Episode #35 - Genetically Engineer This! (Big Money, Bad Science #1)

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From Sat 4 November 2000
This week's panelists are author Maude Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, an expert on the anti-democratic impact of international trade agreements; Dr Ann Clark, Associate Professor in the Plant Agriculture department of the University of Guelph; Dr Mae-Wan Ho, Director of the Institute of Science in Society in London, England; and Dr. David Suzuki, Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster.

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What plant genes tell us about crop domestication | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

What plant genes tell us about crop domestication | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Anyone who has seen teosinte, the wild grass from which maize (corn) evolved, might be forgiven for assuming many genetic changes underlie the transformation of one plant to the other.

Plant domestication can be thought of as a two-step process. In the first step, plants acquire traits in what is called the “domestication syndrome” that make the plant worth the labor of cultivation. These include traits that allow a crop to be reliably sown, cultivated and harvested, such as uniform seed germination and fruit ripening.

In the second step, the now domesticated plant is selected for improved qualities. It is in this stage, for example, that farmers might breed many different varieties of a crop that differ in grain taste, fruit color or fruit shape.