Genes, Genetics and Determinism: The Case of Transgenics in Agriculture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21664/2238-8869.2019v8i2.p264-283Keywords:
Central Dogma of Biology, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Modified Organisms, Genome ComplexityAbstract
Biotech proponents argue that transgenics crops are safer and developed under a more precise way than their conventional counterparts. This because modern biotechnology allows genes of interest to be “cut†from donors organisms and “pasted†in the recipient crop plants. Hence, from the epistemological point of view, it seems to be opportune to seek further understanding of what these terms borrowed from informatics actually mean and their capacity to unravel the nature of these new plants. Also, its potential implications to health and environment must be deepened. With this aim, the ideas of genes and its functions are briefly historicized, exploring both its biosafety implications and results after 20 years of commercial use of these plants. It is concluded that biotech industry upholds old fashioned concepts of genes and on it depends to justify biotechnological patents and lowered levels of regulations and risk assessments.
References
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Birch ANE, Geoghegan IE, Griffiths DW, Mcnicol JW 2002. The effect of genetic transformations for pest resistance on foliar solanidine-based glycoalkaloids of potato (Solanum tuberosum). Annals of Applied Biology, 140(2):143-149.
Bunge J, Alessi C [página na Internet]. The Wall Street Journal [publicação 14 set 2016; acesso 2 out 2016]. Bayer-Monsanto Deal Would Forge New Agricultural Force. Disponível em: http://www.wsj.com/ articles/bayer-and-monsanto-expected-to-announce-takeover-1473839357.
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Donegan KK, Palm CJ, Fieland VJ 1995. Changes in levels, species and DNA fingerprints of soil microorganisms associated with cotton expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki endotoxin. Applied soil ecology, 2(2):111-124.
El-Hani CN 2007. Between the cross and the sword: the crisis of the gene concept. Genetics and Molecular Biology, 30(2):297-307.
Ellul J 1954. La technique ou l’enjeu du siècle. Armand Colin, Paris.
ETC Group [página na Internet]. [publicação 09 set 2016; acesso 21 out 2016]. The Monsanto-Bayer tie-up is just one of seven; Mega-Mergers and Big Data Domination Threaten Seeds, Food Security. Disponível em: http://www.etcgroup.org/content/monsanto-bayer-tie-just-one-seven-mega-mergers-and-big-data-domination-threaten-seeds-food.
FAO/OMS 1996. Biotechnology and food safety. In Report FAO/OMS, FAO Food Nutrition Paper, 61, Roma, 31pp.
Ferment G, Melgarejo L, Fernandes GB, Ferraz JMG 2015 Lavouras transgênicas: riscos e incertezas - Mais de 750 estudos desprezados pelos órgãos reguladores de OGMs. Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário, Brasília, 450pp. Disponível em: http://www.mda.gov.br/sitemda/pagina/nead-debate.
Fernandes GB 2007. Chega de Manipulação. In JE Veiga. Transgênicos: sementes da discórdia. Ed. Senac, São Paulo, p. 77-128.
Futuyma DJ 2013. Evolution. 3.ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Publishers, Sunderland, Massachusetts U.S.A.
Gertz Junior JM, Vencil WK, Hill NS 1999. Tolerance of transgenic soybean (Glycine max) to heat stress. In Proceedings of the 1999 Brighton Conference Weeds (The BCPC Conference). Vol. 3; Nov. Brighton, UK, 835-840.
Globo Rural [página na Internet]. [publicação 28 mai 2014; acesso 31 out 2016]. Pragas elevam o custo da lavoura de algodão transgênico em MT. Disponível em: http://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/ noticia/2014/05/pragas-elevam-o-custo-da-lavoura-de-algodao-transgenico-em-mt.html.
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Guerrante RS 2004. O comportamento estratégico das grandes empresas do mercado de sementes geneticamente modificadas Impulso, 15(36):59-76.
Hilbeck A, Binimelis R, Defarge N, Steinbrecher R, Székács A, Wickson F, Antoniou M, Bereano PL, Clark EA, Hansen M, Novotny E, Heinemann J, Meyer H, Shiva V, Wynne B 2015. No scientific consensus on GMO safety. Environ Sci Eur, 27:4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1.
