Genetically Modified Foods

A genetically modified (GM) food is a plant that has a genetic change in each of its cells that a researcher has introduced. The modification may add a gene from a different species and thereby create a transgenic plant, or it may overexpress or silence a preexisting plant gene. Overexpression is accomplished by altering the promoter region of a gene, which controls how rapidly and in which cells the encoded protein is synthesized, thus directing a plant to manufacture more of a natural product. Conversely, a gene may be "silenced" (directed not to synthesize a protein) through the use of antisense technology, which applies a complementary nucleic acid to messenger RNA, halting expression of the encoded protein.