Read the paragraph that follows on a particular GMO. Landmines in many countries worldwide remind us of dreadful wars in the past and these too still prey on innocent lives who accidentally step on them. There is an interesting research however on a genetically modified plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana which detects the presence of land mines through changing colors. In a particular study, a gene that turns-on the production of the red pigment, anthocyanin in the presence of nitrogen dioxide has been inserted in the genome of thale cress (A. thaliana). As the modified plant already renders a sensitivity to the presence of nitrogen dioxide gas, in areas where unexploded landmines exist, the leaves of these plants turn from green to red, signaling the presence of nitrogen oxide gases released by these buried bombs (Nelson, 2004).
Genetic Recombination
Recombination is crucial to this process because it allows genes to be reassorted into diverse combinations. Genetic recombination is the process of combining genetic components from two different origins into a single unit. In prokaryotes, genetic recombination takes place by the unilateral transfer of deoxyribonucleic acid. It includes transduction, transformation, and conjugation. The genetic exchange occurring between homologous deoxyribonucleic acid sequences (DNA) from two different sources is termed general recombination. For this to happen, an identical sequence of the two recombining molecules is required. The process of genetic exchange which occurs in eukaryotes during sexual reproduction such as meiosis is an example of this type of genetic recombination.
Microbial Genetics
Genes are the functional units of heredity. They transfer characteristic information from parents to the offspring.
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