoes, corn, sugar beets, rice, tomatoes, rapeseed, wheat, melon, chicory, papaya, zucchini, cotton, flax and alfalfa. GM soybeans are massively grown, which in the United States has already replaced conventional soybeans, corn, canola and cotton.

Sowings of transgenic plants are constantly increasing. In 1996, 1.7 million hectares were occupied by transgenic plant varieties in the world, in 2002 this figure reached 52.6 million hectares (of which 35.7 million hectares were in the United States), in 2005 GMO there were already 91.2 million hectares of crops, in 2006 - 102 million hectares.

In 2006, GM crops were grown in 22 countries of the world, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, and the USA. The main world manufacturers of products containing GMOs are the USA (68%), Argentina (11.8%), Canada (6%), China (3%).

ADVANTAGES OF GENE-MODIFIED ORGANISMS

Defenders of genetically modified organisms argue that GMOs are the only salvation of humanity from hunger. According to forecasts of scientists, the population of the Earth by 2050 may reach 9-11 billion people, naturally there is a need to double or even triple the world production of agricultural products.

For this purpose, genetically modified plant varieties are excellent - they are resistant to disease and weather, ripen faster and are stored longer, and are able to independently produce insecticides against pests. GMO plants are able to grow and yield good yields where the old varieties simply could not survive due to certain weather conditions.

But an interesting fact: GMOs are positioned as a panacea for hunger to save African and Asian countries. But for some reason, African countries have not allowed the import of products with GM components into their territory for the last 5 years. Isn't it strange?

DANGER OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

Opponents of GMOs say they pose three main threats:

· Threat to the human body - allergic diseases, metabolic disorders, the appearance of antibiotic-resistant gastric microflora, carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.

· Threats to the environment - the emergence of vegetative weeds, pollution of research sites, chemical pollution, reduction of genetic plasma, etc.

· Global risks - activation of critical viruses, economic security.

HUMAN HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF USE OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED PRODUCTS

Scientists identify the following main risks of eating genetically modified foods:

1. Suppression of immunity, allergic reactions and metabolic disorders, as a result of the direct action of transgenic proteins.

The influence of new proteins produced by genes inserted into GMOs is unknown. A person has never used them before and therefore it is not clear whether they are allergens.

An illustrative example is the attempt to cross the genes of the Brazil nut with the genes of soybeans - in order to increase the nutritional value of the latter, they increased their protein content. However, as it turned out later, the combination turned out to be a strong allergen, and it had to be withdrawn from further production.

In Sweden, where transgenes are prohibited, 7% of the population are allergic, and in the USA, where they are sold even without labeling, 70.5%.

Also, according to one of the versions, the epidemic of meningitis among English children was caused by a weakened immune system as a result of the use of GM-containing milk chocolate and wafer biscuits.

2. Various health disorders as a result of the appearance of new, unplanned proteins in GMOs or metabolic products toxic to humans.

There is already convincing evidence of a violation of the stability of the plant genome when a foreign gene is inserted into it. All this can cause changes in the chemical composition of GMOs and the appearance of unexpected, including toxic properties.

For example, for the production of a food additive tryptophan in the United States in the late 80s. In the 20th century, a GMH bacterium was created. However, along with the usual tryptophan, for an unclear reason, she began to produce ethylene bis-tryptophan. As a result of its use, 5 thousand people fell ill, of whom 37 died, 1500 became disabled.

Independent experts claim that genetically modified plant crops release 1020 times more toxins than normal organisms.

3. The emergence of resistance of pathogenic microflora to antibiotics.

When receiving GMOs, marker genes for antibiotic resistance are still used, which can pass into the intestinal microflora, which has been shown in relevant experiments, and this, in turn, can lead to medical problems - the inability to cure many diseases.

Since December 2004, the EU has banned the sale of GMOs using antibiotic resistance genes. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends manufacturers to refrain from using these genes, but corporations have not completely abandoned them. The risk of such GMOs, as noted in the Oxford Encyclopedia, is quite high and "we have to admit that genetic engineering is not as harmless as it might seem at first glance."

4. Health disorders associated with the accumulation of herbicides in the human body.

Most of the known transgenic plants do not die during the massive use of agricultural chemicals and can accumulate them. There is evidence that sugar beets that are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate accumulate toxic metabolites.

5. Reducing the intake of essential substances in the body.

According to independent experts, it is still impossible to say for example, whether the composition of conventional soybeans and GM analogs is equivalent or not. When comparing various published scientific data, it turns out that some indicators, in particular, the content of phytoestrogens, vary significantly.

6. Long-term carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.

Each insertion of a foreign gene into an organism is a mutation, it can cause undesirable consequences in the genome, and what this will lead to - no one knows, and today cannot know.

According to research by British scientists in the framework of the state project "Assessment of the risk associated with the use of GMOs in human food" published in 2002, transgenes tend to be retained in the human body and, as a result of the so-called "horizontal transfer", to be incorporated into the genetic apparatus of microorganisms human intestines. Previously, such a possibility was denied.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF GMO FOR EARTH ECOLOGY

In addition to the danger to human health, scientists are actively discussing the question of what potential threat biotechnology poses to the environment.

