Pew Summary Charts (Pew, 2001)

 

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Summary Chart of Food Crop Products
Summary Chart of Tree Products
Summary Chart of Grass and Flower Products
Summary Chart of Industrial, Pharmaceutical and Remediation Products
Summary Chart of Mammals
Summary Chart of Aquatic Organisms
Summary Chart of Insects

 

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Summary Chart of Food Crop Products (Source: Pew 2001)

Food Crop Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Arabidopsis	30	Use this flowering mustard plant as a model organism to research how plants can withstand adverse environmental conditions such as flooding, drought and salinity.	Arabidopsis is currently being engineered to produce compounds that help plants survive in soils with high salt levels.	Being tested in research greenhouses.
Banana	22	Find a way to make banana plants resistant to black sigatoka, a leaf fungus that widely infects the fruit and can destroy the entire plant.	Clone several anti-fungal genes and incorporate them into the DNA of trial banana plants.	Being tested in research fields and greenhouses.
Cereal crops	33	Enhance the iron content in cereal crops such as rice.	Ferritin, a protein that causes plants to store iron, has been introduced to the rice genome; preliminary research shows a three-fold improvement in the iron storage capacity of the rice plants.	Being tested in research fields.
Field and sweet corn, soybeans, potatoes and cotton	25	Engineer crop plants so they are resistant to worms (including the European corn borer, the Southwestern corn borer, the cornstalk borer, corn earworm and fall armyworm), which eat through the stalks and devastate entire acreages.	Several delta-endotoxin genes have been cloned from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and incorporated in the DNA of these crops. The crops release a toxin that kills worm larvae when they try to eat the plant stalks.	Available commercially

 

Food Crop Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Papaya	21	Develop resistance to papaya ringspot virus, which devastated the Hawaiian crop in the 1950s.	Use viral coat protein technology to create resistance in transgenic papaya by using a gene from the virus itself to disarm the pathogen.	Available commercially; in use in Hawaii since 1997.
Potato	22	Stop wilting and death of the plant, caused by infection with a fungal pathogen.	Incorporate anti-fungal defensins from alfalfa.	Being tested in research greenhouses.
Potato	23	Eliminate or curb late potato blight, a destructive plant  fungus associated with the Irish potato famine that causes severe plant and leaf damage.	Use a gene from soybeans to create a protein that confers resistance to blight.	Undergoing laboratory investigation.
Potato	24	Stop blackleg and soft rot diseases caused by a bacterial pathogen.	Develop transgenic potatoes that produce a substance that breaks down the cell wall of bacteria.	Undergoing laboratory investigation.
Potato	40	Reduce fat absorption during frying, to create a lower-fat fried potato.	Engineer transgenic potatoes to contain a gene for an enzyme affecting starch synthesis. The resulting potatoes had up to 60 percent more starch than non-engineered strains, causing the potatoes to take up less fat during frying.	Being tested in research greenhouses

 

Food Crop Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Potato and banana	27	Eliminate or reduce plant damage from nematodes, microscopic worms that feed on roots and are among the most abundant parasites in the world.	Incorporate genes for defense proteins that occur naturally in rice and sunflowers.	Being tested in research fields. (So far tests indicate a 70 percent nematode resistance).
Potato	21	Eliminate or curb potato leaf roll virus, which damages potatoes.	Use viral coat protein resistance strategy and anti-sense technology to develop resistance to the virus.	Available commercially.
Potato	32	Maximize yield.	Produce transgenic potatoes with more protein, to increase both tubers and yield.	Being tested in research laboratories and greenhouses. (So far, an increase of 3 to 3.5 percent has been achieved).
Rice	23	Reduce major fungal diseases such as blast and sheath blight, which cause from 11 to 30 percent of crop losses annually.	Develop transgenic strains with multiple resistances to both sheath blight and stem boring insects.	Being tested in research fields.
Rice	32	Maximize yield.	Modify transgenic rice with a gene that inhibits formation of certain proteins and, thus, prolongs the grain-filling period of the plant.	Being tested in research fields. (In the first trial, this rice demonstrated a 40 percent increase in productivity).

