02/09/2021
To date, genetic engineering of agricultural plants is developing mainly in line with classical selection. The main efforts of scientists are focused on protecting plants from adverse (biotic and abiotic) factors, improving quality and reducing losses during storage of crop products. In particular, it is increasing resistance to diseases, pests, frosts, soil salinity, etc., removing unwanted components from vegetable oils, changing the properties of protein and starch in wheat flour, improving the shelf life and taste of vegetables and others.Compared to traditional selection, the main tools of which are crossbreeding and selection, genetic engineering makes it possible to use fundamentally new genes that determine agronomically important traits, and new molecular genetic methods of monitoring transgenes (molecular gene markers), which many times accelerate the process of transgenic plants.Breeders are attracted by the possibility of purposeful genetic "repair" of plants. An important area is the creation of genetically modified plants (GMP) with a sign of male sterility. In addition, due to genetic modification, plants can perform a function not previously characteristic of them. Examples are sugar beet roots, which accumulate low-molecular-weight fruits instead of sucrose, and bananas, which are used as an edible vaccine.Due to the introduction of bacterial genes, higher plants acquire the ability to destroy foreign organic compounds (xenobiotics) that pollute the environment. Growing GMRs resistant to a wide range of diseases and insect pests can significantly reduce and further minimize the pesticide load on the environment.
