Gene engineering: its positive and negative effects

Abstract

Genetic engineering methods significantly expand the possibilities of controlling plant heredity and variability. However, they will always remain only an additional, but not a substitute factor in the arsenal of the adaptive plant breeding system. The most important task is to prevent the spread of genetically modified forms of living organisms used in biotechnology into open agrosystems and natural ecosystems. The problems of the wide distribution of genetically modified organisms require theoretical understanding, the development of appropriate methods and criteria, integration with other areas of knowledge and, finally, the selection of the optimal possibilities for the distribution of the final product. New improved methods for creating GMOs can significantly reduce the possible risk associated with the arbitrary nature of the introduction of transgenes into the genome, which occurs when using the current approaches. The main theoretical and methodological provisions of transgenic selection should be considered: a) obtaining a large number of GM organisms as a starting material for selection; b) a thorough genomic, anatomical-morphological, biochemical and medico-biological analysis of GM elements from the point of view of their influence on ecology, human health and evolutionary processes; c) strict selection of individuals according to traits and properties useful to humans, with the exception of their linkage with negative - harmful and lethal determinants; d) creation of molecular regulators (gene switches) that can activate useful and inactivate built-in genes that determine the manifestation of undesirable traits. One of the main reasons constraining the intensity and effectiveness of transgenesis work is the extremely weak development of research on the identification of effective genes, the creation of gene banks, and a limited scientific base of genetic engineering, which is associated with insufficient funding, as well as the lack of strict legislation in the field of this problem.