Herbicide tolerance acquired by GMO plants could be of disservice if transgenic crops spread uncontrollably. For example, alfalfa, rice, sunflower are very similar to weeds in their characteristics, and their arbitrary growth will not be easy to cope with.

In Canada, one of the main producing countries of GMO products, such cases have already been recorded. According to the newspaper The Ottawa Citizen, Canadian farms are occupied by genetically modified "superweeds" that have arisen from the accidental crossing of three species of GM rapeseed that are resistant to different types of herbicides. The result is a plant that the newspaper claims is resistant to almost all agricultural chemicals.

A similar problem will arise in the case of the transfer of herbicide resistance genes from cultivated plants to other wild species. For example, it has been observed that growing transgenic soybeans leads to genetic mutations of the accompanying plants (weeds), which become immune to the effects of herbicides.

The possibility of transferring genes that encode the production of proteins toxic to insect pests is not excluded. Weeds that produce their own insecticides have a huge advantage in controlling insects, which are often their natural growth restrictor.

In addition, not only pests but also other insects are at risk. An article appeared in the authoritative journal Nature, the authors of which announced that crops of transgenic maize threaten the populations of a protected species of monarch butterflies, its pollen turned out to be toxic to their caterpillars. Such an effect, of course, was not envisioned by the creators of corn - it was supposed to repel only insect pests.

In addition, living organisms that feed on transgenic plants can mutate - according to studies conducted by the German zoologist Hans Kaaz (Hans Kaaz), the pollen of the modified oil turnip caused mutations in bacteria living in the stomach of bees.

There is a fear that all these effects in the long term may cause disruption of entire food chains and, as a result, the balance within individual ecological systems and even the extinction of some species.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ON MOUSE CONSUMING GMO

Almost all research in the field of GMO safety is funded by customers - foreign corporations Monsanto, Bayer, etc. On the basis of just such studies, GMO lobbyists claim that GM products are safe for humans.

However, according to experts, studies of the effects of the consumption of GM foods, conducted on several dozen rats, mice or rabbits for several months, cannot be considered sufficient. Although the results of even such tests are not always unambiguous.

· The first pre-marketing study of GM plants for safety for humans, conducted in the USA in 1994 on GM tomato, served as the basis for authorizing not only its sale in stores, but also for "lightweight" testing of subsequent GM crops. However, the "positive" results of this study are criticized by many independent experts. In addition to numerous complaints about the test methodology and the results obtained, it also has such a "flaw" - within two weeks after it, 7 out of 40 experimental rats died, and the cause of their death is unknown.

· According to an internal Monsanto report released with the June 2005 scandal, experimental rats fed with the new GM corn variety MON 863 experienced changes in the circulatory and immune systems.

Since the end of 1998, there has been a particularly active talk about the insecurity of transgenic crops. British immunologist Armand Putztai said in a television interview that the immune system was reduced in rats fed modified potatoes. Also, "thanks to" the menu, consisting of GM foods, the experimental rats showed a decrease in brain volume, destruction of the liver and suppression of immunity.

According to a 1998 report by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, rats fed with Monsanto transgenic potatoes, both after a month and six months of the experiment, showed a statistically significant decrease in body weight, anemia, and degenerative changes in liver cells.

But do not forget that testing on animals is only the first step, and not an alternative to research on humans. If GM food manufacturers claim they are safe, this must be confirmed by human volunteer studies using a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, similar to drug trials.

Based on the lack of publications in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, clinical trials of GM foods in humans have never been performed. Most attempts to establish the safety of GM foods are indirect, but they are thought provoking.

In 2002, a comparative analysis of the incidence of diseases related to food quality was carried out in the USA and in the Scandinavian countries. The population of the compared countries has a fairly high standard of living, a similar food basket, and comparable medical services. It turned out that in the several years after the widespread introduction of GMOs on the market in the United States, there were 3-5 times more foodborne diseases than, in particular, in Sweden. The only significant difference in the quality of nutrition is the active use of GM foods by the US population and their practical absence in the Swedish diet.

In 1998, the International Society of Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology (PSRAST) adopted a Declaration that states the need to declare a worldwide moratorium on the release of GMOs and products into the environment from them until enough knowledge is accumulated to determine whether the operation of this technology is justified and how harmless it is to health and the environment.

As of July 2005, 800 scientists from 82 countries of the world have signed the document. In March 2005, the Declaration was widely circulated as an open letter calling on world governments to stop the use of GMOs, as they "pose a threat and do not contribute to the environmentally sustainable use of resources."

GMOs in RUSSIA

Russia has followed the path of a market economy, in which business plays a major role. Unfortunately, unscrupulous entrepreneurs often push low-quality goods to make a profit. This is especially dangerous when products based on the use of poorly studied new technologies are being pushed. In order to avoid mistakes, tight control at the state level over the production and distribution of goods is required. Lack of proper control can lead to serious errors and serious consequences, which has happened with the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food.