Hilbeck A, Schmidt J 2006. Another View on Bt Proteins - How Specific are they and What Else Might They Do? Biopesticide, 2(1):1-5.
Ho MW [página na Internet]. [publicação 09 set 2004; acesso 10 set 2004]. Subverting the genetic text. Disponível em: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/RNASTGT.php.
Ho MW 2003. Living with the fluid genome. Institute of Science in Society, London, UK & Third World Network, Penang, Malaysia, 197 pp.
Jablonka E, Lamb MJ 2005. Evolution in four dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavorial, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 475 pp.
Kupiec JJ 2010. On the lack of specificity of proteins and its consequences for a theory of biological organization. Progress in Biophisics ans Molecular Biology, 102:45-52.
Kyndt T, Quispe D, Zhai H, Jarret R, Ghislain M, Liu Q, Gheysen G, Kreuze JF 2015. The genome of cultivated sweet potato contains Agrobacterium T-DNAs with expressed genes: An example of a naturally transgenic food crop. PNAS, 112(18):5844-5849. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419685112.
Lacey H 2000. As sementes e o conhecimento que elas incorporam. São Paulo em Perspectiva, 14(3):53-59.
Lacey H 2017. The life and times of transgenics. In B Bensuade-Vincent, S Loeve, A Nordmann, A Schwarz. Research Objects in their technological setting. Pickering&Chato, London.
Latham JR, Wilson AK, Steinbrecher RA 2006. The mutational consequences of plant transformation. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2006:1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/JBB/2006/25376.
Leite M 2007. Arautos da razão: a paralisia no debate sobre transgênicos e meio ambiente. Novos Estudos, 78:41-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0101-33002007000200006.
Lewontin R 2002. A tripla hélice: gene, organismo e ambiente. Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 138 pp.
Lisboa M 2009. Transgênicos: quem ganha com eles? PUCviva Revista, 36:41-45.
Lopes F 2017. Área plantada com transgênicos cresceu 7% em 2016/2017, diz consultoria. Valor Econômico, 18 abr.
MacAFee K 2003. Neoliberalism on the molecular scale. Economic and genetic reductionism in biotechnology battles. Geoforum, 34:203-219.
Mayr E 1998. Desenvolvimento do pensamento biológico: diversidade, evolução e herança. Editora Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 1107 pp.
Melgarejo L, Ferraz JM, Fernandes GB 2013a. Dez anos de cultivos transgênicos no Brasil: um balanço crítico. In Resumos do VII Congresso Brasileiro de Agroecologia. Porto Alegre-RS.
Melgarejo L, Ferraz JM, Fernandes GB 2013b. Transgênicos no Brasil: a manipulação não é só genética. Agriculturas: Experiências em Agroecologia, 10(1):14-21.
Mesquita A 2013. Lavoura furada. Agro DBO, 2013:24-30.
Moreira MA, Massoni NT 2011. Epistemologias do Século XXI. EPU, São Paulo, 207 pp.
Morin E 1977. La Méthode.1. La Nature de la Nature. Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 399 pp.
Morin E 2002. O Problema epistemológico da complexidade. Publicações Europa-América, Portugal, 128 pp.
Mukherjee S 2016. O Gene. Uma história íntima. Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 666 pp.
Nguyen H, Jehle J 2007. Quantitative analysis of the seasonal and tissue-specific expression of Cry1Ab in transgenic maize Mon810. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 114(2):82-87.
Olsen KM, Daly JC, Holt HE, Finnegan EJ 2005. Season-Long Variation in Expression of Cry1Ac Gene and Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis Toxin in Transgenic Cotton Against Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, 98(3):1007-1017.
Pasonen HL, Seppänen SK, Degefu Y, Rytkönen A, Von Weisenenberg K, Pappinen A 2004. Field performance of chitinase transgenic silver birches (Betula pendula): resistance to fungal disease. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 109(3):562-570.
Pressinott F 2015. Lucro líquido da Monsanto cresce 33% no terceiro trimestre fiscal. Valor Econômico.
Quist D, Nielsen KM, Traavik T 2009. Introduction to some basic features of genetic information: from DNA to proteins. In T Traavik, LL Ching. Biosafety First: holistic approaches to risk and uncertainty in genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms. 2.ed. Genok, Malaysia, TWN/Norway.