 

Food Crop Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Rice (aka “Golden Rice”)	33	Overcome lack of beta- carotene, a nutrient widely studied for its role in cancer prevention, as well as iron deficiency.	Genetically engineer the rice to contain beta-carotene, as well as enhance its iron content.	Being tested in greenhouses and research fields.
Soy, corn, cotton, canola, sugar beet and wheat	28	Eliminate weeds that compete with crops for soil nutrients, water and sunlight.	Genetically engineer the crops so they can tolerate the herbicides used to kill weeds, and survive herbicide applications.	Available commercially.
Soybean and canola oils	34	Improve fatty acid profiles in these oils so they are more nutritious.	One example has been the creation of transgenic soybean oil that has 80 percent more oleic acid and no transfatty acids.	Available commercially.
Soybeans	27	Eliminate or reduce damage from nematodes, microscopic parasitic worms.	Use genetic markers, a means of identifying genes with particular traits, to create soybean plants resistant to the nematode.	Being tested in research greenhouses.
Sweet potato	21	Fight sweet potato feathery mottle virus, which can cause heavy crop losses.	Use viral coat protein resistance strategy to develop virus resistant plants.	Being tested in research fields.

Food Crop Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Tomatoes	32	Increase the anti-oxidant properties of tomatoes.	Engineer tomatoes with more lycopene, a powerful anti- oxidant, and increased levels of lutein, known to help fight eye disease.	Undergoing laboratory investigation. (Scientists have already produced tomatoes with 2.5 times as much lycopene, as  well as higher levels of lutein).
Tomatoes	38	Control the ripening process to reduce spoilage caused by over-ripening that may occur during transport of produce to market.	Use transgenic techniques to regulate production of the plant hormone ethylene, which confers the ability to initiate or delay the ripening process.	Being tested in research fields.
Vegetable staples such as potato, cassava and plantain	34	Increase total protein content.	Introduce a non-allergenic seed albumin gene to increase protein content.	Being tested in research greenhouses. (Transgenic tubers produced so far had 35 to 45 percent more protein and enhanced levels of essential amino acids, as well as a yield increase).

 

Food Crop Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Wheat	21	Combat barley yellow dwarf virus, which can destroy the plants and prevent seed formation.	Use the viral coat protein approach to develop resistance to the virus.	Undergoing laboratory investigation.
Wheat	38	Reduce allergenicity in one of the most commonly allergenic foods.	Genetically engineer wheat to overexpress the gene that controls the enzyme that modifies the protein in wheat that causes allergic reactions.	Being tested in research greenhouses.
Wheat and barley	23	Eliminate a serious plant fungus, Botrytis cinerea, which causes severe damage to the plant and grain kernels.	Insert the gene for a natural plant defense compound that is found in certain wine grapes.	Being tested in research fields.
Yellow crookneck squash	21	Curb or kill mosaic virus that can cause blemishes and rot.	Viral coat protein approach was used to develop resistance to the virus.	Approved for commercial use.

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Summary Chart of Tree Products (Source: Pew, 2001)

Tree Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Apple trees	46	Stop or reduce fire blight, a destructive bacterial disease that kills blossoms, shoots, limbs and, sometimes, the entire tree. Fire blight is common throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.	Insert a gene from the giant silk moth into the DNA of apple trees to make them resistant to fire blight.	Being tested in research fields.
Populus Species (includes: Poplar, Aspen and Cottonwood trees)	48	Reduce the lignin content, a structural component of trees that provides rigidity and is difficult to break down during the process of producing paper pulp.	Apply anti-sense genetic engineering to reduce the lignin biosynthesis.	Being tested in research fields.
Cottonwood trees	46	Reduce damage from the cottonwood leaf beetle, a major pest of the Populus species throughout North America.	Modify trees with several Bt genes.	Being tested in research fields. (Early results show resistance to the pest but the level varied depending on the state of the beetle’s development).
Fruit trees	46	Reduce or eliminate damage from the coddling moth (also known as the apple cutworm). The larvae can destroy over 80 percent of  an apple crop and up to 60 percent of pears.	Use a Bt gene to engineer resistance to the pest.	Being tested in greenhouses and limited research fields. (Scientists recently accomplished this objective in Gala apples).
Stonefruit (plum, peach, nectarine, and apricot)	47	Combat plum pox virus, a major disease carried by aphids and responsible for heavy orchard losses. The disease can severely disfigure fruit, reduce its quality and compromise the health of trees.	Use viral coat protein technology to create transgenic fruit by using a plum pox virus coat protein.	Being tested in research fields. (Transgenic lines were resistant to plum pox virus for three years. Hybrids developed from the transgenic trees were also virus-resistant).

