Genetically modified organisms

By: Victoria Liu Ving Tong

“How peculiar,” I thought. The corn in the supermarket was divided into two sections despite looking identical. Upon closer examination, the section of corn on the left had a lower cost than the right. Out of pure curiosity I decided to purchase a corn from each section. Upon tasting both corns, the corn from the left section tasted sweeter and the kernels were bigger than the corn from the right section. Why was this so?

What are GMOs?

Image credit: Medium

Genetically modified organisms, also known as GMOs, are organisms that have had their genomes altered and modified. This is done to produce the desired physiological traits of an organism or so the organism will be able to produce the desired biological products that will most commonly aid in the field of medicine, research, and agriculture. In the past, humans have used breeding methods to modify an organism by the process of ‘selective breeding.’ Animals and crops have been selectively bred over generations to produce the desired traits of humans. However due to advancements in technology, we can modify and alter the genetic coding of an organism via the technique of ‘genetic engineering’ with the usage of recombinant DNA (using enzymes to manipulate and isolate DNA fragments of interest).

There are a few ways to genetically modify a genome. The conventional way of modifying a genome in agricultural crops such as maize and soybean is via the process ‘agrobacterium-mediated.’ This process of genetic modification utilises the bacteria ‘agrobacterium tumefaciens’ as a vector to transfer the gene of interest into the plant genome. An alternative way to modify genomes in any somatic cells of an organism is by ‘genome editing.’ This process requires the usage of enzymes: particularly nucleases to target a specific DNA sequence. Where the original strand of the DNA will be cut, enabling the removal of the original DNA to insert a replacement DNA (taken from another species or made synthetically in the laboratory).

Why do we synthesize GMOs and the benefits to them?

GMOs are most used in the medical and agricultural field. Vaccines, including those to combat different pathogens such as COVID-19 and influenza, are one of the many ways where GMOs benefit the field of medicine. Another way is in the production of hormones. One of the most common hormones produced is insulin. Insulin is extracted from the bacteria ‘E. Coli' to produce genetically modified insulin – Humulin. This allows patients who have type 1 diabetes to combat the lack of insulin produced by their own pancreas cells, as the insulin is injected into people with diabetes to control their blood sugar levels.

Besides medical research, there are many benefits that GMOs bring to the field of agriculture. This includes crops being grown with fewer pesticides. As the DNA of plants are altered, some crops will come with an innate pesticide. Due to plants being grown with fewer pesticides, healthier crops and foods will be produced. According to researchers, a genetically modified maize farm in Africa produced maize which contained more nutrients than traditional crops - 2 times more folate, 6 times more vitamin C and 169 times more beta carotene than traditional crops. GMOs have also benefitted the economy by decreasing the usage of land and water to grow and raise these crops and animals. This not only decreases the release of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane), but also decreases the cost required to grow crops, leading to GMOs being less expensive compared to traditional crops. To add on, the flavour and shelf life of GMOs are improved. This benefits both farmers and consumers, as consumers will be able to purchase goods at supermarkets for a lower price, and farmers will not have to buy pesticides to grow quality crops.

Ethical concerns and disadvantages of GMOs

Although GMOs introduce numerous benefits to society, there are some issues which cause controversy, including whether genetically-modified food is safe for consumption. As genetically modified foods and animals have had their genomes altered, this raises the possible risk of allergic reactions to some of the GMOs produced. Some GMOs are inherently unstable, leading to an increase in toxicity of GMOs, which may be an increase in the concentration of known toxins and heavy metals (pesticides) or unknown toxins, which have not been identified previously by researchers. Another risk is the increase in antibiotic resistance bacteria. Some genes altered can lead to antibiotic resistant genes being produced. These genes can pass through faeces and into the sewage system, and will be absorbed by harmful bacteria in the sewage.

In addition to the damage that GMOs can cause to society, there are some ethical concerns regarding the use of technology to alter the DNA sequence of different organisms. Some people believe that altering the genomes of an organism is an act of interfering with nature, and that the genetic information of an organism should be kept the way it is. The alteration of organisms’ DNA by inserting an innate pesticide in the genomes of plants and inserting hormones into animals to increase their muscle mass and products produced (milk and eggs) by them can cause adverse effects to the environment and food safety, as well as unknown effects to human health in the long term.

GMOs in Malaysia

Malaysia Biosafety act (2009) for food, feed, and processing were applied to prevent the unintended release of GMOs into the environment. To date, there are 44 known approved crop events in Malaysia, where the genomes of different plants are altered, most commonly via the process of ‘agrobacterium-mediated’, including maize, soybean, carnation, cotton, potato and Argentine canola. The intention for the modification of these plants were not for commercial use: due to the limited research being done in this field, but for the field of biomedical research. On the month of August 2018, the GE events have been officially approved for market release.

Despite the approval of genetically modified plants in Malaysia, biotechnology of animals in Malaysia has yet to be developed and the Islamic Development Authority of Malaysia (JAKIM) opposes the production of biotechnological animal products for consumption in Malaysia. However, in 2010, the Malaysian National Biosafety Board approved the genetic modification of mosquitos - to help with the prevention and spread of the dengue (a disease caused by a virus carried by a mosquito vector), and genetically modified insecticides – to control insect pests. However, no further research was done due to insufficient funding.

In 2010, Malaysia has approved eight genetically modified maize products and six genetically modified soybean products, mostly imported from the US for food, feed, and processing purposes. In 2013, the Malaysian ministry of health published guidelines on GE labelling on GMO products. The purpose was to educate the industry and consumers on GE foods and food safety. However, this has yet to be properly enforced as an online questionaire was sent out to 100 respondents in Klang Valley showed that 98.6% of 70 respondents had not seen products labelled as GM foods in supermarkets. This shows the lack of awareness towards GM products in Malaysia, as consumers do not check the labels of products. Despite this, Malaysians are still cautious of GMOs, especially in perceiving the moral aspects of traditional foods and products and the health risks it could bring to citizens, and whether these products are still considered as halal for Muslim consumers.

Summary and conclusion

In conclusion, more GMOs are likely to be used for biomedical and medicinal research in the future as technology advances for the development of new vaccines, hormones, and enzymes. Furthermore, with the increased nutrients and the ability for GMOs to be engineered to contain medicinal compounds, they could enhance human health, leading to the consumption of GMOs in the near future. However, it is important that GMO products are labelled clearly in local supermarkets to educate the population on the existence of GMOs and raise awareness. Additionally, GMOs must go through distinct allergen testing and toxicity testing before it can be released to the public for consumption, to decrease the number of potential allergic reactions to the foods consumed. If GMOs can be shown to benefit both human health and the environment, the backlash to these products will likely diminish.

References

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