Somers DA, Makarevitch I 2004. Transgene integration in plants: poking or patching holes in promiscuous genomes? Current opinion in Biotechnology, 15(2):126-131.
Tinland B 1996. The integration of T-DNA into plant genomes. Trends in Plant Science, 1(6):178-184.
Traavik T, Bohn T 2009. Life on Earth. In T Traavik, LL Ching. Biosafety First: holistic approaches to risk and uncertainty in genetic engineering and genetically modified. Genok, TWN/Norway.
Tzfira T, Li J, Lacroix B, Citovsky V 2004. Agrobacterium T-DNA integration: molecules and models. Trends in Genetics, 20(8):375-383.
Vargas GC, Galeano P, Agapito-Tenfen SZ, Aranda D, Palau T, Nodari RO [página na Internet]. Cochabamba: Genok, UFSC, Rede, Base. [publicação 2012; acesso 31 out 2016]. Soybean Production in the Southern Cone of the Americas: Update on Land and Pesticide Use. Disponível em: http://genok.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/SOY-SA-Land_Pesticides-ENG.pdf.
Wan P, Zhang Y, Wu K, Huang M 2005. Seasonal expression profiles of insecticidal protein and control efficacy against Helicoverpa armigera for Bt cotton in the Yangtze River valley of China. Journal Econ. Entomol, 98(1):195-201.
Watson JD, Crick FHC 1953. Molecular structure of nucleic acids. A structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Nature, 171(4356):737-738.
Wilson A, Latham J, Steinbrecher R [página na Internet]. Econexus [acesso 31 out 2016]. Genome scrambling: myth or reality? [aproximadamente 36 p.]. Disponível em: http://www.econexus.info/ publication/genome-scrambling-%E2%80%93-myth-or-reality.
Bergelson J, Purrington CB, Wichmann G 1998. Promiscuity in transgenics plants. Nature, 395(6697):25.
Birch ANE, Geoghegan IE, Griffiths DW, Mcnicol JW 2002. The effect of genetic transformations for pest resistance on foliar solanidine-based glycoalkaloids of potato (Solanum tuberosum). Annals of Applied Biology, 140(2):143-149.
Bunge J, Alessi C [página na Internet]. The Wall Street Journal [publicação 14 set 2016; acesso 2 out 2016]. Bayer-Monsanto Deal Would Forge New Agricultural Force. Disponível em: http://www.wsj.com/ articles/bayer-and-monsanto-expected-to-announce-takeover-1473839357.
Caetano M [página na Internet]. Amazônia Notícia e Informação. [publicação 20 mai 2014; acesso 2016]. Milho transgênico em xeque em Mato Grosso. Disponível em: http://amazonia.org.br/2014/05/ milho-transgenico-em-xeque-em-mato-grosso/.
Capra F 2002. As conexões ocultas: ciência para uma vida sustentável. Cultrix/Amaná-Key, São Paulo, 296 pp.
CIB [página na Internet]. Conselho de Informações sobre Biotecnologia. [publicação ago 2012; acesso 31 out 2016]. O que você precisa saber sobre transgênicos. Disponível em: http://cib.org.br/wp-content/ uploads/2012/08/Guia_Transgenicos_2012.pdf.
Donegan KK, Palm CJ, Fieland VJ 1995. Changes in levels, species and DNA fingerprints of soil microorganisms associated with cotton expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki endotoxin. Applied soil ecology, 2(2):111-124.
El-Hani CN 2007. Between the cross and the sword: the crisis of the gene concept. Genetics and Molecular Biology, 30(2):297-307.
Ellul J 1954. La technique ou l’enjeu du siècle. Armand Colin, Paris.
ETC Group [página na Internet]. [publicação 09 set 2016; acesso 21 out 2016]. The Monsanto-Bayer tie-up is just one of seven; Mega-Mergers and Big Data Domination Threaten Seeds, Food Security. Disponível em: http://www.etcgroup.org/content/monsanto-bayer-tie-just-one-seven-mega-mergers-and-big-data-domination-threaten-seeds-food.
FAO/OMS 1996. Biotechnology and food safety. In Report FAO/OMS, FAO Food Nutrition Paper, 61, Roma, 31pp.
