Transgenic Organisms and Evolution

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Briefly about Evolution
Transgenic organisms
The link between transgenic organisms and evolution
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The modern natural world is full of biological diversity and healthy competition between organisms, which leads to a steady pace of evolution. In existing cohorts, one can find tens and hundreds of thousands of taxons, and each of them includes millions of representatives. Such effect justifies the grandiose diversity of living organisms, and it seems that humanity is not able to bring their change in natural life. Nevertheless, species with high value to society may still be absent from the diversity of flora and fauna. Farmers are known to grow crops, but because of climate patterns, plants in the southern regions may not take root in northern latitudes. On the other hand, when exporting such products, there is always the risk of premature deterioration. Finally, endemic crops are not always so biochemically valuable that they are consumed by the population. The problems described above are expected to lead to the need to create an alternative solution that can modify plants and animals in the way humans need. This solution has existed for half a century, and it is the genetic modification of organisms.

With the mechanisms of transgenic organisms’ creation, the human began their artificial evolution. It is known that one of the products of natural evolution consists in the formation of new biological species, nevertheless, researchers ignore existing driving forces and save time when they create a product that is critical to the population. In other words, artificial evolution, launched with the creation of transgenic organisms, has its unique progressive path, although, in general consideration, undoubtedly interacts with the natural direction of life. The purpose of this term paper is to discuss evolution in detail from the perspective of transgenic organisms and, in particular, Atlantic salmon.

Briefly about Evolution

When any planet appears in outer space, it has a structural material that, under the influence of several factors, can lead to the formation and development of living systems. Planet Earth is extremely lucky, as, in 4.5 billion years, it has gone from the chemical evolution of molecules to the evolution of consciousness (Lambert 32). However, despite the seemingly significant differences between representatives of modern flora and fauna and those who were on the planet during the Archean era, all organisms share a key similarity — the presence of DNA. Phylogenetic analysis conducted in 2016 by a group of German researchers showed that more than 3.5 billion years ago, there was the LUCA, whose genome was subsequently transferred to all existing species (Weiss et al. 1). In other words, billions of years of mutations of the genetic year occur, which are expressed not only as a changed appearance of the body, but also by a chain of biochemical reactions and, consequently, ecological behavior. Evolutionary changes are based on concepts already created by Charles Darwin in 1859. The researcher pointed out that the driving forces of evolution are hereditary variability, leading to the accumulation of mutations, the struggle for existence between different forms of living organisms, and natural selection, “that help an animal or plant survive and have offspring” (Flannelly 45). As will be noticeable in the following paragraphs, artificial evolution created by human hands bypasses these forces, creating new organisms faster, more purposeful, and more accurate.

Transgenic organisms

The purpose of creating transgenic organisms is to obtain previously nonexistent specimens with given properties. As a rule, a researcher faces a concrete task for the creation of an organism, whose genome and, consequently, protein product would definitely meet the demands of society. For the past decades with first transgenic forms derivation, the consumer market increased considerably (Ogunbayode 2). Examples could be purple tomatoes keeping their freshness for a long time, gold rice artificially enriched with beta-carotene, and Atlantic salmon able to increase growth in two times faster than the wild one.

As a rule, the foundation of transgenic technologies lies in the plane of change in the genome of the reference species. In the case of the genetic modification of Atlantic salmon, researchers chose the natural species Salmo salar as a source, but two new genes were introduced into the animal genome using bacterial plasmid technologies. Specifically, the modified fish received the genetic design opAFP-GHc2 from Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, responsible for intensive production of growth hormones, and Zoarces americanus, whose DNA fragments activate protein biosynthesis from the gene of interest (Houston and Macqueen 6). Given the life-cycle patterns of natural and modified forms, transgenic salmon is incredibly beneficial for production. While ordinary salmon only grows in spring and summer and takes about three years to grow, genetically modified salmon grow all year round and reach the required size in just a year and a half (Debode et al. 2396). The result of this change is a significant reduction in the cost of fish, including through the proximity of kennels to cities, which reduces transportation costs. Despite the obvious benefits, humanity is not in a hurry to take transgenic fish into a natural food diet, since no degree of potential risk has been identified for genetically modified fish (Waltz 7). Although, it is fair to note that modern science does not recognize the harm from using transgenic organisms for health (Yang and Chen 1851). In the long run, only after passing all the checks and examinations, Salmo salar will become a part of the regular human diet.

