Team:SDU-Denmark/testbogh
editors highlights
ENERGY STORED IN CELLULOSE • LIGHT-SENSING DORMANCY SYSTEM • OPTIMISED NANOWIRES Biodiversity
Biological diversity is defined as:
The variability of living organism from all sources. Terrestrial and marine, and of cause the ecological complex they are a part of. This also include diversity within species, and between species and ecosystemsConvention on Biological Diversity
From a biologist point of view, this include all genes, species and ecosystems of a region.
Biodiversity is threatened by climate change. The climate change have not caused extinctions, but have lead to a decrease of fitness in a number of species. By reinventing how to use transgenic organisms, the aspiration is to improve on the degrading biodiversity that can already be seen. If you want to learn more about the impact caused by GMO and climate change on biodiversity you can read more here. Climate change's’ effect on biodiversity
Although climate change in itself does not threaten biodiversity, the aftermath of climate change have severe consequences, such as habitat destruction or loss, which is the greatest threat to biodiversity within a few decadesLeadley, P., Pereira, H.M., Alkemade, R., Fernandez-Manjarres, J.F., Proenca, V., Scharlemann, J.P.W. et al. (2010). Biodiversity scenarios: projections of 21st century change in biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. In: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (ed. Diversity SotCoB). Published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, p. 1–132. Technical Series no. 50.. It could lead to migration and/or directional selection, which would affect ecosystems and their function. Should a species disappear from an ecosystem, it would have a negative effect on the fitness of any specie that depends on that speciesKoh, Lian Pin, et al. "Species coextinctions and the biodiversity crisis." science 305.5690 (2004): 1632-1634. . This can already be seen in flowers that have specific pollinators, where the petals have changed phenotype as a result of climate changeToby Kiers, E., et al. "Mutualisms in a changing world: an evolutionary perspective." Ecology letters 13.12 (2010): 1459-1474. . This results in a mismatch between pollinators and flowers, leading to one or both having a decrease in fitness.
GMO’s effect on biodiversity
The largest impact on biodiversity from GMO is seen in agriculture. In agriculture an increase in GM plants can be seen, as crops have been modified to be herbicide tolerant (HT). This is primarily seen in soy, maize and cottonUCN (2007) ”Current knowledge of the impacts of genetically modified organisms on biodiversity and human health”. . There are also plants modified to be arthropod tolerant (Bt), and is toxic to specific groups of arthropods. Future impact on biodiversity
As stated, climate change does have a negative impact on biodiversity. One way for GMOs to help improve biodiversity is to decrease the output of greenhouse gasses, or decrease the amount already found in our atmosphere. HT and Bt crops already help with that, lowering the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in agriculture fields. Optimizing photosynthesis for agriculture plantsOrt, Donald R., Xinguang Zhu, and Anastasios Melis. "Optimizing antenna size to maximize photosynthetic efficiency." Plant physiology 155.1 (2011): 79-85., would not only reduce CO2, but could also increase growth in the plants. Incorporating photosynthesis into daily life usage, like our PowerLeaf, is one such possible and responsible solution.
The PowerLeaf
To avoid the discussion of GMO in the environment, and not at least to mitigate any effect, positive and negative, on the environment we designed our PowerLeaf to be isolated in a material called polycarbonate. This, alongside with a kill switch, should ensure that no contamination of local fauna and flora would arise. Therefore our product will not be able to influence wild types, neither by outcompeting nor horizontal gene-transfer. With these considerations in mind, we believe that our project is not only responsible but also environmentally safe.PowerLeaf - a bacterial solar battery
Bio Diversity
The consequences is not limited to local ecosystems, whole biomes can be affected. Large portions of Amazonian rainforest could be replaced by tropical savannah, and boreal forests can be expected to expand at the expense of tundra biomesLapola, David M., Marcos D. Oyama, and Carlos A. Nobre. "Exploring the range of climate biome projections for tropical South America: the role of CO2 fertilization and seasonality." Global Biogeochemical Cycles 23.3 (2009). Alo, Clement Aga, and Guiling Wang. "Potential future changes of the terrestrial ecosystem based on climate projections by eight general circulation models." Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 113.G1 (2008). .
Coral reef degradation has already been observed, as the ocean temperature rises and it becomes more acidicHoegh-Guldberg, Ove, et al. "Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification." science 318.5857 (2007): 1737-1742. .
The changes to biomes will have an effect on the ecosystems found within, and hereby also the biodiversity, which can have an overall negative effect in the fitness of species. The most extreme case of fitness decrease is extinction, and by that also a loss in biodiversity.
Crops who have been modified with both HT and Bt, are so called stacked genes crops. HT crops allow farmers to more effectively manage pest and weeds in their fields, where Bt crops kills of pests as they feed on the plantUCN (2007) ”Current knowledge of the impacts of genetically modified organisms on biodiversity and human health”. .
The overall effect of HT crops could end with a local fall in biodiversity, as weeds and other plants, together with arthropods, are simply removed with herbicides. Another threat would be the effect of horizontal gene-transfer between related species, where wild type plants get the HT gene from domesticated plants. This is seen in the golf field grass Agrostis stolonifera from a farm and the wild type Agrostis giganteaWatrud, Lidia S., et al. "Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with CP4 EPSPS as a marker." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101.40 (2004): 14533-14538”. .
The HT gene was found in one-third of A. gigantea seeds, and up to 9 miles from the farm. This horizontal gene-transfer could lead to “superweeds”, needing more and stronger herbicide to get rid ofPrusak, Anna, Gene Rowe, and Jacek Strojny. "Is GMO" Sustainable"? A Review of the Environmental Risks of GM Plants in Comparison with Conventional and Organic Crops." Modern Management Review 19.21 (4) (2014): 187-200..
Bt crops is toxic to arthropods, as seen with the Monarch butterfly in North America. The Monarch butterfly larvae would die from eating milkweed covered in pollen from BT crops, but thanks to Bt cotton in Mexico, the number of hibernating butterflies in cotton farms increased four times as less pesticide where needed in those areasPrusak, Anna, Gene Rowe, and Jacek Strojny. "Is GMO" Sustainable"? A Review of the Environmental Risks of GM Plants in Comparison with Conventional and Organic Crops." Modern Management Review 19.21 (4) (2014): 187-200..
Horizontal gene-transfer of the HT gene will not harm the biodiversity “in the wild”. As the gene does not increase the fitness of the domestic plant, unless there is a caretaker to spray for weeds and pests. Gene-transfer of the Bt gene could hurt the wild biodiversity. The plants overall fitness would increase, due to the ability to fight off arthropods who feed on it. This would lead to an overall fitness decrease in the feeding arthropods, as feeding animals dies from the toxin. This might lead to birds who feed on said arthropods to migrate from the area in search of food, leading to another loss in biodiversityBerthold, Peter. Bird migration: a general survey. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2001..
GMO alone will not be able to negate the negative impact on biodiversity from climate change, and some effects we are already experiencing. GMO is able to help us on a direction to reduce the impacts on biodiversity. If used in conservation by reintroducing newly extinct speciesFolch, J., et al. "First birth of an animal from an extinct subspecies (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) by cloning." Theriogenology 71.6 (2009): 1026-1034., possible rebuilding lost ecosystems.
Lastly GMO can also help ecosystems by engineering flora and fauna, so they can resist changes caused by climate change, or promote a specific phenotype. When talking about releasing transgenic organisms into the natural environment, it leads to a whole other discussion of GMO.
