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Impact of Genetically Modified Food on Human Health

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Impact of Genetically Modified Food on Human Health Middle East Journal of Applied Science & Technology (MEJAST) (Peer Reviewed International Journal) Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 75-86, July-September 2019 Impact of Genetically Modified Food on Human Health Muhammad faisal1, Muhammad Saeed1, Misbah Aslam1 & Muhammad Asif Raheem1* 1*Institute of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan-60880, Pakistan. Article Received: 21 February 2019 Article Accepted: 15 July 2019 Article Published: 30 August 2019 ABSTRACT Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or those plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth is called Food. With the huge increasing population of the world, food production from natural resources could not meet their needs. So researchers move to produce more food using molecular-level techniques. This type of food is called genetically modified food (GM food), whose genetic material has been altered which is not present already in nature. GM food is made to increase nutrient content by alternation, has many advantages for humans as it increases the nutritional content and formation of pest, drought, herbicide, and cold resistant plants. But at the same time, it has negative impacts also. It is genetically unsafe, causing organ damage and allergic reactions in the digestive tract. The researchers are trying to do their best to produce crops with their desired characteristics by using molecular-level techniques. Keywords: Genetically modified organisms, Transformation, Food crops, Bacillus thuringiensis. INTRODUCTION Abbreviation GMOs: Genetically modified organisms B.t.: Bacillus thuringiensis CRISPR: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats FDA: Food and Drug Administration INTRODUCTION Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are those organisms in which the genetic material has been altering which are not already present in nature and genetically modified foods are those foods derived from animals and the plants in which genes from particularly desired characteristics are added to an organism DNA. 1 GMOs are used in various ways such as used in biological and medical research, production of pharmaceutical drugs, experimental medicine, and agricultural field. By the gene alteration method, we are improving the needs of food and also it improves the quality of the food.2 We can get our desired characters or goals in plants and animals (such as resistance to disease, improve shelf life) more quickly as compared to using traditional methods. (Verma 2011) But many ethical issues are also opened which describe the negative effect of the production of genetically modified foods. It shows that the insertion of the gene of interest for desired characters in the food may be protective but may cause high expression of such genes related to many diseases such as chronic.4 METHODS OF PRODUCTION OF GM FOODS Several methods are known for the production of GMOs from which we get the food. The gene of interest which inserted into the cell of microorganisms, plants or animals is called a transgene. It is consolidated into the genome of the recipients which are called transgenic. The transgenes are genes with known traits or mutated variants of known genes. There many direct and indirect methods of gene transformation are known these days. 1,5 75 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2582- 0974 Website: www.mejast.com Middle East Journal of Applied Science & Technology (MEJAST) (Peer Reviewed International Journal) Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 75-86, July-September 2019 PHYSICAL METHODS S.No 1. Microinjection 6. Laser-mediated 2. Macro-injection 7. Silica/Carbon fibers 3. Pressure 8. Electrofusion 4. Biolistic-gene gun 9.. Electroporation 5. Protoplast 10. Particle bombardment CHEMICAL METHODS S.No. 1. Polyethene glycol, 4. Protein 2. Liposome-mediated transfer 5. Artificial lipid 3. Dendrimers 6. Calcium phosphate BIOLOGICAL METHODS S.No. 1. Agrobacterium-mediated 2. Virus-mediated 6,7,16,8–15 76 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2582- 0974 Website: www.mejast.com Middle East Journal of Applied Science & Technology (MEJAST) (Peer Reviewed International Journal) Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 75-86, July-September 2019 ELECTROPORATION Electroporation is a physical phenomenon in which tiny pores are formed in the cell membrane by applying a sufficiently high electric field. (Bennett et al. 2014; Delalande et al. 2015) These pores are enough for the transport for a broad range of molecules such as DNA into and out of the cell. It is a reversible and irreversible method. This occurs in the lipid bilayer of the membrane of all prokaryotes and eukaryotic cells. This method is first reported for excitable cells in 1958 and no excitable cells in 1967, for planer lipid bilayers in 1979, and for lipid vesicles in 1981. 6,19 The preparation of soymilk (when soybean washed and soaked overnight and blended with water) is an example of electroporation in which cell culture exposed to an electric field. 20 MICROINJECTION Microinjection is a physical cell transfer method in which foreign genetic material (gene of interest) directly inject into cell parts. 