|
Daily University Science News
Depending
on your point of view, the great promise or peril of modern
agriculture has germinated on millions of acres of North
American cropland as the genetically modified organism --
or GMO -- has taken center stage.
But
as science begins to accumulate and explore plant and animal
genomes -- the entire set of genetic instructions for a
particular organism -- a new revolution is in the offing
and, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison biologist
Robert Goodman, promises a long-lasting and favorable impact
on agriculture worldwide.
Addressing
scientists in San Francisco Saturday, Feb. 18, at the annual
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, Goodman forecast a world of change as scientists
use the maps of the genomes of key plants and animals, giving
them unprecedented access to the genetic instructions that
govern life. The new knowledge, he says, could significantly
enhance the traditional and far less controversial practices
of crop and livestock improvement through breeding.
"From
a scientific perspective, the public argument about genetically-modified
organisms, I think, will soon be a thing of the past,"
Goodman says. "The science has moved on and we're now
in the genomics era."
Instead
of slipping one or two genes in or out of an organism to
confer or promote a desirable trait in a plant or animal,
as is the case in GMO technology, the advent of genomics
portends an even more powerful tool as scientists can now
rapidly comb the thousands of genes in a genome to see which
genes are at work.
"The
key is you can detect function." says Goodman. "You
can see genes at work and you can focus on lots of genes
all at once. This is what breeders have done for more than
a century, but with new knowledge and modern tools of the
trade, breeders can make more rapid progress on many more
traits than in the past."
The
potential of genomics to do good, especially in developing
countries, is enormous, Goodman argues. And he expresses
hope that the polarizing issues and mistakes that have dogged
GMO technology can be avoided.
"Genomics
adds centrally and substantially to the toolbox of the plant
breeder," says Goodman, a UW-Madison professor of plant
pathology and a former executive vice president for research
and development at Calgene, a pioneering crop biotechnology
company.
Critically,
the technology can be a path to world food security and
aid in the development of industries and institutions in
countries that will permit them to cope with rapidly growing
populations and dwindling resources, Goodman says.
"Researchers
in public institutions in developing countries need this
technology," he argues, "and, more to the point,
they themselves can use it -- if arrangements are put in
place to make useful genomic sequences and technologies
generally available."
Goodman
serves as an advisor to the McKnight Foundation, an organization
that promotes scientific advancement for crop improvement
in many of the world's less developed countries.
He cited
the fact that the rice genome, now completely mapped, has
the potential to spark significant increases in production
and begin to eliminate some of the human health and environmental
problems associated with industrial agriculture. For example,
by building resistance to insect pests into crops, scientists
may help curb cavalier use of chemical pesticides that now
take a huge environmental and human health toll in the developing
world.
The
power of genomics, explains Goodman, lies in the fact that
nature has been parsimonious in its use of genes. For example,
rice, a member of the grass family, has a genome with few
fundamental genetic differences from other grasses such
as corn, wheat, and tef, a grain on which millions of people
in Africa depend. The genome for A. rabidopsis, a common
laboratory workhorse for plant scientists, is now in hand
and provides a framework for using genomics in many crops
such as legumes, vegetables and fruits.
The
ability now to employ genomic technology to comb these genetic
instructions and focus on new combinations of genes based
on their functions and interactions means that the pace
of development of new plant cultivars, many of them not
engineered in the way GMOs are created, may accelerate dramatically.
Goodman
says it is essential to get the technology into the hands
of scientists in developing nations because they will have
the best opportunities to tailor the technology to local
agricultural conditions, crops, crop improvement priorities
and traditions.
Although
an advocate of employing genomic technology, Goodman parts
company with many in industry by advocating labeling of
engineered products and greater public dialogue and education.
There is also great danger, he warns, in a potential concentration
of power by having the technology held by just a few transnational
companies.
"The
controversy is as much about the economics of the system
as it is about the technology or its safety," he says.
"The industrialized model of agriculture that we depend
on won't work very well in the world at large where nearly
half of the population is engaged in food production. We
need new models, but we can't shut the door on a technology
that has tremendous potential to improve the lives of so
many."
|
