Half a century ago, the first genetically modified organism ushered in a new era of biological innovation. To mark this anniversary, here are eight milestone GMOs. Many have had, or are poised to have, a dramatic impact on our lives.
1. Escherichia coli
In November 1973, geneticist Stanley Cohen and colleagues reported that they had built a plasmid, a ring of DNA, that carried a gene from another organism into an E. coli cell — the birth of genetic engineering (SN: 6/1/74). The team later showed that such modified cells could produce the protein associated with a foreign gene. E. coli has since been modified to mass-produce therapeutic drugs, break down plastics and more. “The most important GMO is the microbes that are used to make insulin,” says geneticist Matthew Cobb of the University of Manchester in England. In 1978, facing problems with insulin derived from pigs and cows, scientists engineered E. coli to make human insulin for treating diabetes (SN: 9/16/78). The lifesaving drug hit the market in 1982 (SN: 10/9/82).
2. Transgenic mice
Mouse models are a go-to for scientists who want to study human disease in a controlled way in the lab. In 1974, biologists Rudolf Jaenisch and Beatrice Mintz laid the groundwork for these models by injecting DNA from simian virus into mouse embryos, which were later born with viral DNA in their genomes. In papers published in 1980 and 1981, a team led by biologists Jon Gordon and Frank Ruddle incorporated viral DNA into mouse genomes so that it was passed on to subsequent generations (SN: 9/13/80). The star rodents were called “transgenic” mice. Since then, transgenic and knockout mice, where a single gene is broken or removed, have been developed to mimic and study human diseases from Alzheimer’s to alcoholism to depression and cancer.
3. Bt tobacco and more
In 1987, geneticist Mark Vaeck and colleagues reported that they had genetically engineered tobacco to…
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