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| Select item below | Biotechnology and plant breeding |
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Progress in UK Plant Breeding
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Biotechnology involves managing biological processes to make useful products. Everyday goods, such as bread, cheese and beer, are all made using biotechnology. Recent progress in explaining the science behind biological processes has significantly enhanced our ability to exploit them for the benefit of mankind and the environment. The evolution of plant breeding is a classic example of how improved biological understanding has been adapted to provide more effective methods of meeting the demands of a changing world. All forms of plant breeding involve the improvement of crops by selection. Since man began farming he has selected seeds from the best plants for the next generation. Over the centuries, this selection process has become more scientific, bringing major improvements in the yield, quality and diversity of agricultural and horticultural crops. The principles of plant genetics, first established by Gregor Mendel in the 19th century, laid the foundations for traditional plant breeding, in which selected parents are cross-pollinated to combine certain desired characteristics, such as high yield and resistance to pests and disease. These characteristics are determined by genes - units of hereditary material which are transferred from one generation to the next. Since the plant contains many thousands of genes, and the breeder is seeking to combine a ranges of traits in one plant, developing a successful variety can be an extremely lengthy process - up to 12 years in the case of cereals. Using biological knowledge derived from cross-pollination, plant breeders have developed physical and chemically-assisted ways of enhancing the speed, accuracy and scope of the selection process. Breeding systems involving grafting and hybridisation, for example, have extended breeders' capabilities at the whole crop level, while more recent cell-based techniques enable breeders to operate at the level of individual cells and their chromosomes. Return to Top of Page Modern plant biotechnologyModern biotechnology is the latest stage in the development of plant breeding technology. Crick and Watson's discovery of DNA's double helix structure in the 1950s held the key to cracking the genetic code which determines how all living things work. The tools of the biotechnologist, developed as a result, have further increased the speed and precision of plant breeding techniques and widened the choice of characters for selection.Modern biotechnology allows crop improvement to take place at the level of individual genes. Techniques such as genetic modification enable plant breeders to identify the single gene responsible for a particular trait, and insert, delete or modify it in a plant variety. This extends the range of characters at the breeder's disposal, and enables specific genes to be expressed in a crop plant without the uptake of unwanted characteristics which must then be selected out. Return to Top of Page
Benefits of plant biotechnologyPlant biotechnology offers significant improvements in virtually every area of crop production and utilisation, with potential benefits to farmers, the food industry, consumers and the environment.Farmers will benefit from crops with improved agronomic properties and capable of more efficient use of agrochemicals. More accurate selection of desired characters, such as crop quality and uniformity, will improve the marketability of farm produce. Crops better tailored to meet end-users requirements, such as processing or storage qualities, will serve the interests of food processors and retailers. Consumers can look forward to a wider choice of food products with improved physical and nutritional characteristics, produced using fewer chemical processes. The technology also has the potential to deliver significant health benefits, for example by removing allergenic and other toxic characteristics from many food stuffs. Plant biotechnology will benefit the environment by providing crops which require lower energy, pesticide, fertiliser and water inputs. The development of crops for non-food use such as biofuels, specialist industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals will offer renewable and environmentally preferable alternatives to many existing products and processes. At a global level, plant biotechnology will play a key role in helping agricultural productivity keep pace with the food demands of a rapidly growing world population, by delivering continued yield improvements and, with developments such as built in drought and salinity tolerance, byadapting food crops to unfavourable growing conditions. Biotechnology will positively encourage and resource the preservation and characterisation of genetic diversity in well managed centres throughout the world. Benefits:
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Regulation of plant biotechnologyBecause of its precise and controllable nature, the genetic modification of plants has been described by the Health and Safety Commission's Advisory Committee on Gentic Modification as "one of the safest technologies ever developed". Genetic modification is unique in having a raft of legislation to control its development and commercialisation well before the first GM crops have reached UK growers. Before the seed of a genetically modified crop variety can be offered for sale, it must first pass through a rigorous evaluation process to guard against potentially adverse effects in terms of human health, environmental or food safety. To reinforce public confidence in this new technology and the responsible way in which it si being developed by plant breeders, BSPB supports the appropriate regulation of genetic modification, based on the best available knowledge, However, international differences in the way genetically modified products are currently aproved for sale has highlighted the need for a harmonised approach to regulation. Such a system would allow all countries equal access to the technology and its benefits, as well as improving international trading arrangements. Return to Top of Page
Current developments in biotechnologyThe use of biotechnology in plant breeding programmes has become more widespread in recent years, but in commercial terms the technology is still in its infancy. The table below highlights GM applications currently being developed for major UK food crops.
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Looking to the futureFuture applications of biotechnology will deliver major benefits along the food chain. From agronomic advances to food processing and storage improvements, GM crops offer the potential to enhance the quality, safety and nutritional value of our food.Longer term, plant biotechnology could bring a transition from many crude industrial processes towards renewable, field-based production of specialist chemicals, medicines and biofuels. By harnessing the natural ability of plants to act as individual cell factories, biotechnology offers a cleaner and safer way to meet our own needs and those of future generations. Published by: Return to Top of Page
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