High Tech Harvest

by Lurquin, Paul F.

• ISBN13: 9780813339467
• ISBN10: 0813339464
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Genetically engineered plant products line the shelves of our grocery stores but we don't know which ones they are because no label identifies them. Should we be concerned? Biotech companies claim that engineered corn and canola are safe, but are they telling the truth? Should we, like the Europeans, be engaging in violent protests against biotechnology? InHigh Tech Harvest, Paul Lurquin answers these questions and more, believing that the public has a right to know and understand how its food is manipulated at the most basic level, that of the DNA itself. With the goal to inform, and a mission to reinforce the importance of the scientific method, Paul Lurquin writes a comprehensive and user-friendly description of the scientific origins, the development, and the applications of genetically modified plants throughout the world today.

Author Biography

Dr. Paul Lurquin, Ph.D. is Professor of Genetics at the School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University. He is one of the pioneers of the science of plant genetic engineering and the author of The Green Phoenix: A History of Genetically Modified Plants (2001).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
Chronology of Events	xv
Introduction	1	(6)
Before Biotechnology	7	(18)
Before Genetics	7	(2)
The Discovery of Genes	9	(10)
Genes Are Located on Chromosomes	19	(6)
From Mendel to DNA	25	(16)
The Chemical Nature of Genes	26	(4)
The Structure of DNA	30	(5)
The Flow of Genetic Information in Cells	35	(6)
Genes in the Test Tube: The Recombinant DNA Revolution	41	(22)
Cloning	43	(7)
Another Technique	50	(2)
Identifying Cloned Genes	52	(2)
The Fine Structure of Genes	54	(4)
Safety	58	(5)
Difficult Beginnings and Great Triumphs: The Transformation of Plants	63	(32)
False Starts	65	(8)
An Unlikely Ally	73	(4)
Agrobacterium Does Transfer Genes to Plants After All	77	(6)
The Taming of Agrobacterium	83	(4)
Back to the Beginning	87	(8)
Plant Biotechnology: Accomplishments and Goals with Food Plants	95	(24)
Crop Protection	97	(12)
Boosting Yields through Enhanced Photosynthesis	109	(3)
Produce Quality and Nutrition	112	(4)
Patent Protection	116	(3)
Other Applications of Plant Biotechnology	119	(18)
Salt and Frost Tolerance	120	(5)
Plant Biotechnology and Human Health	125	(4)
How Plant Biotechnology Could Be Used to Clean and Monitor the Environment	129	(2)
A Most Unusual Application: Plastics-making Plants	131	(6)
Controversies	137	(28)
Opposition to Genetic Technology	138	(17)
Biotechnologists Respond	155	(1)
The Next Green Revolution	156	(1)
Monopolies	157	(2)
What About the Third World?	159	(3)
Conclusions	162	(3)
Epilogue	165	(4)
Appendix 1 Plasmids	169	(4)
Appendix 2 A Note on GM Animals and Potential Applications to Humans	173	(4)
Appendix 3 Regulation of Biotechnology	177	(4)
Appendix 4 Population Growth, Agronomical Production, and GM Plants	181	(6)
Notes	187	(6)
Glossary	193	(6)
References	199	(6)
Index	205