Explain what a transgenic organism is, and give two examples.

What will be an ideal response?


A transgenic organism is one that contains genes from other organism(s). These genes usually add some special ability or function to the organism. Agriculture offers many examples of transgenic organisms. Soybeans have been engineered to contain glyphosate-resistance genes, and other crops have been engineered to grow well in soil with high salt concentrations. Plants have been modified to be resistant to naturally occurring microbial diseases. Still other plants have been engineered to contain the gene for Bt-toxin, a bacterial toxin that kills insect pests that would otherwise feed on and destroy the crop. Not all transgenic organisms represent such extreme genetic modifications, however. Some genetically modified organisms simply represent efforts to improve nutritional content (in the case of plant crops) or to increase food yield (in the case of bovine growth hormone, which is produced by transgenic bacteria and then given to cattle to increase their meat and milk yield).

Biology & Microbiology

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In lakes and ponds of temperate latitudes, the upper and bottom layers of water usually turn over as water warms up during spring

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Biology & Microbiology

How does the fossil record support the theory of evolution?

What will be an ideal response?

Biology & Microbiology

The epididymis functions solely to store sperm

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Biology & Microbiology

A cell spends most of its time in

metaphase interphase anaphase prophase telophase

Biology & Microbiology