Quote:
Originally Posted by paradisi
nature does give us mutations all of the time - but those mutations aren't the result of some multinational company trying to make a profit by gene splicing from like and unalike organisms.
|
This concept of splicing like and unlike organisms is misleading. It is false to assume that the 1st half of one organism sequence is being replaced by a half section or whatever of another organism sequence.
More accurately, a whole rRNA sequence contains 100,000 to millions of nodes or sites. The typical goal in gene splicing (e.g., wheat) is to replace molecules bonded to one or a few sites that produce undesirable traits -- such as disease susceptibility. Researchers then look in nature for an existing rRNA sequence which has a small portion that matches the target area of the gene (e.g., the few sites on the wheat) -- BUT with different or sometimes no bonded molecules that do not produce the undesirable trait.
Notice that I am not saying whether I approve or disapprove of this practice, I am simply asking for accuracy in the discussion. Agricultural GMO means replacing a very tiny portion of one sequence with a tiny, nearly identical portion of another.