The Green Phoenix

by Lurquin, Paul F.

• ISBN13: 9780231122627
• ISBN10: 0231122624
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

Providing the first account of the story behind genetically engineered plants, Paul F. Lurquin covers the controversial birth of the field, its sudden death, phoenixlike reemergence, and ultimate triumph as not only a legitimate field of science but a new tool of multinational corporate interests. In addition, Lurquin looks ahead to the potential impact this revolutionary technology will have on human welfare.As Lurquin shows, it was the intense competition between international labs that resulted in the creation of the first transgenic plants. Two very different approaches to plant genetic engineering came to fruition at practically the same time, and Lurquin's account demonstrates how cross-fertilization between the two areas was critical to success. The scientists concerned were trying to tackle some very basic scientific problems and did not foresee the way that corporations would apply their methodology. With detailed accounts of the work of individual scientists and teams all over the world, Lurquin pieces together a remarkable account.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(4)
Where It All Began	5	(27)
Genetic Experiments	32	(24)
The Crown Gall Breakthrough	56	(30)
Direct Gene Transfer	86	(17)
Where We Are Now, and the Future	103	(20)
Appendix One Cesium Chloride Density Gradients and Their Use in DNA Analysis	123	(3)
Appendix Two Hybridization Experiments with DNA	126	(3)
Appendix Three What Classical Genetics Says About Transformation Experiments	129	(3)
Appendix Four Plasmids, Transposons, and Horizontal Gene Transfer in Bacteria	132	(3)
Appendix Five Liposomes	135	(2)
Appendix Six Cell Electroporation	137	(2)
Notes	139	(4)
Glossary	143	(4)
References	147	(16)
Index	163