Genetically modified crops have been widely planted all over the word, which have reduced the using of chemical pesticide and increased the yield. With gene editing technology, exogenous genes can be introduced into genome of crops, which brings additional capacity such as resistance of diseases, tolerance of stresses, increasing of organic matters, increasing of yields and many other benefits.
The first genetically modified crop is tobacco. It was engineered to be resistant to herbicides. Then, tomato was edited to have a longer shelf life. Crops have been modified with various traits, including improved shelf life, stress tolerance, disease resistance, additional compounds production, toxic absorbing and others.
Insects and viruses bring diseases to crops, which effect the yields and quality of them. With gene editing technology, gene expressing insecticidal proteins and antiviral proteins can be transformed in to genomes of crops. Tobacco, corn, rice, potato and some other crops have been engineered to have these traits.
Crops with resistance from glyphosate, bromoxynil, glufosinate, 2,4-D, dicamba and other herbicides has been generated and grown. Grains, grass crops, soybean and many important cash crops have been modified to have resistance of herbicide. Besides，crops has been engineered to have resistance from abiotic stresses, such as drought, flood, extreme weather, high salinity and others.
Some oil crops, such as soybean, has been modified to accumulate high levels of oils. And some plants are modified to enrich more nutrition like vitamin, protein, starch and others. Besides, improving photosynthesis process, such as inserting C4 pathways into C3 plants, can also increasing yield of crops.
| Organism | Crop | Use | Trail | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicago sativa | Alfalfa | Animal feed |
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| Brassica rapa | Canola | Cooking oil |
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| Gossypium | Cotton | Fiber |
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| Zea mays | Maize | Food |
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| Glycine max | Soybean | Cooking oil |
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| Beta vulgaris | Beet | Food |
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| Solanum tuberosum | Potato | Food |
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Table1. Crops Genetically Modified with Improved Trails
Microbial biotechnology is widely used in agricultural as well. Cyanobacteria have great potential in developing the sustainable agriculture practices. They can be utilized in improving soil fertility, changing soil structure and biological control, as well as participating in carbon cycle and nitrogen fixation.
Biofertilizer produced by cyanobacteria can improve yield of wheat, as well as its viability. Compared with chemical fertilizer, biofertilizer is more cost-efficient and environment friendly.
Besides, cyanobacteria are considered as a potential source of proteins, lipids, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins. Some of them have been used as a food supplement long time ago in some places like Peru, Mexico and Chile. Organisms of Spirulina contain amount of rare polyunsaturated fatty acid, which has pharmaceutical properties. Besides, cyanobacteria are utilized as animal feed for improving yield of livestock product as well.
With advanced and mature gene editing platform RecoNase™, Lifeasible offers services including gene knock-in and gene knock-out in cyanobacteria, chloroplast and yeast. Our experienced scientists have established efficient and high-precision gene editing toolkit, in which our customers can get satisfying results on time. Please feel free to contact us, get started with our professional services.
