Note: DuPont scientists conducted a review of current scientific literature related to some of the new biotechnology methods scientists use to develop crop plants. This information will be updated from time-to-time. We welcome new scientific information and, of course, your perspective. .

1. Introduction - Biotechnology and Traditional Plant Breeding
2. Biotechnology Methods and DuPont Product Development
3. Background - Biotechnology Methods
4. Current DuPont Products and Methods of Biotechnology
5. Future Steps  

The genetic makeup of crops has been changing and improving for many centuries. Our ancestors initiated the process of crop improvement as they domesticated plants by selectively sowing only the seeds from plants with desirable traits. Specifically, however, during the past 150 years, continual scientific progress has provided better ways of improving crops beyond simply saving some seeds while discarding others. First, learning about plant reproduction taught researchers to crossbreed only those plants with desirable traits. Then, the scientific discovery that genes carry traits from one generation to the next made crossbreeding more predictable, enhancing the ability to improve crops even more. An even greater understanding of plant reproduction led to the development of techniques for crossbreeding plants in different species, which allowed for even greater crop improvement. For example, scientists somewhat improved fungal resistance in corn through crossbreeding with Tripsacum dactyloides.  » More

Biotechnology, the latest chapter in a 10,000-year history of genetically improving crop plants, continues the trend of improving crops with more precise methods. Biotechnology permits the transfer of a single gene with a known function into existing crop varieties. In contrast, crossbreeding transfers thousands of genes of unknown functions into crops. The methods of biotechnology extend the century-old process of circumventing natural reproductive barriers. Biotechnology techniques allow access to a wider range of genetic diversity to improve crops.

A number of independent scientific and government bodies have produced authoritative reports comparing and contrasting genetic modification through crossbreeding and biotechnology. All agree that because the methods of biotechnology are more precise, it improves the ability to predict the outcome of efforts to improve crops.  » More

During the earliest stages of product development, superior and inferior plants are produced regardless of the method used to design the product. Only those plants that display desirable characteristics, such as excellent agronomic performance and stable inheritance of traits, advance to the next stage of product development. At each step, the plant types we retain must meet tough standards; contain both the new, desirable trait(s) and the performance characteristics that growers expect.

Before DuPont markets a crop derived with biotechnology tools, we conduct thousands of tests to ensure that the product’s nutritional value, safety and field performance are similar to or superior to conventionally bred varieties. We conduct field tests at multiple locations over multiple years to measure agronomic properties, such as crop yield, performance of the overall product and genes. We assess food safety and nutritional value of the transgenic crop by:

• measuring the amount and availability of nutrients;
• verifying no increase in substances, present naturally in some crops, that have potential health effects, such as the natural toxins in potatoes;
• testing the safety of the new protein produced by the new gene; and
• voluntarily conduct animal growth and feeding studies.  » More

Scientists follow this sequence of steps when using biotechnology tools to improve crops:

1. Identify and isolate a gene that improves the crop.
2. Link the useful gene to other DNA if the gene is to work properly. (In nature, genes are surrounded on one side by DNA that precisely increases or decreases gene activity as conditions change - much like a dimmer switch - and on the other, by DNA that marks the end of the gene - much like a stop sign.) In crops developed with biotechnology tools this genetic unit - the dimmer switch, gene, and stop sign - is called a transgene.
3. Insert the new gene into a plant cell.
4. Grow a plant from the cell and ensure that the plant’s DNA contains the new gene.
5. onduct tests to ensure the plant exhibits the desirable trait.
6. Grow multiple generations to make sure future generations exhibit the new trait.
7. Begin field-testing, as described above, to determine whether the crop’s agronomic properties are satisfactory and to measure trait performance.

Steps 1 - 4 are unique to the development of crops through biotechnology, while the remainder occur during development of both conventionally bred and crops developed through biotechnology tools.  » More

Extensive tests conducted on DuPont biotechnology crops currently on the market - insect resistant corn and herbicide tolerant soybeans, canola and corn - demonstrate human, animal and environmental safety and superior agronomic performance. In addition, the proteins produced by the new genes are safe for human and animal consumption in amounts greater than consumed in a regular diet.

Early in the development of the biotechnology crops, DuPont provides regulatory authorities detailed information on the molecular make-up of the new gene, the level of gene activity, and the transformation method used to create the new crop. A list of this extensive information to required to commercialize crops derived from biotechnology can be found by clicking on this button.  » More

Although biotechnology methods are thought of as techniques for producing new products, these methods also are research tools that help plant scientists learn more about plant biology. For example, scientists use the tools of biotechnology to map genes and discover the relationship between genes and crop traits. Understanding plant genetics improves the precision and predictability of crop biotechnology methods and increases the rate at which we develop improved crops. Better understanding of plant genetics also leads to the development of new technologies, such as chloroplast transformation, that further improve a researcher’s ability to provide a targeted approach to crop improvement.