Modified

Henry Agard Wallace was FDRs Vice-President. That is a pretty big deal in itself. But he also kick started the most consequential scientific project in the history of mankind (at least according to some) - The Green Revolution. A technological transformation of global agriculture, combining the cutting edge of mechanical, chemical and genetic technology. And the year was 1940. '
What was the green revolution? What is a semi-dwarf variety and what would HA Wallace make of it all, looking back on his legacy. Tune in and find out. 
 

A short episode to give you a sense of what to expect from this season. 
References
https://www.the-independent.com/news/the-strange-case-of-the-rats-the-coverup-and-a-political-hot-potato-1071126.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pusztai_affair

A quick update on what to expect from Season 2 and when to expect it. 

What is CRISPR-Cas9 and how is it going to revolutionize the world of GMO crops?
 
References
de Lange, O., Binder, A. and Lahaye, T. (2014), From dead leaf, to new life: TAL effectors as tools for synthetic biology. Plant J
→ Review article on TAL effectors by yours truly
 
Ishino Y, Shinagawa H, Makino K, Amemura M, Nakata A. Nucleotide sequence of the iap gene, responsible for alkaline phosphatase isozyme conversion in Escherichia coli, and identification of the gene product. J Bacteriol. 1987
→ Paper first describing CRISPR in 1987
 
Interview with the 2020 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, Emmanuelle Charpentier, recorded in Stockholm on 12 December 2022. 
 
Martin Jinek et al.,A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity.Science337,816-821(2012).
—> First paper describing use of CRISPR as a programmable DNA endonuclease
 
Updates on Global Regulatory Landscape for Gene-Edited Crops
By Clement Dionglay, January 24, 2024
 
https://www.isaaa.org/blog/entry/default.asp?BlogDate=1/24/2024
-> Update on regulation of gene editing. 
 
https://sanatech-seed.com/en/221226-2/
→ Article from Sanatech describing the gene-edited, High GABA tomato.

From glowing petunias to purple tomatoes - this episode is a roundup of some of the lesser known GMO crops that are nonetheless out there in our world. 
 
Key references
 
Glowing plants
I Bought a Glowing Plant. It Led Me Down a Rabbit Hole. Scientific American. 2024
Glowing Plant US Patent
www.light.bio  - to buy your own glowing plant. 
 
Blue Roses
https://www.suntoryapplause.com/
https://www.suntory.com/sic/story/bluerose/
Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_rose 
 
Pink Pineapples
https://www.pinkglowpineapple.com/
US Patent
Purple tomatoes
Martin C, Butelli E. The Purple Tomato Story; From Laboratory Bench to the Consumer. ACS Food Sci Technol. 2024
GM Purple Tomato Gets Approval in the United States. ISAAA. 2024
https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/
 
Rainbow Papaya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Gonsalves
 
Arctic apples
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02648725.1998.10647966
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Apples#Commercialization
 
GMO poplar trees
https://www.livingcarbon.com/
For the First Time, Genetically Modified Trees Have Been Planted in a U.S. Forest. New York Times. 2023
Wang G, Dong Y, Liu X, Yao G, Yu X, Yang M. The Current Status and Development of Insect-Resistant Genetically Engineered Poplar in China. Front Plant Sci. 2018
Tao, Y.; Chiu, L.-W.; Hoyle, J.W.; Dewhirst, R.A.; Richey, C.; Rasmussen, K.; Du, J.; Mellor, P.; Kuiper, J.; Tucker, D.; et al. Enhanced Photosynthetic Efficiency for Increased Carbon Assimilation and Woody Biomass Production in Engineered Hybrid Poplar. Forests 2023

From glowing fish to feminizing tofu - the second and final installment of me answering your questions about GMO. 
References relevant to Question 1 - Soy Phytoestrogens
Article on use of the term “Soy boy”
Messina, M., Mejia, S. B., Cassidy, A., Duncan, A., Kurzer, M., Nagato, C., … Barnes, S. (2022). Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational and clinical data. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62(21), 5824–5885. 
Povey AC, Clyma J-A, McNamee R, et al; Participating Centres of Chaps-UK. Phytoestrogen intake and other dietary risk factors for low motile sperm count and poor sperm morphology. Andrology. 2020;8:1805–1814.
 