5,21–23 Nowadays, we developed an automated micropipette based quantitative microinjection technology. By this technology precise amount of material delivered into the cell. 24 Other several microinjection systems are also introduced which based on robotic technology to enable automated injection which high transfection efficiency. 20,25,26 AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION It is a biological method of transfer the gene of interest into the plant genome. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is gram negative soil bacteria which cause disease in the plant (many woody and some herbaceous plant) called “Crown gall disease” through its Ti plasmid which causes plant tumor. A complex process is involved in the integration of T-DNA (Ti plasmid). 8,27–30By replacing the Ti plasmid which causes infection we can solve the problem of the tumor in the plant. The 1st transgenic cotton has obtained by this method. 31,32 WHY GM FOOD NEEDED? The word GM food is used for such crops which are formed by genetic engineering. Such plants have been altered in the laboratory to improving many interesting characteristics such as, disease resistance or to improve nutritional value. Genetic engineering helps to produce such plant with exact desire trait rapidly. (Verma 2011) For example by this technique, extract a gene which contains drought tolerance trait and inserts that gene into the different plants. The new plant will be genetically modified drought tolerance. By increasing the population food demand also increases 33. So with the help of GM food, we can increase the quantity of food by using short land but high productivity is cultivated.34 As the food was deficient many essential nutrients, (vitamins and minerals) for example, deficiency of Vitamin A causing many diseases such as (liver disorders, eye disorders)? Not only we can transfer the gene from plant to plant but we can transfer the gene from non-plant to the plants. The best example is B.t. cotton in which we take the gene from bacterial species, Bacillus thuringiensis and transfer it into the plants such as corn, cotton, etc.35 SOME GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD CROPS Soybeans, Maize, Sugarcane, Canola, Cotton, Corn, Brinjal, Rice, Banana, Potato, Tomato36,37 77 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2582- 0974 Website: www.mejast.com Middle East Journal of Applied Science & Technology (MEJAST) (Peer Reviewed International Journal) Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 75-86, July-September 2019 SOME GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD ANIMALS Sheep, Goats, Mice, Cow, Fish35 ADVANTAGES OF GM ORGANISMS 1. PEST RESISTANCE Farmer uses chemical pesticides in a lot of amounts which causes much fetal disease. The consumer never likes to eat such dangerous food which shows health hazard results. Excessive use of these pesticides and fertilizers causes water toxicity. By genetic engineering, GM foods grow such as B.t. (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn can help to eliminate the application of chemical pesticides. 3,38 It’s naturally occurring bacteria which cause the death of the insect larvae by producing certain types of proteins. The gene of this protein has been transferred into crops which becomes pest resistance. 39,40 2. HERBICIDE TOLERANCE Crop plants are genetically engendered to the herbicides which are damaging and reducing the number of crops. For example, a roundup product has been genetically modified by Monsanto. The 2010 study has found that roundup formulation causing metabolic disruption in leporinus obtusidens due to long term exposition.41 So by the production of herbicides tolerance crop, it reduces the production cost, limits the danger application of wheat killer pesticides. 42,43 Another example is maize which is genetically modified for herbicide tolerant as well as insect resistance. (Naegeli et al. 2018) 3. DISEASE RESISTANCE There are many Microorganisms like (viruses, fungi, and bacteria) that cause plant disease. With the help of genetic engineering, we are trying to create plants that carry the gene that shows tolerance against the above microorganisms. 3,45 4. COLD RESISTANCE Due to the cold temperature, the yield of many crops is reduced. By using the genes from cold water fish and introduce into plants such as potatoes and tobacco. By these genes, plants become cold resistance. 3,46 Barely genes are used to produce many crops cold resistance as well as all other abiotic stresses and disease resistance.47 5. VIRUS RESISTANCE Due to the attack of the virus on crops production of the crops reduced. Therefore, genetically modified crops are produced in a different way to increase production and prevent the attack of viruses. RNA-mediated gene silencing technique is used to degrade the viral RNA and inactivated the viral DNA by methylation. 42,48 CRISPR/CAS9 technique also use to produce virus resistance crops.49,50 6. DROUGHT TOLERANCE/SALINITY TOLERANCE 78 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2582- 0974 Website: www.mejast.com Middle East Journal of Applied Science & Technology (MEJAST) (Peer Reviewed International Journal) Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 75-86, July-September 2019 By increasing the population of the world, the need for food also increases.
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