Transgenic agriculture: a tool or a threat for integrated crop management?

摘要

Agricultural crops are the product of several centuries of plant breeding where desired traits have been selected to enhance yield, disease resistance, quality and agronomic performance. Plant breeding techniques have become increasingly sophisticated since 1900 and have routinely employed techniques such as cell fusion (since 1909), mutation via X rays (since 1927) and embryo rescue (since the 1960's). The latest technique to be introduced to facilitate plant breeding is genetic engineering, by which genetic material from other organisms is inserted into a plant to allow it to express novel traits. Such plants are known as Genetically Modified Plants (GMPs) or shortly transgenic plants. The "first generation" of Genetically Modified crops (GE crops) focuses on agronomic traits to reduce crop losses due to pests and to reduce pesticide use. As expansion of transgenic crops continues, a shift will occur from the current generation of "input" agronomic traits to the next generation of "output" quality traits. Despite a number of benefits of current GE crops, there are concerns regarding their potential adverse effects on human health and the environment, and their production and consumption have been subjected to strict regulation in many countries.