Ferment G, Melgarejo L, Fernandes GB, Ferraz JMG 2015 Lavouras transgênicas: riscos e incertezas - Mais de 750 estudos desprezados pelos órgãos reguladores de OGMs. Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário, Brasília, 450pp. Disponível em: http://www.mda.gov.br/sitemda/pagina/nead-debate.
Fernandes GB 2007. Chega de Manipulação. In JE Veiga. Transgênicos: sementes da discórdia. Ed. Senac, São Paulo, p. 77-128.
Futuyma DJ 2013. Evolution. 3.ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Publishers, Sunderland, Massachusetts U.S.A.
Gertz Junior JM, Vencil WK, Hill NS 1999. Tolerance of transgenic soybean (Glycine max) to heat stress. In Proceedings of the 1999 Brighton Conference Weeds (The BCPC Conference). Vol. 3; Nov. Brighton, UK, 835-840.
Globo Rural [página na Internet]. [publicação 28 mai 2014; acesso 31 out 2016]. Pragas elevam o custo da lavoura de algodão transgênico em MT. Disponível em: http://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/ noticia/2014/05/pragas-elevam-o-custo-da-lavoura-de-algodao-transgenico-em-mt.html.
Goodman D, Sorj B, Wilkinson J 1990. Da lavoura às biotecnologias: agricultura e indústria no sistema internacional. Campus, Rio de Janeiro, 192pp.
Guerrante RS 2004. O comportamento estratégico das grandes empresas do mercado de sementes geneticamente modificadas Impulso, 15(36):59-76.
Hilbeck A, Binimelis R, Defarge N, Steinbrecher R, Székács A, Wickson F, Antoniou M, Bereano PL, Clark EA, Hansen M, Novotny E, Heinemann J, Meyer H, Shiva V, Wynne B 2015. No scientific consensus on GMO safety. Environ Sci Eur, 27:4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1.
Hilbeck A, Schmidt J 2006. Another View on Bt Proteins - How Specific are they and What Else Might They Do? Biopesticide, 2(1):1-5.
Ho MW [página na Internet]. [publicação 09 set 2004; acesso 10 set 2004]. Subverting the genetic text. Disponível em: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/RNASTGT.php.
Ho MW 2003. Living with the fluid genome. Institute of Science in Society, London, UK & Third World Network, Penang, Malaysia, 197 pp.
Jablonka E, Lamb MJ 2005. Evolution in four dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavorial, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 475 pp.
Kupiec JJ 2010. On the lack of specificity of proteins and its consequences for a theory of biological organization. Progress in Biophisics ans Molecular Biology, 102:45-52.
Kyndt T, Quispe D, Zhai H, Jarret R, Ghislain M, Liu Q, Gheysen G, Kreuze JF 2015. The genome of cultivated sweet potato contains Agrobacterium T-DNAs with expressed genes: An example of a naturally transgenic food crop. PNAS, 112(18):5844-5849. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419685112.
Lacey H 2000. As sementes e o conhecimento que elas incorporam. São Paulo em Perspectiva, 14(3):53-59.
Lacey H 2017. The life and times of transgenics. In B Bensuade-Vincent, S Loeve, A Nordmann, A Schwarz. Research Objects in their technological setting. Pickering&Chato, London.
Latham JR, Wilson AK, Steinbrecher RA 2006. The mutational consequences of plant transformation. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2006:1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/JBB/2006/25376.
Leite M 2007. Arautos da razão: a paralisia no debate sobre transgênicos e meio ambiente. Novos Estudos, 78:41-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0101-33002007000200006.
Lewontin R 2002. A tripla hélice: gene, organismo e ambiente. Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 138 pp.
Lisboa M 2009. Transgênicos: quem ganha com eles? PUCviva Revista, 36:41-45.
Lopes F 2017. Área plantada com transgênicos cresceu 7% em 2016/2017, diz consultoria. Valor Econômico, 18 abr.
MacAFee K 2003. Neoliberalism on the molecular scale. Economic and genetic reductionism in biotechnology battles. Geoforum, 34:203-219.
Mayr E 1998. Desenvolvimento do pensamento biológico: diversidade, evolução e herança. Editora Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 1107 pp.
