Friday, June 14, 2019

What is the difference between genetic engineering and genetic modification?

Genetic engineering implies that DNA was transferred from one organism to another through artificial means.  I'm using artificial here to mean anything that isn't strictly gamete combination - methods like artificial insemination and selective pollination are not considered genetic engineering.  This means that the target organisms don't need to have Any chance of successfully cross-breeding. 
 My favorite example is frogs and potatoes:






Though you could take DNA from, say, one cow, insert it into the genome of another cow, and produce a calf from the resultant DNA.  The calf would be considered genetically engineered, since their DNA was not entirely produced by the combination of an egg and sperm, even though their genome is still technically 100% bovine.

Genetic modification is a general term that refers to any type of human-driven modification, and is a close synonym to the word agriculture.  This is something we've been doing rigorously for thousands of years, and is the reason why corn is not a tiny seed head with more cellulose than sugar, why chickens are not little balls of feather and gristle, and why apples are not inedible tart.  
Genetic engineering is included as a form of genetic modification, in the same way that ballet is included as a form of dance.  Genetic engineering is a specialized form of genetic modification.
Genetic engineering is the process by which piece of DNA are transferred one organisms to another. This is also called Recombination DNA technology.
first recombinant DNA molecule Was made by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining DNA from monkey virus (SV40) with lambda virus. The new DNA can be targeted to a specific part of the genome.

A organism that is generated through genetic engineering or Recombination DNA technology  is considered to be genetically modified (G. M) and the resulting entity is a Genetically Modified Organisms
First Genetically modified organisms was a bacterium generated by Herbert Boyer and standly cohen in 1973.Rudolf jenisch created the first Genetically modified animal when he inserted foreign DNA into a Mouse in 1974.

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