Pretty, and this is an example of how PB applies to animal breeding too. http://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/precision-breeding-dehorning How could we use PB in bee breeding to improve current technics and methods? P.David Quesda Honey Bee Pathology Lab Extremadura, Spain 2017-07-09 21:05 GMT+02:00, randy oliver <[log in to unmask]>: > Hi All, > > Christina and I recently had a brief discussion on precision breeding (AKA > genetic engineering) of plant cultivars. I'm currently in New Zealand, > where one of the hot topics is Myrtle Rust, which threatens many important > bee forage plants (manuka, eucalyptus, etc) here, in Australia, and South > America. > > One of the solutions is the selection of resistant cultivars, which could > take many years to select, improve, and develop. A shortcut would be > precision breeding--splicing in a gene from another plant to confer > resistance. But then those trees and shrubs would be producing GMO honey, > according to some interpretations. > > Another example is the American Chestnut, which used to cover Eastern > forests, providing a huge amount of nutritious nuts to wildlife, and pollen > and nectar to pollinators. A human-introduced fungus destroyed the > Chestnut trees, which were a keystone species in forests from Maine to , > thus changing the entire ecology of formerly Chestnut-dominated ecosystems. > > Due to it taking 5 years for the chestnut to produce its first seeds, > conventional breeding for resistant cultivars (dependent upon chance > mutations) could take a very long time. But by using precision breeding, a > cultivar developed by a non profit is already waiting to regulatory > approval (article here > <http://theconversation.com/new-genetically-engineered-american-chestnut-will-help-restore-the-decimated-iconic-tree-52191>). > In short, a gene from bread wheat was spliced into the tree's genome. The > wheat gene produces an enzyme called oxalate oxidase (OxO), which > detoxifies the oxalate that the fungus uses to form deadly cankers that > kill the tree. > > Since most Americans eat wheat every day, they wouldn't be exposed to any > new gene, yet there are alarmists that are fighting even this exemplary > example of the benefits of precision breeding. > > -- > Randy Oliver > Grass Valley, CA > www.ScientificBeekeeping.com > > *********************************************** > The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned > LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: > http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html > *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html