Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sally Moon
Purpose/Objectives
The purpose of the proposed research is to identify rice products
that contain genetically modified genes in order to differentiate with the
rice products that are not genetically modified. In particular, the
Cry1a(b) gene will be targeted due to its links to various health issues
such as infertility, tumor development, organ damage, and premature
death.
Hypothesis
The rice that is labeled as organic or non-GMO is
hypothesized to show a negative result for the Cry1a(b) gene and the
general sequence for gene modification in foods, whereas the other rice
products being tested is hypothesized to be positive for containing the
Cry1a(b) gene as well as the general genetically modified sequence.
Background
Genetic modification of foods has been a rising topic of research
that has brought many new advantages as well as skepticism. In a
genetically modified organism (GMO), one or more of the genes is
transferred from another organisms gene, usually for a desirable trait
that the other organism has, and processed into the desired organisms
genome, in order to replicate the newly formed genetically modified
version of the organism in context (Goldbas, 2014). In foods, gene
modifications often target some part of the foods life span or its
region). For the specific detection, a primer will be designed for the
specific gene (Cry1a(b)). Specific steps for the protocol will be provided
by the instructor at the time of the experiment.
Following DNA amplification by PCR, gel electrophoresis will be
performed for the detection of the desired gene sequence. Specifically,
agarose gel electrophoresis will be utilized. Analysis of the results of gel
electrophoresis will be dependent upon the number of base pairs
present in the relative DNA fragments.
Budget
Rice (Non-organic): $8
Rice (Organic): $10
Rice (Non-GMO labeled): $7
Rice (No label): $7
Rice Cake (Non-organic): $5
Rice Cake (Organic): $7
GMO Kit (Includes PCR master mix, primers, positive/negative controls,
PCR weight ruler, etc.): $200
PCR Tubes: $57
Pipettors and tips: $250
Latex gloves: $15
Lab coat
Lab goggles
Potential Results
As hypothesized, it is a likely result that some of the different rice
brands being tested will be positive for the general detection of genetic
modification. Also, some of the rice brands are hypothesized to show
positive detection of the Cry1a(b) gene, which can be detected via the
specific gene identification process. If detected as hypothesized, the
results will benefit the currently existing research on the topic of
genetically modified foods, and provide more awareness and education
for audiences of all different backgrounds that are affected by rice
References
Goldbas, A. (2014). GMOs: What Are They?...Genetically modified
organisms.
International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 29(3), 20-24 5p.
Mercola, J. (2013, January 27). Soybean oil: One of the most harmful
ingre- dients in
processed food. Mercola.com. Retrieved from http://www.com/
sites/articles/archive
Mesnage R, Bernay B, Sralini GE. Toxicology. 2013 Nov 16; 313(23):122-8. Epub
2012 Sep 21.