History of genetic engineering

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Genetic engineering
Genetically modified organisms
Bacteria Viruses Animals Mammals Fish Insects Plants Maize/corn Rice Soybean Potato
History and regulation
History Regulation Substantial equivalence Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Process
Techniques Molecular cloning Recombinant DNA Gene delivery Transformation Transfection Transduction Genome editing TALEN CRISPR
Applications
Genetically modified crops food Gene therapy Designer baby
Controversies
Genetically modified food controversies GMO conspiracy theories Pusztai affair Séralini affair StarLink corn recall He Jiankui affair
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Genetic engineering is the science of manipulating genetic material of an organism. The concept of genetic engineering was first proposed by Nikolay Timofeev-Ressovsky in 1934.^[1] The first artificial genetic modification accomplished using biotechnology was transgenesis, the process of transferring genes from one organism to another, first accomplished by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen in 1973. It was the result of a series of advancements in techniques that allowed the direct modification of the genome. Important advances included the discovery of restriction enzymes and DNA ligases, the ability to design plasmids and technologies like polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Transformation of the DNA into a host organism was accomplished with the invention of biolistics, Agrobacterium-mediated recombination and microinjection. The first genetically modified animal was a mouse created in 1974 by Rudolf Jaenisch. In 1976, the technology was commercialised, with the advent of genetically modified bacteria that produced somatostatin, followed by insulin in 1978. In 1983, an antibiotic resistant gene was inserted into tobacco, leading to the first genetically engineered plant. Advances followed that allowed scientists to manipulate and add genes to a variety of different organisms and induce a range of different effects. Plants were first commercialized with virus resistant tobacco released in China in 1992. The first genetically modified food was the Flavr Savr tomato marketed in 1994. By 2010, 29 countries had planted commercialized biotech crops. In 2000 a paper published in Science introduced golden rice, the first food developed with increased nutrient value.