What is transgenic food?

What is transgenic food?

2007-9-26

Transgenosis technology is a kind of modern technology in molecular biology, which is used to transfer genes from one species into another so as to reconstruct the genetic materials of the receiving species for the improvement of its properties, quality of nutrition in line with the need of human beings. The transgenic species as immediate food and food processed from transgenic species are called transgenic food. 
In other words, transgenic food are those directly made from or processed from the species (animals, plants and microorganisms, etc.) which can produce substances possessing highly effective expressions, such as polypeptide and protein, after one or several types of exogenous genes are transferred into it through the means of genetic engineering.
The basic principle of transgenosis is easy to understand. It bears some similarity with common hybridization. The difference only lies in that hybridization transfers the whole chain of genes (chromosome), while transgenosis only selects the most useful section of genes to transfer. In this sense, transgenosis has a higher standard in selectivity.
Categories of transgenic food:
In order to enhance the nutritious value of agricultural products and produce food faster and more effectively, scientists are adopting transgenosis technology to alter genetic data and reassemble new genes of species. The technology helps to obtain new transgenic food continuously and meanwhile enables food to be of higher nutrition, stronger preservability, and sounder resistibility to illnesses, insect pest and herbicide. 
The first category----transgenic plant food product
There are various kinds of transgenic plant foods, such as high protein wheat used to bake breads. To reverse the situation that wheat in the current market contains low rate of protein, protein genes possessing highly effective expressions are transferred into wheat, so that bread made from the wheat can be of more nutritious value.
Another example is tomato, which is of rich nutrition, high economic value but weak preservability. It is discovered by researchers that ACC synthase gene as controlling factor is the major cause for decaying of plants. If the expression of the gene can be inhibited by the means of generic engineering, biosynthesis of ACC will be curbed so that plants won't soften and rot so easily. At present, with the joint efforts of many scientists from different countries, such as America and China, a novel variety of tomato which characterizes in strong resistibility to decaying and to softening, and sound preservability comes out. These characters enable long-distance transportation of the fruit and reduction of waste in its processing and transportation.
The second category---transgenic animal food product
There are a variety of transgenic animal food products too, such as transgenic milk and pork. For example, cows into which certain gene from human body is transferred can produce milk with special gene. After abstraction it can be used to cure human diseases. While pigs into which a kind of growth factor gene of human is transferred can grow at twice speed of ordinary pigs. And the quality of the pork is improved. Such a kind of transgenic pork is now a delicious dish on the tables of Australian families.
The third category---transgenic microorganism food product
Microorganisms are the most common material for transgenosis. Therefore, the cultivation and application of transgenic microorganisms are much easier. For instance, usually rennin for the production of cheese could only be abstracted from the stomach of the killed calf. Nowadays, with transgenosis technology and transgenic microorganisms, rennin can be obtained outside of the body, avoiding the mass killing of calves and diminishing the cost. 
The forth category---special transgenic food product
Special transgenic food products refer to our common corps, greens and fruits that have been processed by the means of genetic engineering to contain magic edible vaccines for the purpose of guarding against certain diseases. A typical example is a type of clove containing a cholera vaccine. Fed with the clover, mice can greatly increase disease resistance. In addition, the cholera vaccine can not only stand stomach acid, but also activate body��s immunity to cholera. Now, more and more researches are being conducted to transfer anti-disease genes into plants, to enable people to defend against diseases while enjoying freshness and sweetness of fruits and vegetables.


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Entry author: Astrid Espinosa Sánchez.