Transgenic Crop Plants: Principles and Development

339 Pages·2010·5.724 MB·English

by  Michael R. Davey, Jaya R. Soneji, M. Nageswara Rao (auth.), Chittaranjan Kole, Charles H. Michler, Albert G. Abbott, Timothy C. Hall (eds.)

Transgenic Crop Plants

Chittaranjan Kole Charles H. Michler
l l
Albert G. Abbott Timothy C. Hall
l
Editors
Transgenic Crop Plants
Volume 1: Principles and Development
Editors
Prof.ChittaranjanKole Prof.AlbertG.Abbott
DepartmentofGenetics&Biochemistry DepartmentofGenetics&Biochemistry
ClemsonUniversity ClemsonUniversity
Clemson,SC29634,USA Clemson,SC29634,USA
[email protected] [email protected]
Prof.CharlesH.Michler Prof.TimothyC.Hall
Director InstituteofDevelopmental&Molecular
HardwoodTreeImprovementand Biology
RegenerationCenteratPurdueUniversity DepartmentofBiology
NSFI/UCRCCenterforTreeGenetics TexasA&MUniversity
WestLafayette,IN47907,USA CollegeStation,TX77843,USA
[email protected] [email protected]
ISBN:978-3-642-04808-1 e-ISBN:978-3-642-04809-8
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-04809-8
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
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Preface
TransgenicPlants–knownalsoasBiotechPlants, GeneticallyEngineeredPlants,
orGeneticallyModifiedPlants–haveemergedamazinglyfastasaboonforscience
andsociety.Theyhavealreadyplayedandwillcontinuetoplayasignificantrolein
agriculture,medicine,ecology,andenvironment.Theincreasingdemandsforfood,
feed,fuel,fiber,furniture,perfumes,minerals,vitamins,antibiotics,narcotics,and
many health-related drugs and chemicals necessitate development and cultivation
oftransgenicplantswithaugmentedorsuppressedtrait(s).Fromasingletransgenic
plant(FlavrSavrTM tomatowithalongershelf-life)introducedforcommercializa-
tionin1994,wehavenow13transgeniccropscovering800millionhectaresin25
countries of six continents. Interestingly, the 13.3 million farmers growing trans-
genic crops globally include 12.3 million (90%) small and resource-poor farmers
from 12 developing countries. Increasing popularity of transgenic plants is well
evidencedfromanannualincreaseofabout10%measuredinhectaresbutactually
of15%in“traithectares.”Consideringtheurgentrequirementoftransgenicplants
and wide acceptance by the farmers, research on transgenic plants is now being
conducted on 57 crops in 63 countries. Transgenic plants have been developed in
over100plantspeciesandtheyaregoingtocoverthefields,orchards,plantations,
forests, and even the seas in the near future. These plantshave been tailored with
incorporationofusefulaliengenesforseveraldesirabletraitsincludingmanywith
“stackedtraits”andalsowithsilencingofgenescontrollingsomeundesirabletraits.
Development,applications,andsocio-politicalimplicationsoftransgenicplants
are immensely important fields now in education, research, and industries. Plant
transgenicshasdeservedlybeenincludedinthecoursecurriculainmost,ifnotall,
leading universities and academic institutes all over the world, and therefore
reference books on transgenic plants with a classroom approach are essential for
teaching,research,andextension.Therearesomeelegantreviewsonthetransgenic
plantsorplantgroups(includinga10-volumeseries“CompendiumofTransgenic
Crop Plants” edited by two of the present team of editors C. Kole and T.C. Hall
published by Wiley-Blackwell in 2008) and on many individual tools and techni-
quesofgenetictransformationinplants.Allthesereviewscouldsurelyservewell
v
vi Preface
thepurposeforindividualcropplantsorparticularmethodologies.Sincetransgenic
plant development and utilization is studied, taught, and practiced by students,
teachers,andscientistsofoveradozendisciplinesunderbasicscience,agriculture,
medicine, and humanities at public and private sectors, introductory reference
books with lucid deliberations on the concepts, tools, and strategies to develop
and utilize transgenic plants and their global impacts could be highly useful for a
broadsectionofreaders.
Deployment of transgenic crop plants are discussed, debated, regulated, and
sponsored by people of diverse layers of the society including social activists,
policymakers,andthestaffofregulatoryandfundingagencies.Theyalsorequire
lucid deliberations on the deployment, regulations, and legal implications of
practicingplanttransgenics.Moreimportantly,depictionofthepositiveandrealis-
tic picture of the transgenic plants should and could facilitate mitigation of the
negative propaganda against transgenic plants and thereby reinforce moral and
financialsupportfromallindividualsandplatformsofthesociety.Globalpopula-
tionisincreasingannuallyby70millionandisestimatedtogrowupto8billionby
2025. This huge population, particularly its large section from the developing
countries, will suffer because of hunger, malnutrition, and chemical pollution
unlessweproducemoreandmoretransgenicplantsparticularlywithstackedtraits.