References relevant to Question 2 - GMO animals
Wikipedia article on GloFish - provides a good summary of the history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish
2003 discussion forum - discussing merits of brand new GloFish product. 
Bratspies, Rebecca. (2005). Glowing in the Dark: How America's First Transgenic Animal Escaped Regulation. 
CAPITOL ALERT ‘Glowing fish’ exempt from proposed ban on gene-edited pets in California By Kate Wolffe Updated February 5, 2026 2:20 PM
Wikipedia article on AquaAdvantage Salmon
2024 AquaBounty press release announcing sell off of assets. 
References relevant to Question 3 - Health impacts of GMOs
Shen, C., Yin, XC., Jiao, BY. et al. Evaluation of adverse effects/events of genetically modified food consumption: a systematic review of animal and human studies. Environ Sci Eur 34, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-021-00578-9

Why did Monsanto take a canadian farmer all the way to the supreme court? And what does this have to do with controversial herbicide glyphosate?
Learn about the science and history of Round Up Ready GMO crops.
Key references
https://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fc-cf/decisions/en/item/38991/index.do
→ The Monsanto vs. Schmeiser Supreme Court Decision.
 
https://www.helbocklaw.com/california-jury-awards-2-billion-couple-roundup-weed-killer-cancer-trial/
→ Article about California lawsuit related to glyphosate
 
https://academic.oup.com/toxsci/article/192/2/131/7066927#402719028
→ Review of glyphosate studies. 
 
Funke, H. Han, M.L. Healy-Fried, M. Fischer, & E. Schönbrunn, Molecular basis for the herbicide resistance of Roundup Ready crops, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (35) 13010-13015, 
 
Landau et al., The silver bullet that wasn’t: Rapid agronomic weed adaptations to glyphosate in North America, PNAS Nexus, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2023, pgad338,
 
https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60663500/publications/reddy/reddy%20and%20nandula_2-12_ija_57-1-7.pdf
→ Overview of herbicide resistant crops.

The NewLeaf potato was a failure, appearing and disappearing in under a decade. But it was the first of a new wave of GMO crops that have endured to the present day - Bt crops. 
 
Key references
Insect Resistance in Crops: A Case Study of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and its Transfer to Developing Countries. 1997.
 
The chronicle of the ups and downs that made Bacillus thuringiensis a natural insecticide by Ninfa Rosas-Garcia, 2023. 
 
https://dfg-vk-darmstadt.de/Lexikon_Auflage_2/BerlinerErnst.htm
Biographical details about Ernst Berliner. 
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/biotechnology
→ 2025 USDA data on Bt crops
 
https://farmingfirst.org/2025/12/how-africa-can-benefit-from-south-africa-success-with-gm-crops/
⇒ GMO crops in South Africa. 
 
https://farmingfirst.org/2025/12/how-africa-can-benefit-from-south-africa-success-with-gm-crops/
⇒ GMO crops in Kenya
Rise and fall of the New Leaf Potato - https://krautnah.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/15_7_2_Thornton.pdf. 
https://time.com/archive/6925559/why-mcdonalds-pulled-frankenfries-from-menu/TIME article about lack of commercial interest in NewLeaf potato. 
Resources on Bt and milkweed
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/1999/04/toxic-pollen-bt-corn-can-kill-monarch-butterflies
https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/116/2/297/6968925
→ 2023 review paper on Bt crops and resistance
https://www.monarchscience.org/single-post/2020/09/02/a-look-back-at-the-time-when-the-entire-world-thought-bt-corn-was-killing-monarchs
→ Blog post summarizing the incident
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001415
→ Bt crops and bees
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.241503398
→ read this and see if its useful

How one tomato changed the world? Or was it two? And what is a GMO tomato anyway. Slice into the story of the FlavrSavr tomato. 
 
Key references
Grierson D. Identifying and silencing tomato ripening genes with antisense genes. Plant Biotechnol J. 2016 Mar;14(3):835-8. doi: 10.1111/pbi.12463. Epub 2015 Sep 15. PMID: 26369550; PMCID: PMC11389017.
 
 
https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/altered-stakes
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/jun/14/hot-tomatoes-genetically-altered-tomatoes-are/
→ Articles about the sales of the Flavr Savr.
Commercialization_of_a_tomato_with_an_antisense_po.pdf - 1994, Euphytica
The Flavr Savr Tomato, an Early Example of RNAi Technology.pdf - 2008, HortScience
 

From hacking bacteria to blasting your way into the heart of the cell, in this episode we explore the ways to get a transgene into a plant cell and go from there to a whole genetically engineered plant. 
 
Key references
Herrera-Estrella L. My journey into the birth of plant transgenesis and its impact on modern plant biology. Plant Biotechnol J. 2020
 
Chimeric Genes as Dominant Selectable Markers in Plant Cells. Herrera-Estrella et al., 1983, the EMBO Journal. - First publication of delivering a recombinant T-DNA plasmid into plant cells.
 
History of Plant Tissue Culture. Trevor A Thorpe. University of Calgary
 
Current Advancement and Future Prospects in Simplified Transformation Based Plant Genome Editing. Han et al., Plants (Basel). 2025 - Review of plant transformation techniques. 
 
Deep Dive into Plant Transformation: Protoplast Mediated, Biolistic, Agrobacterium Mediated Gene Transfer. Dr Adriana Gallego. GoldBio.  - Article about different plant transformation methods.