The large-scale distribution of GMOs in Russia, the safety of which is disputed by scientists from different countries of the world, leads to infertility, a surge in cancer, genetic deformities and allergic reactions, to an increase in the mortality rate of people and animals, a sharp reduction in biodiversity and a deterioration in the environment.

The first transgenic products were developed in the United States by the former military chemical company Monsanto back in the 1980s. Since 1996 the total area of \u200b\u200bsown areas under transgenic crops increased 50 times and already in 2005 amounted to 90 million hectares (17% of the total area). Most of these areas are planted in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and China. Moreover, 96% of all GMO crops belong to the United States. In total, more than 140 lines of genetically modified plants have been approved for production in the world.

At one time, Monsanto, a major producer of GM crops, announced that in 10-15 years all seeds on the planet would be transgenic. In such a situation, producers of transgenic seeds will be monopolists in the agricultural market and will be able to arrange famine anywhere in the world (including in Russia), simply by refusing to sell seeds to the country under one pretext or another. The practice of economic embargoes and blockades has long been widely practiced in order to put pressure on certain states, one can recall recent examples - Iraq, Iran, North Korea.

Already, products containing GMOs bring huge profits to producers. The safety checks of GMOs and "transgenic" products are mainly carried out at the expense of the manufacturing companies themselves, and often studies on the safety of GMOs are incorrect and biased. Of the 500 scientists working in the UK biotech industry, 30% said they had to change their results at the request of sponsors, according to figures published in the Higher Education supplement to the British newspaper The Times. Of these, 17% agreed to distort their data in order to show the result preferable for the customer, 10% said that they were "asked" to do so, threatening to deprive them of further contracts, and 3% said that they had to make changes that made it impossible to open publication of works.

Moreover, farmers who buy GM seeds sign the company that they have no right to give them for research to outside organizations, thereby depriving themselves of the last opportunity to conduct an independent examination. Violation of the rules of agreements usually leads to legal action on the part of the company and huge losses for the farmer.

On the other hand, quite recently, the European Union published a report (Who Benefits from GM crops An analysis of the global performance of genetically modified (GM) crops 1996-2006), in which it was noted that transgenic crops have not brought no economic benefits to consumers: they did not increase the profits of farmers in most countries of the world, did not improve the consumer quality of products, and did not save anyone from hunger. The use of GM crops has only led to an increase in the amount of applied chemical fertilizers (herbicides and pesticides), by no means reducing their use, as promised by biotech corporations. GM plants remain unstable for a variety of characteristics, with adverse effects on human health. The negative effect may also be due to exposure to trace amounts of pesticides to which GM crops are resistant.

GMOs have a negative impact not only on humans, but also on plants, animals, beneficial bacteria (for example, bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract (dysbiosis), soil bacteria, bacteria of decay, etc.), leading to a rapid reduction in their number and subsequent disappearance. For example, the disappearance of soil bacteria leads to soil degradation, the disappearance of putrefaction bacteria - to the accumulation of undisturbed biomass, the absence of ice-forming bacteria - to a sharp decrease in precipitation. It is easy to guess what the disappearance of living organisms can lead to - to the deterioration of the environment, climate change, rapid and irreversible destruction of the biosphere.

Interestingly, several states in the United States, a country that is a leader in the production of GMOs, began to resist the cultivation of GM crops and the spread of GM seeds. Among these states, surprisingly, is the state of Missouri, which is home to the headquarters of the biotech giant Monsanto. Recently, active resistance to GM crops has begun in the United States, and at the highest level. Thus, the US Department of Agriculture has banned the cultivation of genetically modified rice varieties. At the same time, the already sown rice should be completely destroyed by the decision of the Ministry. The US government decided in 2008 to significantly increase spending on food safety and quality control programs. Recently, transgenic field grass for golf and lawns was also banned by a court decision.

In 2008, the UN and the World Bank spoke out for the first time against large-scale agribusiness and genetically modified technologies. The joint report, in the preparation of which was attended by about 400 scientists, says that the world produces more food than is necessary to feed the entire population of the planet. UN experts are convinced that large agribusiness is interested in the hunger of hundreds of millions of people, which is building its policy on creating an artificial shortage of food. For the first time, the UN actually condemned the use of genetically modified technologies in agriculture, because, firstly, they do not solve the problem of hunger, and secondly, they pose a threat to the health of the population and the future of the planet.

GM - PLANTS IN RUSSIA

GM products appeared on the Russian market in the 90s. Currently, 17 lines of GM crops are permitted in Russia (7 lines of corn, 3 lines of soybeans, 3 lines of potatoes, 2 lines of rice, 2 lines of beets) and 5 types of microorganisms. The most common additive is Roundup herbicide tolerant GM soy (line 40.3.2). There seem to be few permitted varieties, but they are added to many products. GM components are found in bakery products, meat and dairy products. There are many of them in baby food, especially for the little ones.

