Abstract
Genetic engineering (GE) offers an expanding array of strategies for enhancing disease resistance of crop plants in sustainable ways, including the potential for reduced pesticide usage. Certain GE applications involve transgenesis, in some cases creating a metabolic pathway novel to the GE crop. In other cases, only cisgenessis is employed. In yet other cases, engineered genetic changes can be so minimal as to be indistinguishable from natural mutations. Thus, GE crops vary substantially and should be evaluated for risks, benefits, and social considerations on a case-by-case basis. Deployment of GE traits should be with an eye towards long-term sustainability; several options are discussed. Selected risks and concerns of GE are also considered, along with genome editing, a technology that greatly expands the capacity of molecular biologists to make more precise and targeted genetic edits. While GE is merely a suite of tools to supplement other breeding techniques, if wisely used, certain GE tools and applications can contribute to sustainability goals.
Document Type
Review
Publication Date
5-20-2016
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050495
Repository Citation
Vincelli, Paul, "Genetic Engineering and Sustainable Crop Disease Management: Opportunities for Case-by-Case Decision-Making" (2016). Plant Pathology Faculty Publications. 56.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/plantpath_facpub/56
Included in
Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Biotechnology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Sustainability Commons
Notes/Citation Information
Published in Sustainability, v. 8, issue 5, 495, p. 1-22.
© 2016 by the author; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).