Compulsiontomeet therequirementsofthisgrowingpopulationonearth andthe
proven innocuous nature of transgenic plants tested and testified for the last
13yearscouldsubstantiatetheimperativenecessityofembracingtransgenics.
Traditional and molecular breeding practiced over the last century provided
enormous number of improved varieties in economic crops and trees including
wheat andrice varietiesthatfosteredthe“green revolution.”However,thesecrop
improvement tools depend solely on the desirable genes available naturally, crea-
table by mutation in a particular economic species or their shuffling for desired
recombinations.Transgenicbreedingopenedanovelavenuetoincorporateuseful
aliengenesnotonlyfromothercross-incompatiblespeciesandgeneraoftheplant
kingdom,butalsofrommembersoftheprokaryotesincludingbacteria,fungi,and
viruses, and even from higher animals including mice and humans. An array of
plantgenetic engineering achievements starting from developinginsect resistance
transformingwiththecrygenesincottonfromthebacteriaBacillusthuringiensisto
thepresent-daymolecularpharmingexpressingtheinterferon-agenefromhuman
intobaccoevidenceforthispan-specificgenetransfer.
Humanandanimal safetyisanothergeneralconcernrelatedtotransgenicfood
or feed. However, there is no reliable scientific documentation of these health
hazardsevenafter13yearsofcultivationoftransgenicplantsandconsumptionof
aboutonetrillionmealscontainingtransgenicingredients.Utilizationoftransgenic
plantshasreducedthepesticideapplicationsby359,000tonsthatwouldotherwise
affect human and animal health besides causing air, water, and soil pollution and
alsomitigatedthechanceofconsumptionofdeadmicrobesandinsectsalongwith
foodsorfeeds.
Geneflowfromtransgeniccropspeciestotheircross-compatiblewildrelatives
isagenuineconcernandthereforerequiredtestingofatransgeniccropplantbefore
Preface vii
deployment followed by a comprehensive survey of the area for the presence of
interfertilewildandweedyplantsbeforeintroductionofatransgeniccropisbeing
seriouslyconducted.
Additionofnovelgenotypeswithtransgenesinthegermplasmsisincreasingthe
biologicaldiversityratherthandepletingit.Useofthegeneticallyengineeredplants
hasalsoeliminatedgreenhousegasemissionof10millionmetrictonsthroughfuel
savings.Infact,1.8billionlitersofdieselhasbeensavedbecauseofreducedtillage
andplowingowingonlytoherbicide-resistanttransgeniccrops.Manytransgenics
arenowbeingusedforsoilreclamation.Aboveall,cultivationoftransgeniccrops
hasreturned$44billionofnetincometothefarmers.Perhapsthesearethereasons
that 25 Nobel Laureates and 3,000-plus eminent scientists appreciated the merits
and safety and also endorsed transgenic crops as a powerful and safe way to
improve agriculture and environment besides the safety of genetically modified
foods.Manyinternationalandnationalorganizationshavealsoendorsedhealthand
environmental safety of transgenic plants; these include Royal Society (UK),
National Academy of Sciences (USA), World Health Organization, Food and
AgricultureOrganization(UN),EuropeanCommission,FrenchAcademyofMedi-
cine,andAmericanMedicalAssociation,tonameafew.
Production,contributions,andsocio-politicalimplicationsofbiotechplantsare
naturally important disciplines now in education, research, and industries and
therefore introductory reference books are required for students, scientists, indus-
tries, and also for social activists and policy makers. The two book volumes on
“TransgenicCropPlants”willhopefullyfillthisgap.Thesetwobookvolumeshave
severaluniquefeaturesthatdeservemention.Theoutlinesofthechaptersforthese
twobooksareformulatedtoaddresstherequirementsofabroadsectionofreaders.
Students and scholars of all levels will obtain a lot of valuable reading material
required for their courses and researches. Scientists will get information on con-
cepts, strategies,and clues usefulfor their researches. Seed companiesand indus-
tries will get information on potential resources of plant materials, and expertise,
andalsofortheirownR&Dactivities.Inbrief,thecontentsofthisserieshavebeen
designedtofulfillthedemandsofstudents,teachers,scientistsandindustrypeople,
for small to large libraries. Students, faculties, or scientists involved in various
subjectswillbebenefitedfromthisseries:biotechnology,bioinformatics,molecu-
lar biology, molecular genetics, plant breeding, biochemistry, ecology, environ-
mental science, bioengineering, chemical engineering, genetic engineering,
biomedical engineering, pharmaceutical science,agronomy, horticulture, forestry,
entomology,pathology,nematology,andvirology,justtonameafew.
