Ethical issues and the biosafety of GM organisms ·… | StemPy Lab
Course 28.3·Lesson 1 of 3
Ethical issues and the biosafety of GM organisms
People can now change the genes of crops, animals and microbes. Who decides what may be done, and what may go wrong? This lesson gives the reasons for rules, the work of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, and the risks that A-Level and IB courses add.
about 30 min1 simulation1 practice question
Lesson 1 of 3Show all lessonsHide
Try the code and the simulations beside the lesson.
A seed company wants to sell
Suppose a company has a new GM crop. It says that the crop is safe and gives a high yield. Should the farmers be allowed to grow it at once? And who should decide?
NCERT answers in a few clear sentences.
The manipulation of living organisms by humans cannot go on without regulation.
Some ethical standards are needed to judge the morality of all the human activities that might help or harm living organisms.
Beyond morality, the biological significance of such activities is also important.
Genetically modified organisms could have unpredictable results when they are introduced into the ecosystem.
The GEAC
For this reason, the Indian Government has set up organisations such as the GEAC, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee. It makes decisions on two matters.
The validity of GM research.
The safety of introducing GM organisms for public services, such as food and medicine.
A flow chart with three boxes in a row joined by arrows. Box 1: a proposal to do research on a genetically modified organism or to release it for public use, for example as food or medicine. Box 2: the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, GEAC, set up by the Government of India, judges the validity of the research and the safety of releasing the organism. Box 3: the decision, which is approval or refusal. A note below says that GM organisms could have unpredictable results in an ecosystem, which is why the check is needed.
The word approval in the name is the key to it. A GM crop or a GM medicine is not released because its maker says that it is safe. A committee checks the research and the safety first.
NCERT adds a second problem that comes with the use of living organisms for public services: patents. You will meet it in the next lesson.
What the risks are (beyond NCERT)
This part is not in the NEET syllabus, but A-Level and IB courses ask it. They name four risks that a regulator weighs against the gains.
Gene flow. Pollen of a GM crop may reach a wild relative or a neighbour's crop, and pass the transgene on.
Effects on other organisms. A toxin made for one pest may harm harmless insects.
Resistance in pests. If every plant makes the toxin, the few pests that can survive it breed, and resistance spreads.
Allergy. A new protein in a food may cause an allergy in some people.
The model in the picture below follows the first risk, gene flow. Pollen of a GM field falls away with distance.
Farmers and regulators use this idea to fix an isolation distance, which is a gap between a GM field and another crop.
A model of resistance (A-Level and IB)
A farmer can slow down the spread of resistance by leaving a refuge. This is a part of the area with plants that do not make the toxin. Pests that live there are not selected for resistance. They mate with the few resistant pests that come from the toxin plants, and the offspring are still susceptible.
A line graph of the frequency of a resistance allele in a pest, from 0 to 0.5, over 600 generations. Four curves rise in an S shape. With no refuge the curve reaches 0.5 after about 59 generations. With a refuge of 10 per cent of the area it reaches 0.5 after about 177 generations, with 20 per cent after about 324 generations, and with 30 per cent after about 513 generations. The frequency starts at 0.001.
The graph comes from a short model. It is not data from a real field. The next program computes it.
Try it in Python
The first program prints the share of pollen from a GM field at five distances.
Practise with new numbers
Common mistakes
Saying that the GEAC gives patents. It decides on the validity of GM research and on the safety of releasing GM organisms.
Saying that GM organisms are always harmful. NCERT says that the results could be unpredictable, which is why a check is needed.
Thinking that ethics means only harm to people. The rules also look at the harm to other living organisms.
Mixing up the committee. GEAC stands for Genetic Engineering Approval Committee.
Remember these
Regulation and ethical standards are needed for the manipulation of living organisms.
GM organisms could have unpredictable results in an ecosystem.
The Indian Government set up the GEAC. It decides on the validity of GM research and the safety of introducing GM organisms for public services.
A-Level and IB add: gene flow, effects on other organisms, resistance and allergy.
Check yourself
Try each one on your own first. If you are stuck, open a hint. Then check with Show the answer.
Why must the manipulation of living organisms be regulated?