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Summary Chart of Grass and Flower Products (Source: Pew, 2001)

Grass/Flower Product

Page

The Objective

The Solution

Status of Research

Turf grass (often used for golf courses)	51	Control invasion by annual bluegrass	Engineer bentgrass to resist herbicides, such as glyphosate, which may allow for better bluegrass and weed control.	Being tested in research fields.
Turf grass	51	Increase tolerance to drought, salt and cold.	Modify turf grass using the gene encoding for the enzyme betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), which has the potential to confer enhanced tolerance to these conditions.	Being tested in research fields and laboratories.
Petunia	51	Create a non-traditional color of petunia.	An orange petunia was developed in 1987 by introducing a pigment-producing gene from corn.	Available commercially.
Flowers	51	Create transgenic flowers in non-traditional colors, particularly blue. Parallel objectives: Increase flower life and create longer flower stems strong enough to support the bloom and long enough for vase presentations.	The first mauve carnation, “Moondust,” was introduced in 1996 and scientists are now attempting to extend the range of this palette. Several transgenic approaches to increasing flower life are being pursued, including modification to control ethylene synthesis. “Long vase length genes” have been applied to several varieties of carnation and other species.	Greenhouse testing continues for a wider range of cut flower colors. The mauve carnation, “Moondust,” is now available commercially. A patent also now exists for the “long vase length” gene.

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Summary Chart of Industrial, Pharmaceutical and Remediation Products (Source: Pew, 2001)

Industrial/ Pharma- ceutical/ remediation Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
American chestnut tree	66	Extend the recovery process for the American chestnut that was virtually eliminated by chestnut blight, a fungal disease.	A hypo-virulent fungus, discovered in chestnut trees in Italy made it possible to engineer resistance in some transgenic trees.	Ongoing testing in research fields; improved hypovirulent viruses and transgenic fungi are being developed.
Anti-bodies	61	Develop anti-bodies that can be used in diagnostic testing.	Researchers produced transgenic tobacco plants engineered to express the Hepatitis B core antigen.  This antigen is used to screen blood for Hepatitis B.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.
Avidin	54	Achieve efficient production of avidin, which is usually found in egg whites.  Avidin is used in medical and biochemical diagnostics.	Transgenic corn was developed that can produce avidin at a level many times greater than that found in egg whites.	Available commercially.
Biosensors	64	Develop biosensors capable of detecting landmines.	Scientists engineered bacteria for sensitivity to TNT, the material commonly used in explosives.  The bacteria were then further modified to contain a jellyfish protein that creates a green fluorescent colour when TNT is detected.	Being tested in research fields.

 

Industrial/ Pharma- ceutical/ remediation Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Castor oil	56	Reduce toxicity and allergenicity of castor seeds.	Anti-sense technology is being used to disarm the ricin protein  and thus remove the protein that causes the allergen.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories; a patent for transgenic castor oil has been filed.
Edible vaccines	60	Improve the safety and availability of vaccines, particularly in developing countries.	Develop transgenic plants that produce the vaccine, enabling it to be consumed directly by humans. (Researchers recently introduced a gene expressing an HIV-suppressing protein into a spinach plant.  The plant then began to produce the desired protein.)	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.
Enzymes for industrial purposes	53	Enhance the production of the industrial enzyme cellulase, which is used to make alchol.	Cellulase has been produced in transgenic Arabidopsis.  Because it requires high temperatures for activity, it remains inactive in the live transgenic plant and is not activated until the harvested plants are processed.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.
Epoxy oil	56	Increase production for use in premium oil-based paints that require no organic solvents.	Stimulate epoxy oil production in castor beans; excess oil is then available for incorporation in speciality paints.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.