The link between transgenic organisms and evolution

As has been shown above, transgenic organisms appear in the course of genetic manipulation of original forms of DNA. Obtaining a modified individual is preceded by the detection of the gene of interest, its immersion in the bacterial plasmid and vector transfer to the final organism (Nora et al. 2). In other words, by artificial control, human creates a new life form that is not found in nature. As a rule, such plants or animals can freely cross with closely related forms, thus continuing the genus of modified crops (GM Plants 26). A fascinating confirmation of this fact is the existence of Carica papaya, a fruit that has virtually disappeared from the Earth due to the spread of a plant virus, but thanks to the introduction of a virus protein shell gene into Carica papaya’s genome, specialists have managed to preserve the species (Kim, Lee and Kim 172). Thus, through artificial evolution, researchers have been able to achieve the resilience and adaptability of species to certain, even crisis, conditions.

According to Darwin’s ecological principles, the more adapted specimen survive among two competitive ones, so genetically modified organisms have several advantages in natural conditions. If natural circumstances change or infection spreads, transgenic forms are more likely to sustain a population, which means they may over time displace natural life forms. However, natural phenomena are seldom precisely predicted, so the probability that wildlife forms will win if the modified ones disappear in parallel cannot be denied.

The scientific community does not conduct extensive studies to assess the relationship between genetically modified organisms and evolution. It means that by now only hypotheses about the possible influence of artificial forms on wild organisms can be put forward. For example, AquaBounty — the company which owns the patent for transgenic Atlantic salmon — excludes the case of interaction of an artificial animal with the natural environment due to physical isolation (Fast-Growing Genetically Engineered Salmon). For decades, fish have been grown in enclosed freshwater pools, so no unintentional crossbreeding of the two species has been recorded. However, the company says that even if Salmo salar can access the wild, biotic and abiotic factors will kill the fish immediately. This leads to the idea that without a direct need, transgenic creatures do not reproduce in the wild, thus not entering into the natural course of evolution.

Continuing the development of the theme of the relationship between transgenation and natural evolution, it is important to recognize that humanity in their bioengineering activities directly copies that is happened in nature uninterruptedly. During the existence of life, organisms had already undergone mutations and changes, some of which were favorable and remained for generations. It is difficult to imagine that all living beings are relatives, even taking into account the fact that they have a common ancestor. Since the genetic laws of evolution became clear, humanity decided to create their direction of life development, in which any mutational changes take place by the will of the researcher.

Conclusion

Summing up the above, it is important to reiterate that transgenic organisms have a unique genetic structure, as they are a mixture of different genes. As a rule, the creation of such life forms is justified by the economic demands of society, since genetic modifications made it possible to make plants, microorganisms, and animals sustainable and more productive. Atlantic salmon may be the first transgenic animal to be brought to the consumer market, but this requires the strictest expertise. In the context of evolution, transgenic organisms are quite natural life forms because, like other creatures, they have experienced genetic mutations. However, there was still no complete information on the potential interaction of modified species with wildlife.

Works Cited

Debode, Frédéric, et al. “Detection of Transgenic Atlantic and Coho Salmon by Real-Time PCR.” Food Analytical Methods, vol. 11, no. 9, 2018, pp. 2396-2406.

“Fast-Growing Genetically Engineered Salmon.” AquaBounty, 2019, Web.

Flannelly, Kevin J. “Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species.” Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America, edited by Kevin Flannelly, Springer, 2017. pp. 41-48.

GM Plants Questions and Answers. 2016, Web.

Houston, R. D., and D. J. Macqueen. “Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) Genetics in the 21st Century: Taking Leaps Forward in Aquaculture and Biological Understanding.” Animal Genetics, vol. 50, no. 1, 2019, pp. 3-14.

Kim, Ho Bang, Yi Lee, and Chang-Gi Kim. “Research Status of the Development of Genetically Modified Papaya (Carica papaya L.) and Its Biosafety Assessment.” Journal of Plant Biotechnology, vol. 45, no. 3, 2018, pp. 171-182.

Lambert, I. B. “Early Geobiochemical Evolution of the Earth.” Revista Brasileira de Geociências, vol. 12, no. 1-3, 2018, pp. 32-38.

Nora, Luísa Czamanski, et al. “Recent Advances in Plasmid-Based Tools for Establishing Novel Microbial Chassis.” Biotechnology Advances, vol 37, no. 8, 2019, pp. 1-18.

Ogunbayode, Toluwani V. “Genetically Modified Organisms in the United States Crop Market.” Quest, vol 3, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-13.

Waltz, Emily. “GM Salmon Declared Fit for Dinner Plates.” Nature Biotechnology, vol. 34, no. 1, 2016, pp. 7-8

Weiss, Madeline C., et al. “The Physiology and Habitat of the Last Universal Common Ancestor.” Nature Microbiology, vol 1, no. 9, 2016, pp. 1-8.

Yang, Y. Tony, and Brian Chen. “Governing GMOs in the USA: Science, Law and Public Health.” Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, vol. 96, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1851-1855.

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