The Commission of the State Ecological Expertise for the assessment of the safety of GM crops, working within the framework of the law of the Russian Federation "On ecological expertise", did not recognize any of the lines submitted for approval as safe. (The members of this commission are representatives of three main Russian academies: RAS, RAMS and RAAS). Thanks to this, the cultivation of GM crops in Russia is officially prohibited, but the import of GM products is allowed, which is fully consistent with the aspirations of monopolistic companies in the GM products market.

Now there are many products in the country that contain GM components, but all of them are delivered to the consumer without appropriate markings, despite the fact that Vladimir Putin signed at the end of 2005. "Addendum to the Law on Consumer Rights Protection on Mandatory Labeling of GM Components". The check carried out by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences did not comply with the "Methodological Guidelines for the Verification of GMOs" signed by G. G. Onishchenko, and in some cases the data obtained completely contradicted the stated conclusions. Thus, during experimental testing by the Institute of Nutrition of American GM-potato varieties "Russet Burbank" on rats, serious morphological changes in the liver, kidneys, and large intestine were observed in animals; lowering hemoglobin; increased diuresis; changes in the mass of the heart and prostate. However, the Institute of Nutrition concluded that "the studied potato variety can be used in human nutrition during further epidemiological studies", i.e. when studying the clinical picture of the disease and its spread among the population (Biomedical studies of transgenic potatoes resistant to the Colorado potato beetle. Report of the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. M: Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. 1998, 63p.).

In our country, for unknown reasons, practically no scientific and clinical research and testing of the effect of GMOs on animals and humans are carried out. Attempts to conduct such research have met with enormous resistance. But the effect of GM products on humans is still completely unexplored, the consequences of their wide distribution are unpredictable.

Our study of the effect of GM soybean, resistant to the herbicide Roundup (RR, line 40.3.2), on the offspring of laboratory rats showed an increased mortality of the first generation of rats, underdevelopment of some of the surviving rats, pathological changes in organs and the absence of the second generation (Ermakova, 2006; Ermakova, 2006, 2007; Ermakova & Barskov, 2008). At the same time, we fed only females with GM soy two weeks before mating, during mating and lactation. Soy was added in the form of soy flour (three repetitions), soybean seeds, or soybean meal. More than 30% of the rat pups from the GM soybean group were underdeveloped, had significantly smaller body size and weight than ordinary rat pups at this stage of development. In the control groups, there were several times less such rat pups. In other series, GM soybeans were added to the feed not only for females, but also for males. At the same time, they could not get a normal first generation: 70% of rats did not give offspring (Malygin, Ermakova, 2008). In another work, it was not possible to obtain offspring from mice in soybean groups (Malygin, 2008). A decrease in fertility and a decrease in testosterone concentration in males was observed in Campbell's hamsters when seeds of the same GM soybean line were added to their food (Nazarova and Ermakova, 2009).

The enormous risks to human health caused by the consumption of "transgenic" products were pointed out in the works of Russian scientists (O. A. Monastyrsky, V. V. Kuznetsov, A. M. Kulikov, A. V. Yablokov, A. S. Baranov and a lot others). Articles about the relationship of GMOs with oncology have appeared in the scientific literature. According to scientists, attention should be paid not only to the features of transgenes. which are being introduced, and the safety of the proteins that are formed, but also on the technology of inserting genes, which are still very imperfect and do not guarantee the safety of organisms created with their help.

According to O. A. Monastyrsky and M. P. Selezneva (2006), over 3 years, imports to our country have increased 100 times: more than 50% of food products and 80% of feed contain grain or products of their processing (GM soybeans, rapeseed, corn), as well as some types of fruits and vegetables. Currently, according to experts, genetically modified sources may contain 80% of canned vegetables, 70% of meat products, 70% of confectionery, 50% of fruits and vegetables, 15-20% of dairy products and 90% of food mixtures for children. It is possible that the sharp increase in the number of oncological diseases in Russia, especially the intestinal tract and prostate gland, and the surge of leukemia in children, according to the Medical Information Agency, is due to the use of genetically modified components in food.

According to Russian geneticists, "... eating organisms with each other may underlie horizontal transfer, since it has been shown that DNA is not completely digested and individual molecules can get from the intestine into the cell and into the nucleus, and then integrate into the chromosome" (Gvozdev, 2004) ... As for the rings of plasmids (circular DNA), which are used as a vector for the introduction of genes, the circular form of DNA makes them more resistant to destruction.

Russian scientists V.V.Kuznetsov and A.M. Kulikov, (2005) believe that “reducing or eliminating risks when growing transgenic plants implies a significant improvement in the technology for producing GMOs, creating transgenic plants of a new generation, a comprehensive study of the biology of GM plants and fundamental regulation of genome expression ". All this means that there is an urgent need in Russia to conduct thorough and independent scientific research on the effect of GMOs on living organisms and their offspring, as well as to develop biotechnological methods that are safe for living organisms and the environment.

Verification of genetically modified organisms in Russia is carried out by the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor), which was established in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 9, 2004 No. 314. Laboratories with using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect GM components in food.

