Agriculture

Biotechnology is being applied to microbes, plants, and animals to produce useful products or to improve species.

Genetic Engineering Human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. Allows plant and animal breeders to incorporate genes for desirable traits from any species into an unrelated species

Application Improved crop plants with resistance to disease or insects Pharmaceuticals made from plants and animals More nutritious food and animal feeds tools to clean up soils and water Diagnostic tools for animal and plant diseases Industrial products such as fuels and plastics made from plants and trees.

Plants Crops Crops with built-in insect or virus resistance Crops with built-in tolerance to herbicides Crops with built-in tolerance to marginal conditions (temperature, pH, salinity, etc.) Ornamental horticultural products with improved color and other qualities Fiber plants with built-in color or fiber qualities

Plants Pharmaceuticals Food Plants that produce edible vaccines and other pharmaceuticals Food Food products with improved taste and nutritional qualities Food with improved handling and processing qualities

Plants Industrial Other Plants that produce plastics, fuels, and other products Plants for environmental cleanup Other Pesticides made from naturally-occurring microorganisms and insects Diagnostic kits for improved on-site diagnosis of plant disease

Animals Breeding Animals with built-in disease resistance Animals cloned to produce exact copies of desired stock Animals bred to produce increased yields of meat, eggs & milk

Animals Food Engineered hormones reintroduced into cows to increase milk production Engineered hormones reintroduced into pigs to produce leaner meat Farm-raised fish using growth hormones that result in earlier market-ready fish

Animals Animal Health Microorganisms introduced into animal feeds for beneficial purposes Accurate sensitive diagnostics to assist in disease detection, pregnancy detection

Animals Pharmaceuticals Animals engineered to produce human proteins for drugs, including insulin, human plasminogen activator, and vaccines. Animals engineered to produce organs suitable for transplantation into humans

Environment Engineered plants and microorganisms to break down contaminated soils and water Animal waste management by natural means, using plants and microorganisms

Food Enzymes that aid in production of food products Techniques that detect the presence of food spoilage organisms