Ithasbeenourprivilegetoeditthe23chaptersofthesetwobooks,contributed
by 71 scientists from 14 countries, and the list of authors includes one of the
pioneers of plant transgenics Prof. Timothy C. Hall (one of the editors also);
some senior scientists who have themselves edited books on plant transgenics;
and many scientists who have written elegant reviews on invitation for quality
books and leading journals. We believe that these two books will hopefully serve
the purposes of the broad audience: those who are studying, teaching, practicing,
supporting, funding, and also those who are debating for or against plant
viii Preface
transgenics.Thefirstvolumededicatedto“PrinciplesandDevelopment”elucidates
the basic concepts, tools, strategies, and methodologies of genetic engineering,
while the second volume “Applications and Safety” enumerates the utilization of
transgenic crop plants for various purposes of agriculture, industry, ecology and
environment, and also genomics research. The second volume also deliberates
comprehensivelyonthelegalandregulatoryaspects;addressesthemajorconcerns;
andfinallyjustifiesthecompulsionofpracticingplanttransgenics.
Little more detail on the contents of the volume “Transgenic Crop Plants:
Principles and Development” will hopefully substantiate its usefulness. This vol-
umefocusesonthemethodsforconstructinggenevectors,introducingthesegene
vectors into plant tissue, targeting gene insertion to specific tissues, methods for
detectingtransgene expression, generationoftransgenicplants,andtypesoftraits
and bioproducts that are targeted for these technologies. The first chapter of this
volumepresentsglimpsesontheseaspectsandalsoonthoserelatedtodeployment
oftransgenicplants.
Oneimportantfactorthatdeterminessuccessfultransgeneinsertionisthedeci-
sionofexplanttypeforuseintransformation.AcomprehensivereviewinChap.2is
providedfrompreviousresearchwithbothherbaceousandwoodyplants.Theuse
of morphogenic calli for cereals is discussed along with somewhat standardized
protocols for each individual woody species. Gene transfer methods have been
discussed including use of Agrobacterium, biolistics, electroporation, liposomes,
microinjections,andbioactivebeadsinChap.3.
Onceatransgeneisinserted,markershavebeenusedtoeitherscorethesuccess
ofthetransgeneeventorscreenforthesuccessfulevents.Althoughmuchworkhas
beendoneusingnptandgus,recentworkhaslookedatmarkergeneremovalinthe
finaltransgeneproductinordertobelieenvironmentalconcerns.Furthermolecular
characterizationwithSouthernblotanalysisandPCRconfirmdefinitivetransgene
integrationandcopynumber.Chapter4hasbeendevotedtothesecriticalsteps.
Stableandregulatedtransgeneexpression,asdescribedinChap.5,isnecessary
for the transgenic plant to express the trait of interest for further research or
commercial applications. The use of constitutive and tissue-enhanced promoters
alongwithattentiontoattachmentregionswithintheDNA,introns,RNAintegrity
factors,andtranscriptionfactorswilldeterminetransgeneexpressionandthelevels
thereof. Besides using transgenes for introduction of nucleic acid for novel trait
production,transgeneshavealsobeenusedtosilencenativegenesforapplications
suchasresistancetonematodes,insects,andviruses.Asinterestingaretheapplica-
tionstoreduceproductionofcompoundsinsomeplants,suchascaffeineincoffee
and sulfur metabolites in onions, that are disagreeable to portions of the human
populations. All of these silencing events rely on RNAi technology to degrade
native RNA for those traits of interest. Chapter 6 provides a commentary on the
employmentofRNAitechnologyandtheimplicationsandoutcomeofexpression
andgenesilencinghavebeenexplicatedinChap.7.
Researchershavealsobeensuccessfulwithorganelletransfer,whichhasappli-
cationstomolecularpharming,ashavebeenenumeratedinChap.8.Thistechnique
canbeemployedtoovercomesometransgeneexpressiondifficulties.Cellculture
Preface ix
biosynthesis and metabolic engineering are the focus of the last two chapters
(Chaps.9 and 10) in this volume and these chapters offer an intriguing look at
research into production of high-value energy and medicinal products, secondary
metabolites, and plants with attractive esthetic qualities. Because we still have a
rudimentary understanding of many biochemical pathways, we are continuing to
gain new knowledge and insight into pathway function, but commercial plant
systemsarestilllackinginmostdesirabletraitswheneconomicviability,environ-
mentalsafety,andsustainabilityaretakenintoaccount.
Wethankthe31scientistsfrom9countriesfortheirelegantandlucidcontribu-
tionstothisvolumeandalsofortheirsustainedsupportthroughrevising,updating,
and fine-tuning their chapters. We also acknowledge the recent statistics we have
accessedfromthewebsitesofMonsantoCompanyon“ConversationsaboutPlant
Biotechnology” and “International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech
Applications on ISAAA Brief 39-2008: Executive Summary” and used them in
thisprefaceandelsewhereinthevolume.
We enjoyed a lot our Clemson-Purdue-Texas A&M triangular interaction,
constant consultations, and dialogs while editing this book and also working with
the editorial staff of Springer, particularly Dr. Sabine Schwarz, who had been
supportivesincetheinceptiontillthepublicationofthisbook.
Welookforwardtosuggestionsfromallcornersforthefutureimprovementof
thecontentandapproachofthisbookvolume.
ChittaranjanKole,Clemson,SC
CharlesH.Michler,WestLafayette,IN
AlbertG.Abbott,Clemson,SC
TimothyC.Hall,CollegeStation,TX