The current GMO safety assessment system in Russia requires a wider range of studies than in other countries (USA, EU) and includes long-term toxicological studies on animals - 180 days (EU - 90 days), as well as the use of modern methods of analysis, such as, determination of genotoxicity, genomic and proteomic analyzes, assessment of allergenicity on model systems and much more, which is an additional factor that guarantees the safety of registered food products derived from GMOs. These multifaceted studies are carried out in a number of leading research institutions of the Rospotrebnadzor system, RAMS, RAS, RAAS and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.

In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation (Federal Laws dated 05.07.1996 No. 86-FZ "On State Regulation in the Field of Genetic Engineering", dated 02.01.2000 No. 29-FZ "On the Quality and Safety of Food Products" and dated 30.03.1999 No. 52-FZ "On the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population") GMO food products are classified as "new food" and are subject to mandatory safety assessment and subsequent monitoring of the turnover.

According to the letter of Rospotrebnadzor dated January 24, 2006 No. 0100 / 446-06-32, the content in food products of 0.9% or less of components obtained with the use of GMOs is an accidental or technically unavoidable impurity and food products containing the specified amount of GMO components do not apply to the category of food products containing components obtained with the use of GMOs and are not subject to labeling. However, the lack of a well-prepared laboratory base in the field makes this regulation another loophole for entrepreneurs to avoid labeling products.

CONCLUSION

To analyze the situation with GMOs in Russia and the world, we will introduce conditional assessments of the level of safety from GMOs.

If we use these estimates, then the best situation for the absence of GMOs is in Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Poland, Venezuela, France, Germany and a number of European countries; the worst is in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Great Britain, Ukraine and a number of developing countries. The rest of the countries, including Russia, occupy an intermediate position, which is also not very good, since there simply should not be dangerous GMOs.

It is impossible to solve the problem associated with the spread and use of GM crops obtained with the help of imperfect technologies by the efforts of one country or even several countries. It is difficult to escape in a room that is in a building engulfed in flames. It is necessary to unite the efforts of all countries to save the planet from dangerous genetically modified organisms, which, due to the imperfection of the technologies used, have turned into weapons of mass destruction, i.e. weapons of mass destruction, and can destroy all life on the planet.

LIST OF REFERENCES

1.http: //www.pravda.rv.ua/food/What%20products%20GMO%20are%20in.php Genetic Modified Transgenic Ecology Health

2. Chemeris A. V. New old DNA. Ufa. 2005.

3. And . V. Ermakova. Genetically modified organisms. Struggle of the worlds. White alves, 2010.

4. Biological encyclopedic dictionary. M. 1989.

5. Egorov NS, Oleskin AV Biotechnology: Problems and prospects. M. 1999.

6. Maniatis T. Methods of genetic engineering. M. 2001.

7.http: //www.rcc.ru

8. Donchenko LV, Nadykta VD Safety of food products. M .: Pishchepromizdat. 2001.S. 528.

9. Shevelukha V.S., Kalashnikova E.A., Degtyarev S.V. Agricultural biotechnology. M .: Higher school, 1998.S. 416.

10. Engdahl William F. Seeds of Destruction. The secret background of genetic manipulation.

GMO - these are genetically modified organisms, which are divided into animals, plants and micro-or-ga-niz-we. Some scientists believe this term is not entirely correct, since genetic changes are carried out not only with the help of genetic engineering, but also with conventional selection, radiation and other me-to-da-mi. The only difference is that genetic engineering allows you to make a point change, re-zul-ta-you co-that-ro-go pre-op-re-de-le-ny, in while selection or EU-test-venous mutations are not-pre-skazue-we can relate to a large number of prizes at once. And this is the unconditional advantage of GMOs, which really allows us to solve such a problem as world hunger. For example, thanks to genetic ingestion, it was possible to achieve weight of golden rice, which is enriched with vitamin A, which saved the eyesight and life of millions of people in the countries of the Third World.

But everything is not so simple! Yes, most of the negative information around GMOs is based on wild barbaric ignorance, conspiracy theories and other ir-ra-cio-nal pre-judgments, but there are also scientific works, and etc., which provide data on the non-ha-tive effect of GMOs on health. True, most of these works were ras-crit-ti-ko-va-ny, and not-that-ry-ry and were withdrawn, while there is a whole base, consisting of more -ra thousand studies, confirming the safety of the use of GMOs. Ho-cha, this, of course, does not mean that any genetically mo-di-fi-chi-ro-wan-duk-you av-to-ma-ti-chi-chi are harmless! In general, it is incorrect to talk about GM products as a whole, since they may all have a different genome. And some specific ge-no-ti-ches-ki mo-di-fi-qi-ro-van-ny product may well turn out to be ten-qi-al-but dangerous, like any other product developed by selection.