 

Industrial/ Pharma- ceutical/ remediation Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Human proteins	62	Meet the expanding demand for complex human proteins used in therapeutics and diagnostics.	Corn, rice, canola and tobacco have been modified to produce specific human proteins. (Researchers have modified rice to produce a protein of therapeutic potential in cystic fibrosis, liver disease and hemorrhages.)	Undergoing investigation in laboratories. (A pharmaceutical product made from rice protein is undergoing clinical trials.)
Human proteins	62	Make anti-coagulants that can be used to treat blood clots.	Hirudin, an anti-coagulant, has been produced in transgenic canola.	Available commercially in Canada.
Plants that can accumulate metals	63	Clean up soil contaminated by high concentrations of metals such as copper, cadmium, cobalt, aluminum, manganese, nickel, selenium and zinc.	Transgenic plants and trees capable of absorbing many hazardous metals have been developed.	Being tested in research fields.
Plastics	54	Develop renewable resources as alternatives for petroleum-based products.	Scientists isolated the genes necessary for plastic polymer production, transferred them into corn and Arabidopsis, and produced the first plant-synthesized plastic.  This source of plastic, however, is not yet economically feasible.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.

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Summary Chart of Mammals (Source: Pew, 2001)

Mammal Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Goats	75	Produce an ultra-strong material similar to the frame silk of spiders, which is highly prized yet cannot be cultivated commercially in spiders.	Breed transgenic goats whose mammary glands produce milk with proteins derived from spider genes that can be used to create spider silk.	Soon to be commercially available.
Pigs	73	Produce tissues and organs for use in human beings. (Transplanting animal organs to humans is known as xenotransplantation.)	Scientists have demonstrated the ability to clone pigs and are now working to better understand the factors that contribute to tissue rejection and viral transmission, factors critical to successful transplantation.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.
Sheep, pigs or goats	73	Modify animals to create human proteins that might be used in expanding the range of proteins available for medical therapy.	Produce proteins generally targeted for genetic disorders that have few, if any, alternative therapies.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories. (Several of these proteins are in clinical trials prior to application for FDA approval).

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Summary Chart of Aquatic Organisms (Source: Pew, 2001)

Aquatic Organism Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Farmed catfish	79	Eliminate enteric septicemia, a serious disease in the industry, which can be fatal to fish as soon as five days after exposure.	Use genetic engineering technologies to enhance resistance to the disease.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.
Farmed fish	78	Enhance growth to reduce production time and increase food availability.	Development of transgenic salmon, which contained a growth hormone gene that caused the fish to grow 3 to 5 times faster than their non-transgenic counterparts.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories (To date, at least nine species of fish have been genetically modified for enhanced growth).
Farmed fish	78	Increase tolerance to cold to extend geographical range for fish farming, and reduce losses in aquaculture from sudden climate change.	Improved cold tolerance has been accomplished by transferring the gene which controls freeze tolerance from the genome of another fish.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories.
Farmed fish	79	Produce transgenic species that are sterile, thus avoiding the environmental risk of releasing modified fish into the general aquatic population	Scientists are working on genetic engineering approaches that regulate hormones to confer sterility in transgenic fish.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories  (A method called polyploidy is already available for producing sterile fish, but it does not guarantee 100 percent of the fish will be sterile).
Farmed shrimp	79	Curb pathogenic viruses that cause yellow-head disease and white-spot syndrome.	Current work uses retroviruses to genetically modify tiger prawns and for virus resistance.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories

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Summary Chart of Insects (Source: Pew, 2001)

Insect Product	Page	The Objective	The Solution	Status of Research
Mites	81	Control insect pests.	Researchers have created a transgenic mite shown to be effective in controlling pests in California almonds.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories and research fields.
Mosquitoes	83	Control malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases by reducing the insect’s ability to spread disease. (Mosquitoes are the primary insects responsible for transmitting dengue and yellow fever, as well as malaria).	Infect mosquitoes with transgenic viruses that might make them resistant to the malaria parasites they host, kill the parasite, or otherwise interfere with its ability to infect humans.	Undergoing investigation in laboratories (Scientists have engineered a mosquito that kills the parasite within its own body, thus preventing its transmission to humans).
Pink bollworm	81	Curb destruction of cotton crops. (Bollworm larvae feed inside the growing cotton boll, destroying the cotton and costing farmers millions of dollars for control techniques and crop losses).	One existing pest management program involves releasing sterile bollworm moths to prevent the pest from reproducing successfully.	Being tested in research fields.

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