Asked by: Siara Mohnatsky
science genetics

How is alfalfa genetically modified?

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The genetically modified crop — developed by Monsanto and Forage Genetics, an alfalfa seed company that is owned by the Land O'Lakes farming and dairy cooperative — contains a gene that makes the plant resistant to the herbicide Roundup. That allows farmers to spray the chemical to kill weeds without hurting the crop.


Furthermore, what percent of alfalfa is GMO?

13.5 percent

Similarly, are alfalfa sprouts GMO? Though alfalfa is commonly used for growing sprouts, that application is not allowed by the biotech company that patented genetically modified alfalfa and controls its use 2.

Beside this, what gene is inserted in alfalfa?

The new alfalfa was developed by inserting a gene into the plant's DNA, making it resistant to glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide. This technology has been widely used with canola, cotton, soybeans and corn and allows for the spraying of fields with the herbicide, killing weeds without affecting the crop.

How is squash genetically modified?

Dennis Gonsalves, a biologist at Cornell University, to create a squash resistant to viruses, the bane of farmers. Four years later they were taking genes from two viruses devastating to squash and inserting them into the DNA of normal squash. The genes produce coat proteins, which encase a virus's genetic material.

Related Question Answers

Laurencia Beerendt

Professional

When was the first genetically modified alfalfa?

2005

Himar Mathey

Professional

What foods are genetically engineered?

More than 90% of all soybean cotton and corn acreage in the U.S. is used to grow genetically engineered crops.

  • Corn. Genetically modified corn turns up in many different products in the U.S. — and corn on the cob is the least of it.
  • Soybeans.
  • Cotton.
  • Potatoes.
  • Papaya.
  • Squash.
  • Canola.
  • Alfalfa.

Marsel Stegmeyer

Professional

What are the side effects of alfalfa?

Side effects of alfalfa include:
  • sun sensitivity.
  • lack of red cells, white cells, and platelets in the blood (from ground alfalfa seeds)

Yahia Pozos

Explainer

What are some genetically modified plants?

Most current GM crops grown in the U.S. are engineered for insect resistance or herbicide tolerance. Corn, soybeans, and cotton are the three largest acreage GM crops. GM crops grown in Colorado include corn, alfalfa, sugar beet, soybeans, and canola.

Rubiela Mulerman

Explainer

How is corn genetically modified?

Bt corn is a variant of maize that has been genetically altered to express one or more proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis including Delta endotoxins. The protein is poisonous to certain insect pests. Spores of the bacillus are widely used in organic gardening, although GM corn is not considered organic.

Millerlandy Clain

Explainer

How are papayas genetically modified?

Luckily scientists at the universities of Hawaii and Cornell were already working on the problem. Using the newly-invented technique of genetic modification, they used a genetic sequence from the virus and inserted it into the papaya genome. Analagous to vaccination in humans, this produced 100% virus-resistant plants.

Noah Otaegui

Pundit

How is GMO canola made?

Genetic modification
Plants which are exposed to glyphosate are unable to produce aromatic amino acids and in turn die. To produce the Roundup Ready canola, two genes were introduced into the canola genome. One is a gene derived from the common soil bacterium Agrobacterium strain CP4, that encodes for the EPSPS enzyme.

Asiel Haneke

Pundit

How are sugar beets genetically modified?

A genetically modified sugar beet is a sugar beet that has been genetically engineered by the direct modification of its genome using biotechnology. Commercialized GM sugar beets make use of a glyphosate-resistance modification developed by Monsanto and KWS Saat.

Agar Rubiano

Pundit

What good is alfalfa?

Alfalfa is an herb. Alfalfa is used for kidney conditions, bladder and prostate conditions, and to increase urine flow. It is also used for high cholesterol, asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, upset stomach, and a bleeding disorder called thrombocytopenic purpura.

Giuliana Gaethe

Pundit

How is cotton genetically modified?

The genetic modification (GM) involves adding a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to cotton. Modified crop varieties with a Bt trait produce a protein that is toxic to some insect larva.

Sviatoslav

Pundit

What is GMO in milk?

Most conventional milk comes from cows given supplemental feed from genetically engineered corn and soy. “Non-GMO milk” is shorthand for milk from cows that do not consume such feed — which is also true of organic milk.

Rogelia Weyhreter

Teacher

When was squash genetically modified?

What is the history of GE squash and zucchini? The first variety of genetically engineered yellow squash, resistant to zucchini yellow mosaic virus and watermelon mottle virus 2, was developed by the Asgrow Seed Co. and first planted by farmers in 1995.

Rosaura Dodonov

Teacher

What do GMOs do?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

Cameron Timakin

Teacher

What is squash used for?

Used as a Vegetable in Cooking
Instead, squash have a predominantly earthy flavor and are prepared and served as a vegetable — except when some types, like pumpkin, are used in desserts, such as pie. Squash is not usually eaten raw as is fruit, though zucchini and yellow summer squash can be.

Sundas Naujoks

Teacher

What gene was added to Papaya?

Papaya expressing the coat protein gene of Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) was deregulated in 1998 and commercialized in Hawaii (Table 1). PRSV is a major limiting factor to papaya production in Hawaii and around the world.

Elton Demirhanov

Reviewer

What GMO products are sold in Canada?

In Canada, GM crops are largely produced in Ontario and Quebec. Currently, there are four genetically modified crops available on the market, including canola, soybeans, grain corn and sugar beets, with several other varieties approved by the government.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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21st March, 2020

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