And it is precisely to control the influence of GMOs on human health, on the environment and even on the eco-mi-ch-de-development of certain regions, there are international organizations, for example, the Codex Ali-men ta-ri-us at WHO and FAO, whose commission issues various principles and guidelines for assessing the safety of GM products. At the same time, ge-no-ti-chi-ki mo-di-fi-chi-ro-van-nye products-you may well turn out to be an inst-ru-ment-tom eco-no-mi -Coi and poli-ti-ti-ti-ti fight, which members of the Society of Scientific Workers warn about in the "Open letter in support of the development of genetic in-the-not -riy in the Russian-siys-koy Fe-de-ra-tion ". The essence of the letter is that the absence of national institutes-ti-tu-tov, who-do-do-do-not-do-do-not-tamper-modify products, will lead to no-end-to-rent -no-way-so-nos-ty na-cio-nal-no-go agriculture and replacing it with im-port-that pro-ty-in-re-chit prin-ts-po pro-to-volst -ven-noy security.

In general, the topic of GMOs is vast and controversial, and it is not clear what a poor Jew should do, which is why we decided to collect the most complete information about the effect of GMOs on health and ecology. For greater objectivity and the possibility of making any conclusions, we decided whether to pre-add the do-it-yourself, both about the benefits and dangers of GMOs, about the real you and in ten-tsi-al-harm, but we completely omitted the topic of subjective poly-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti interests of corporations, states, officials and other -ro-van-s persons. This topic is interesting, but completely useless from a practical point of view, and a site that is totally inappropriate for the site. Although, if you are in-te-re-su-et-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-t-s how the objective historical processes collide and the in-te-re-s of is-t-r-t-s-t subjects, start You can from the lectures and books of the candidate of is-to-riches-kikh science Andr-rey Ilyich Fursov, but we will continue to understand the actual problems of health.

Advantages and Disadvantages of GMOs

Benefits: they are very diverse and not only potential but also real. GMOs have already allowed to solve a lot of problems, starting with providing the population of the countries of the Third World with golden rice and ending with the leveling of the need to use in-sec-ti-chi - yes. He-no-ti-chi-ki mo-di-fi-chi-ro-van-products help no-ve-li-ro-vat after-effects of natural disasters, kli-ma-ti -Chinese special-ben-nos-tei of the regions, who do not allow to grow this or that culture, or seriously reduce its yield. In general, even the most ardent opponents of GMOs, such as I.V. Er-ma-co-va you-need-de-de-us to admit that genetic engineering will be behind. This, in fact, is the only known method of combating world hunger for the present year and a way to improve the food supply loyalty of millions of people without sacrificing the ecology.

Disadvantages: i have them! One of the main serious disadvantages of GMOs, which really worries scientists, is the risk of disrupting the ecosystem and a decrease in the variety of micro-or-ga-niz. -mov. Although today this risk has not been justified, nevertheless, there is no reason for unconditional optimism. Another re-al-ny not-do-tat-com ge-no-ti-chi-ki mo-di-fi-chi-ro-van-products is their ability to become-but-whit- Xia allergen when transferring the genome of food allergens. For example, if a person is allergic to oranges, the genome of which was mo-di-fi-chi-ro-van kar-to-fel, then he may develop an allergy and on this potato. Also, it is not worthwhile to completely ignore the ten-tsi-al-th possibility of GMOs to negatively affect health, sti-mo-li-ro-v, develop -the absence of any diseases, and even inferiority, since-ku, although this is not a reason for a frenzied panic, but to exclude that -koy va-ri-ant of the outcome of events is impossible, and careful research and control of GMOs should be carried out.

Scientific research on GMOs

Positive: there are just a lot of such studies and it is not possible to consider all of them in this article, but you can read this meta-analysis, as well as see the base nas-sites.org/ge-crops to make sure that there are more than one and a half thousand of such studies. And if we summarize the scientific data that are recognized by good science today, then we can say that convincing proofs and there is no reason to worry about the health effects of GMOs. It's not worth it to ignore the probability, and there are studies that de-monstrate the non-hazardous consequences of using GMOs, but, fortunately, all of them are still successful. moose op-rovverg-nut. And, so that this statement is not unfounded, let's see these studies and their op-po-verifications.

Negative: there are also not so few of them, but the main ones are the studies of Er-ma-ko-voy, in which non-comforting results of the influence of GM soybeans on the re-product functions were obtained. -cy we-shat; the research of Malatesta, cited above, in which there was a negative influence of GMOs on the liver and pancreas; the study of Push-tai, in which he came to the conclusion that GMO oppresses the im-mun-ny system, comes to the pa-to-lo gi-chi-kim changes in the liver and can become the reason for the formation of tumors-ho-lei and he-ko-logi-chi-chi diseases; as well as the sadly known studies of Se-ral-li-no, which turned out to be so un-com-pet-tent-mi that they are even from the pub-li-ka-tion.

