Zhejiang University Professor Invents New Technology to Protect Genetically Modified Foods

Beijing time Today, the US authoritative magazine "Public Science Library - General" (PLoS ONE) published an article by Zhejiang University professor Shen Zhicheng, introducing a simple and controllable transgenic technology invented by his research group. With this technology, GM foods can be eaten with confidence.

For decades, scientists around the world have continuously invented and improved transgenic technologies that can easily transfer specific genes between different species.

The use of transgenic technology can enable crops to have functions such as insect resistance, disease resistance, and herbicide resistance, and can also produce genetically-modified agricultural crops such as insulin and swine vaccines that have important economic value as pharmaceutical and industrial proteins.

Although the test and promotion of GM crops are very important, there are potential risks. When genetically modified crops are planted, they may have “gene drift” in the genes that they transfer into the outside world, affecting other crops or wild plants and causing adverse consequences. In the United States, there is a large biotech company that has contaminated nearby crops with a genetically modified corn. The U.S. government requested that it completely acquire and destroy all potentially contaminated crops and receive heavy penalties.

It is not easy to kill GM rice selectively. Shen Zhicheng, who has long been engaged in the research and development of genetically modified rice, said that at present, China has invested a lot of research power in genetically modified rice to consider the further application and promotion of transgenic crops. "If you can't control the mix of genetically modified and non-transgenic rice, it will seriously affect China's safe use of transgenic technology to improve crops, but also affect the export of foods that use rice as raw material," Shen Zhicheng said.

By chance, Shen Zhicheng discovered that the herbicide Bendason, which is often used by farmers, kills weeds but is harmless to rice. As a result, Shen Zhicheng and the research team started reverse thinking research. Adding a “surgery” to genetic manipulation of rice leaves the transgenic rice with no resistance to herbicides. After a number of field trials, the spraying of bentazon alone eliminated all the genetically modified rice mixed with conventional rice.

This invention has also been recognized by foreign counterparts in agricultural biotechnology. Dr. Nick Duck, vice president of crop genetics company Athenix, said: "With this technology, we can enable GM crops used in industry, energy and medicine to grow under controlled conditions and be isolated from crops for other uses." Cornell University, USA Prof. Frank Shotkoski, director of the Technical Support Program, also stated that this clever technology is simple, easy to understand and apply, and can be used by all farmers, especially in developing countries, where crop GMO technology is their most promising technology.

"This invention will not only be used to control genetically modified rice, we are also using its principles to develop genetically modified corn that can be controlled." Shen Zhicheng said that he has applied for a series of domestic and foreign patents for this research result. (Finish)

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