Tomato Manipulation Essay

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The first genetically manipulated food was tomatoes, they entered markets in 1994. Tomatoes are being planted all over the world. Scientists have been studying new ways to improve tomato harvesting and what better way to do so than genetic manipulation. The aim in genetically manipulating tomatoes and mostly every other crop is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species in order to enhance its beneficial traits for us humans. In this procedure, breeders must know exactly which gene(s) they need or else it might affect the giving organism and the receiving organism. Then they isolate those gene(s) of interest with a restriction enzyme that cuts DNA into small fragments. The desired gene(s) must be copied from gene(s) that were extracted. This is called gene cloning. The gene may be modified slightly to work in a more desirable way once inside the recipient organism. The recipient organism is basically the receiving organism. The new gene(s), called a transgene is delivered into the cells (especially the reproductive cells) of the r...

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