Criticism: Ermakova's research has been criticized by Bruce Chassie, Vivian Mo-zes, Alan McHagan and L. Val Gidding in the same Nature, a hilarious summary of something can be read in Russian language on Wikipedia. The works of Dr.Ma-la-tes-you were also ras-crit-ti-ko-va-ny, while the mechanism of the negative influence of GMOs in the work was never us-ta-nov-len ... At the same time, it should be noted that the works of doc-to-rar Ma-la-tes-you deserve attention and correspond to the scientific method, therefore, they require further research do-va-nii, but at the moment there are still no-persuasions. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the works of Serallini, which were ras-crit-ti-co-va-ny and they had to be called back. True, Serallini published updated data in 2014, but we could not find one-digit information on their account. What ka-sa-et-sya ra-bo-you Push-tai, then she also did not pass the test of time and was-la ras-crit-ti-co-va-na,

Kemerovo State Medical Academy

Department of General Hygiene

Abstract on the topic:

"Genetically modified organisms (GMO)"

Completed:

Leshcheva E.S., 403 gr.,

Kostrova A.V., 403 gr.

Kemerovo, 2012

Introduction

What is GMO (history, goals and methods of creation)

Types of GMOs and their application

Russian policy towards GMOs

Pros of GMOs

Danger of GMOs

Consequences of using GMOs

Conclusion

List of references

Introduction

The number of inhabitants of the Earth is steadily growing, thus, a huge problem arises in increasing food production, improving medicines and medicine in general. And in this regard, there is social stagnation in the world, which is becoming more and more urgent. It is believed that with the current size of the world's population, only GMOs can save the world from the threat of hunger, since with the help of genetic modification it is possible to increase the yield and quality of food.

The creation of genetically modified foods is now the most important and most controversial task.

What is GMO?

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genotype has been purposefully artificially altered using genetic engineering methods. This definition can be applied to plants, animals and microorganisms. Genetic changes are usually made for scientific or economic purposes.

History of GMO creation

The first transgenic products were developed in the United States by the former military chemical company Monsanto back in the 1980s.

Monsanto Company (Monsanto) is a transnational company, the world leader in plant biotechnology. The main products are genetically modified seeds of corn, soybeans, cotton, as well as the world's most widespread herbicide Roundup. Founded by John Francis Queenie in 1901 as a purely chemical company, Monsanto has since evolved into a high-tech agricultural concern. A key moment in this transformation was 1996, when Monsanto simultaneously launched the first genetically modified crops on the market: transgenic soybeans with the new Round Red trait and Bollguard insect resistant cotton. The tremendous success of these and the subsequent similar products in the US agricultural market has stimulated the company to reorient from traditional chemistry and pharmacochemistry to the production of new varieties of seeds. In March 2005, Monsanto acquired the largest seed company Seminis, specializing in the production of fruit and vegetable seeds.

Most of these areas are planted in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and China. Moreover, 96% of all GMO crops belong to the United States. In total, more than 140 lines of genetically modified plants have been approved for production in the world.

The goals of creating GMOs

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations considers the use of genetic engineering methods to create transgenic varieties of plants or other organisms as an integral part of agricultural biotechnology. Direct transfer of genes responsible for useful traits is a natural development of work on animal and plant breeding, which expanded the possibilities of breeders in terms of controllability of the process of creating new varieties and expanding its capabilities, in particular, the transfer of useful traits between non-breeding species.

Methods for creating GMOs

The main stages of creating GMOs:

1. Obtaining an isolated gene.

2. Introduction of a gene into a vector for transfer into an organism.

3. Transfer of the vector with the gene into the modified organism.

4. Transformation of body cells.

5. Selecting genetically modified organisms and eliminating those that have not been successfully modified.

The gene synthesis process is now very well developed and even largely automated. There are special devices equipped with computers, in the memory of which programs for the synthesis of various nucleotide sequences are laid.

To insert a gene into a vector, enzymes are used - restriction endonucleases and ligases. Using restriction enzymes, the gene and vector can be cut into pieces. With the help of ligases, such pieces can be “glued”, connected in a different combination, constructing a new gene or enclosing it in a vector.

If unicellular organisms or cultures of multicellular cells undergo modifications, then at this stage cloning begins, that is, the selection of those organisms and their descendants (clones) that have undergone modification. When the task is set to obtain multicellular organisms, then cells with a changed genotype are used for vegetative propagation of plants or injected into the blastocysts of a surrogate mother when it comes to animals. As a result, cubs are born with an altered or unchanged genotype, among which only those that exhibit the expected changes are selected and crossed with each other.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - cereals, vegetables and other food products that are harmful to a normal person, it is not known how processed by geneticists. In the opinion of the general population, they cause irreversible changes in the human body that has absorbed them, have a bad effect on potency, are the cause of early baldness and the formation of malignant tumors. Usually tastier, more nutritious, and, according to research, healthier than unmodified ones. Official science does not have reliable data on the dangers of GMOs.
Genetically modified organism (GMO) is a living organism, the genotype of which has been artificially altered using genetic engineering methods. Such changes are usually made for scientific or economic purposes. Genetic modification is characterized by a purposeful change in the genotype of an organism, in contrast to the random, characteristic of natural and artificial mutagenesis.
GMO - these are living organisms containing a new combination of products that do not pose any danger to humans
The goals of creating GMOs

The development of GMOs is considered by some scientists as a natural development of animal and plant breeding work. Others, on the contrary, consider genetic engineering to be a complete departure from classical breeding, since GMO is not a product of artificial selection, that is, the gradual breeding of a new variety (breed) of organisms by natural reproduction, but in fact a new species artificially synthesized in the laboratory.

