Unfortunately I don't think anything you or I or anyone else has to say for that matter will have much affect on genetic engineering of plants or animals. It's already being done and dollar signs will ensure that it will continue. Chances are you've already eaten genetically engineered corn and that's the worst part about this whole thing is there is no warning telling you about it.
I am a graduate student in botany/molecular biology and routinely perform transgenics/transient expression with plants. I respectfully disagree with you on a few points of your anti-transgenics argument. The growth chambers required, most likely Percivall controlled chambers, are pretty expensive at around $10,000. But many research universities have these available. You do need to store bacteria in a -80 freezer but you don't use liquid N2 you use glycerol in a 15% final concentration. The bacterial line may be a little expensive but once you have cells you can propogate them for a long time and make competent cells for transformations. Another thing you mentioned is the use of viruses for transgenics and how this increases viral resistance to drugs in the environment. I do not use viruses for this, I use Agrobacterium and its ability to insert foreign DNA into a host. Also bombardment with a gene gun and DNA-bound beads shot onto plant callus. then there's no bacteria OR viruses. I definitely think that Cannabis transgenics are possible and not just for THC% increase, but to also upregulate terpene production or introduce certain terpenes particular strains don't produce. These can have antitumorogenic and antimicrobial properties as well as increase psychoactivity.
Monsanto's already way ahead of you, but they play god in order to lower potency. they produced seeds at the University of Mississippi, potentially for exclusive contract in the Canadian medical market. they programmed the plants to produce no more than 6% thc (which is super low), and to not be open-pollinating (like all Monsanto seeds). in either case, GMO crops have been proven to be unstable genes and have had little, if any, testing as for their safety.Hi everyone,
Hope you will forgive introducing myself in this part of the forum. I just wanted you all to be aware of this:
The Biotechnology of Cannabis Sativa
It's a free discourse on the ways biotechnology (genetic engineering) may be applied to increase cannabis potency and to possibly create a whole mess of novel structural phenotypes.
Most (if not all) of the genes in the THC production pathways have been sequenced and can be obtained for free on sites like NCBI's entrez.
Sam Zwenger, the author of the pdf I linked even goes on to document actual transgenic GFP (green fluorescent protein) cannabis. Doesn't look like much, but this is a milestone in DIY genetic engineering. Next year, I hope to duplicate his results and possibly start my own transgenic cannabis projects.
glad to see somebody using his head
liquid N is the key component of the -80 freezer and glycerol is a preservative just like using DMSO at 5% final conc.
I understand that liquid N2 is what refrigerates a -80, but that's not the only part of his comments that I disagreed with. I believe that it is possible to have GM Cannabis crops considering that it is not a food staple. Most crops, especially indoor crops, could be contained in the growing process and once harvested, are not risks for releasing unstable genetics into the environment. My argument was that it is not that difficult or as dangerous as it is stated to create/introduce GM Cannabis. If anything, the genetic studies alone would help us to understand the underpinnings of the psychoactive and medicinal products of the plant and therefore led to more effective Cannabis around the world.
again, whether it's easy or not, GM cannabis seeds were already produced by Monsanto at the University of Mississippi. i still think it's the worst idea in growing.
one large danger is their "teminator seeds" potentially spreading the gene across plant species, giving it the potential to completely wipe out all food. think about that, they have the power to literally starve the world, and really no way to contain it if it were to happen.
Exactly. And that's what they want because if one of their pantented types of corn (or any other crop) starts to spread accross the world wiping out all other species of corn then their corn would be the only corn left and they would own every ear of corn in the world because the have patented the genetics and they would control the whole market of the corn crop. Not to mention it is dangerous in regards to our health. And what if these engineered genes are transferred to an animal? Do they own the animal now? Or even better, a human...
