Not necessarily more important, but certainly as important. Successful interspecific crosses are rare in traditional breeding. The big advance now, as I see it, is the burgeoning use of transgenics, the ability not only to cross organisms, but to selectively introduce genes across species, or classes, or phyla, or kingdoms; a power far beyond that practiced by traditional breeders. Yes, nature’s been doing some of its own cross-kingdom mixing thanks to viruses, with some bacterial and viral (and probably archaeal) genetic material sifting into eukaryotes, but I think human-directed transgenics marks a significant advance.
Clem Weidenbenner
11 Aug, 2010
“Powerful new element” – so you consider this more significant than say traditional plant and animal breeding where interspecific crosses have lead to mules in the animal kingdom and Triticale among the plants?
TomHager
10 Aug, 2010
Immediate reactions are: (1) Of course; and (2) So what? Who expected that genetically altered plants would stay neatly corralled in their fields? I can’t imagine that even Monsanto makes that claim. Nature’s all about spreading seeds, extending terrritory, etc.
But after a bit of reflection, my reaction is “Omigod, here we go.” Humans have “landscaped” their natural environment since practically forever, hunting some species to extinction, burning forests, clearing fields, creating new strains of domestic plants and animals, speeding the spread of various species as we travel. Now we’re adding a powerful new element to the mix, and we’ll see where it takes us.
TomHager
11 Aug, 2010
Not necessarily more important, but certainly as important. Successful interspecific crosses are rare in traditional breeding. The big advance now, as I see it, is the burgeoning use of transgenics, the ability not only to cross organisms, but to selectively introduce genes across species, or classes, or phyla, or kingdoms; a power far beyond that practiced by traditional breeders. Yes, nature’s been doing some of its own cross-kingdom mixing thanks to viruses, with some bacterial and viral (and probably archaeal) genetic material sifting into eukaryotes, but I think human-directed transgenics marks a significant advance.
Clem Weidenbenner
11 Aug, 2010
“Powerful new element” – so you consider this more significant than say traditional plant and animal breeding where interspecific crosses have lead to mules in the animal kingdom and Triticale among the plants?
TomHager
10 Aug, 2010
Immediate reactions are: (1) Of course; and (2) So what? Who expected that genetically altered plants would stay neatly corralled in their fields? I can’t imagine that even Monsanto makes that claim. Nature’s all about spreading seeds, extending terrritory, etc.
But after a bit of reflection, my reaction is “Omigod, here we go.” Humans have “landscaped” their natural environment since practically forever, hunting some species to extinction, burning forests, clearing fields, creating new strains of domestic plants and animals, speeding the spread of various species as we travel. Now we’re adding a powerful new element to the mix, and we’ll see where it takes us.
Clem Weidenbenner
10 Aug, 2010
So Thomas, do you have an opinion about this?