In many cases, the use of transgenic plants will greatly increase the yield. It is believed that with the current size of the world's population, only GMOs can save the world from the threat of hunger, since with the help of genetic modification, it is possible to increase the yield and quality of food. Opponents of this opinion believe that with the modern level of agricultural technology and mechanization of agricultural production, the varieties of plants and animal breeds that already exist now, obtained in the classical way, are capable of fully providing the world's population with high-quality food (the problem of possible world hunger is caused exclusively by socio-political reasons, and therefore can be solved not by geneticists, but by the political elites of states.)

Methods for creating GMOs

The main stages of creating GMOs:

1. Obtaining an isolated gene.

2. Introduction of a gene into a vector for transfer into an organism.

3. Transfer of the vector with the gene into the modified organism.

4. Transformation of body cells.

5. Selecting genetically modified organisms and eliminating those that have not been successfully modified.

The gene synthesis process is now very well developed and even largely automated. There are special devices equipped with computers, in the memory of which programs for the synthesis of various nucleotide sequences are laid. This apparatus synthesizes DNA segments up to 100-120 nitrogenous bases (oligonucleotides).

To insert a gene into a vector, enzymes are used - restriction endonucleases and ligases. Using restriction enzymes, the gene and vector can be cut into pieces. With the help of ligases, such pieces can be “glued”, connected in a different combination, constructing a new gene or enclosing it in a vector.

The technique of introducing genes into bacteria was developed after Frederick Griffith discovered the phenomenon of bacterial transformation. This phenomenon is based on a primitive sexual process, which in bacteria is accompanied by the exchange of small fragments of nonchromosomal DNA, plasmids. Plasmid technologies formed the basis for the introduction of artificial genes into bacterial cells. To introduce a ready-made gene into the hereditary apparatus of plant and animal cells, a transfection process is used.

If unicellular organisms or cultures of multicellular cells undergo modifications, then at this stage cloning begins, that is, the selection of those organisms and their descendants (clones) that have undergone modification. When the task is set to obtain multicellular organisms, then cells with a changed genotype are used for vegetative propagation of plants or injected into the blastocysts of a surrogate mother when it comes to animals. As a result, babies are born with an altered or unchanged genotype, among which only those that exhibit the expected changes are selected and crossed with each other.

GMO use

Scientific use of GMOs

Currently, genetically modified organisms are widely used in fundamental and applied scientific research. With the help of GMOs, the patterns of development of certain diseases (Alzheimer's disease, cancer), aging and regeneration processes are studied, the functioning of the nervous system is studied, and a number of other pressing problems of biology and medicine are being solved.

The use of GMOs for medical purposes

Genetically modified organisms have been used in applied medicine since 1982. Human insulin produced by genetically modified bacteria was registered as a drug this year

Work is underway to create genetically modified plants that produce components of vaccines and drugs against dangerous infections (plague, HIV). Proinsulin obtained from genetically modified safflower is in clinical trials. An anti-thrombosis drug based on protein from the milk of transgenic goats has been successfully tested and approved for use.

A new branch of medicine, gene therapy, is rapidly developing. It is based on the principles of creating GMOs, but the genome of human somatic cells acts as the object of modification. Currently, gene therapy is one of the main methods of treatment for some diseases. So, already in 1999, every fourth child suffering from SCID (Severe Combined Immune Deficiency) was treated with gene therapy. Gene therapy, in addition to being used in treatment, is also proposed to be used to slow down the aging process.

The use of GMOs in agriculture

Genetic engineering is used to create new varieties of plants that are resistant to adverse environmental conditions and pests, with the best growth and taste. Created new breeds of animals are distinguished, in particular, by accelerated growth and productivity. Varieties and breeds have been created, the products of which have a high nutritional value and contain increased amounts of essential amino acids and vitamins.

Genetically modified forest species with a significant cellulose content in the wood and fast growth are being tested.

Other uses

GloFish, the first genetically modified pet

Genetically modified bacteria are being developed that can produce clean fuels.

In 2003, GloFish, the first genetically modified organism created for aesthetic purposes, and the first pet of its kind, entered the market. Thanks to genetic engineering, the popular aquarium fish, the Danio rerio, has received several bright fluorescent colors.

In 2009, the GM rose variety "Applause" with blue flowers goes on sale. Thus, the centuries-old dream of breeders who unsuccessfully tried to breed "blue roses" came true (for more details see en: Blue rose).

Impact of GMO foods on health

1) Suppression of immunity, allergic reactions and metabolic disorders, as a result of the direct action of transgenic proteins.

2) Various health disorders as a result of the appearance in GMO of new, unplanned proteins or metabolic products toxic to humans

3) The emergence of resistance of human pathogenic microflora to antibiotics

4) Health disorders associated with the accumulation of herbicides in the human body.

5) Reducing the intake of essential substances in the body.

6) Long-term carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.