Green Beans With Banana Genes

Introduction: Genetically modified organisms are exactly what they sound like. They are organisms that have been tampered with to create similar organisms with a few changed characteristics. Although farmers and other groups have been tampering with the genes of crops for a long time, it is now possible to insert a specific gene of interest into another organism. GMO's are created by using T.I. plasmids that contain the gene of interest. The T.I. plasmids go through transformation and the agricultural bacteria replicates its DNA. This bacteria is put into a plant cell which will eventually be grown into a GM plant. To identify GMO's the cell wall must be mashed up to create a wounded target. Whatever is being tested is then put into a hot H2O bath that breaks open the cell membrane. Next, instagene matrix is used to kill DNAse. With DNAse out of the picture DNA is open game. The next process, polymerase chain reaction, (PCR) replicates the DNA so we can identify whether or not it is genetically modified. PCR requires four ingredients, target DNA, nucleotides, the enzyme thermus aquaticus, and primers. Once the DNA has been replicated plenty of times, it's time to find out the answer. Found in 85% of GMO's, T.I. plasmids are the target that will prove if the organism is genetically modified. A gel must be run and if the GM band shows up then the organism is genetically modified, and if the plant band appears it is not. As it should be, genetically modified food is a controversial topic because both sides have strong points. Those in favor of GMO's argue they improve nutritional value, can be mass produced, and selective breeding brings out the best in foods. Those who oppose  GMO's have found the negatives in this process. Amongst their concerns are moral values in regards to tinkering with evolution, allergic reactions, and the problems that accompany a monoculture of products. Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Since GMO's are fairly new technology it's almost impossible to be certain. Our lab will consist of bringing in a food product from the store and doing all of the steps above to discover whether or not that food is genetically modified. Since so much of today's food is genetically modified, I believe our food will also prove to be a GMO.

Results/Observations: Our final gel had a band in every single lane. Since the first lane, test food with plant primers appeared, we know that DNA extraction worked. The second lane was test food with GMO primers. The band appearing in this lane proved that our first test food was in fact GMO. The third and forth lanes had the same results but were just a different food. The fifth lane was a GMO positive control DNA with plant primers. The fact that a band appeared in this lane shows that PCR was successful. Lane six was a GMO positive control DNA with GMO primers which reinforced that PCR worked. Finally lane seven contained just a marker. The band in this lane proved that gel electrophoresis worked.