Application Of Genetic Engineering On The World - 1606 Words

Application of Genetic Engineering on Taro Adam Mohamed 10/23/2015 Introduction The field of genetic engineering is very promising, pertaining to the future of agriculture around the world. Research in this area is allowing for more and more improvements to the various aspects of a crop such as yield, visual quality, taste, nutritional value, disease immunity, and cold resistance, as well as many other benefits. A further understanding of both the genetics of crops and how to influence the characteristics listed above will support the lives of many, protect biodiversity, create many new jobs due to the ability to farm crops in new areas, and other possibilities. The Cocoyam, also known as Taro, is a tropical plant belonging to†¦show more content†¦Adam Mohamed Application of Genetic Engineering on Taro Literature Review The article Genetic Engineering to Improve Quality, Productivity and Value of Crops by Abhaya Dandekar provides information on the various benefits that genetic engineering allows for in a plant. Regarding nutritional benefits, genes that concern the production of healthy amino acids, oils, and other substances can be edited, removed, or introduced to increase the abundance of these helpful substances, allowing for generally healthier crops. Studies on the popular plant Arabidopsis thaliana have revealed much about influencing when a plant will begin to flower. This research is valuable in that it permits a better understanding of how to control the length of the period of time between the growing stage of a plant, and the flowering stage (when it can be harvested). In crops such as cabbage, the flowering stage can be stopped altogether, letting the leaves themselves be harvested, instead of having the plant die after flowering. Influencing the heat or cold resistan ce of a plant could allow for the crop to grow in temperatures that it normally wouldn’t be able to, such as having genetically modified bananas manage to grow in a