Melgarejo L, Ferraz JM, Fernandes GB 2013a. Dez anos de cultivos transgênicos no Brasil: um balanço crítico. In Resumos do VII Congresso Brasileiro de Agroecologia. Porto Alegre-RS.
Melgarejo L, Ferraz JM, Fernandes GB 2013b. Transgênicos no Brasil: a manipulação não é só genética. Agriculturas: Experiências em Agroecologia, 10(1):14-21.
Mesquita A 2013. Lavoura furada. Agro DBO, 2013:24-30.
Moreira MA, Massoni NT 2011. Epistemologias do Século XXI. EPU, São Paulo, 207 pp.
Morin E 1977. La Méthode.1. La Nature de la Nature. Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 399 pp.
Morin E 2002. O Problema epistemológico da complexidade. Publicações Europa-América, Portugal, 128 pp.
Mukherjee S 2016. O Gene. Uma história íntima. Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 666 pp.
Nguyen H, Jehle J 2007. Quantitative analysis of the seasonal and tissue-specific expression of Cry1Ab in transgenic maize Mon810. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 114(2):82-87.
Olsen KM, Daly JC, Holt HE, Finnegan EJ 2005. Season-Long Variation in Expression of Cry1Ac Gene and Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis Toxin in Transgenic Cotton Against Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, 98(3):1007-1017.
Pasonen HL, Seppänen SK, Degefu Y, Rytkönen A, Von Weisenenberg K, Pappinen A 2004. Field performance of chitinase transgenic silver birches (Betula pendula): resistance to fungal disease. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 109(3):562-570.
Pressinott F 2015. Lucro líquido da Monsanto cresce 33% no terceiro trimestre fiscal. Valor Econômico.
Quist D, Nielsen KM, Traavik T 2009. Introduction to some basic features of genetic information: from DNA to proteins. In T Traavik, LL Ching. Biosafety First: holistic approaches to risk and uncertainty in genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms. 2.ed. Genok, Malaysia, TWN/Norway.
Somers DA, Makarevitch I 2004. Transgene integration in plants: poking or patching holes in promiscuous genomes? Current opinion in Biotechnology, 15(2):126-131.
Tinland B 1996. The integration of T-DNA into plant genomes. Trends in Plant Science, 1(6):178-184.
Traavik T, Bohn T 2009. Life on Earth. In T Traavik, LL Ching. Biosafety First: holistic approaches to risk and uncertainty in genetic engineering and genetically modified. Genok, TWN/Norway.
Tzfira T, Li J, Lacroix B, Citovsky V 2004. Agrobacterium T-DNA integration: molecules and models. Trends in Genetics, 20(8):375-383.
Vargas GC, Galeano P, Agapito-Tenfen SZ, Aranda D, Palau T, Nodari RO [página na Internet]. Cochabamba: Genok, UFSC, Rede, Base. [publicação 2012; acesso 31 out 2016]. Soybean Production in the Southern Cone of the Americas: Update on Land and Pesticide Use. Disponível em: http://genok.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/SOY-SA-Land_Pesticides-ENG.pdf.
Wan P, Zhang Y, Wu K, Huang M 2005. Seasonal expression profiles of insecticidal protein and control efficacy against Helicoverpa armigera for Bt cotton in the Yangtze River valley of China. Journal Econ. Entomol, 98(1):195-201.
Watson JD, Crick FHC 1953. Molecular structure of nucleic acids. A structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Nature, 171(4356):737-738.
Wilson A, Latham J, Steinbrecher R [página na Internet]. Econexus [acesso 31 out 2016]. Genome scrambling: myth or reality? [aproximadamente 36 p.]. Disponível em: http://www.econexus.info/ publication/genome-scrambling-%E2%80%93-myth-or-reality.
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2019-05-01
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BIANCONI FERNANDES, Gabriel; MALAQUIAS COSTA, Flaviane; SILVA, Natália Carolina de Almeida; VIDAL, Rafael. Genes, Genetics and Determinism: The Case of Transgenics in Agriculture. Fronteiras - Journal of Social, Technological and Environmental Science, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 2, p. 264–283, 2019. DOI: 10.21664/2238-8869.2019v8i2.p264-283. Disponível em: https://periodicos.unievangelica.edu.br/index.php/fronteiras/article/view/2705. Acesso em: 23 nov. 2024.
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