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What is Agricultural Biotechnology?
Agricultural biotechnology, in its most general sense, refers to
any technique that manipulates plants or animals (or their products)
to achieve a specified goal. By this broad definition,
improvement of food crops and animals through selective breeding,
and processes such as beer/wine fermentation, cheese production,
and manufacturing of cloth from wool or cotton are examples of agricultural
biotechnology. However, the term "biotechnology" is most
often linked to modern science, and includes topics such as molecular
breeding, tissue culture techniques, and recombinant DNA technology
-- the latter often referred to as genetic engineering or genetic
modification.
Plant genetic engineering involves inserting a gene (or sequence
of genes), copied from a bacteria, virus, plant, animal, or human,
into a plant. The gene of interest is often referred to as a "transgene",
if the gene moves across species; the genetically modified plant
is known as a "transgenic" plant or more generally as
a genetically modified organism (GMO).
The purposes for genetically modifying crops using recombinant
DNA technology fall into a
few broad classes:
- Improved plant protection from external pressures (i.e., insects,
weeds, disease, or other environmental stresses).
- Improved quality of food products (enhanced vitamin/mineral
content, improved taste, increased shelf life).
- Development of new products such as industrial compounds and
pharmaceutical proteins.
Bio-pharming falls into this third general category.
Click here to learn
about plant-made pharmaceuticals (or use the bio-pharming link to
the left)...
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