pittaxx t1_iviwf8p wrote
Reply to comment by The_Revisioner in Genomic analysis of 3-6,000 year old watermelon seeds finds the fruit likely had bitter pulp and greenish-white flesh, and may have been consumed primarily for its seeds by bobstonite
The article isn't taking about GMO, we were modifying plants through selective breeding for thousands of years before we knew what genes are.
The_Revisioner t1_ivjh4nr wrote
The second link up there listing a bunch of plants and what they used to look like mentions "GMO Cucumbers".
pittaxx t1_ivkqcp0 wrote
Selective breeding is genetic modification.
GMO is genetic modification done in some way that does not commonly occur in nature (everything to do with selective breeding does).
The_Revisioner t1_ivkwxdn wrote
Alright man, I was just agreeing with the dude questioning the source of the article...
And no, selective breeding is NOT genetic modification. It is artificial selection. You're not modifying the genes directly; you're selecting for phenotypic traits.
Genetic Modification is actual gene manipulation (usually insertions) using a bunch of fun and cool proteins/enzymes.
And you might be surprised, but genetic modification does occur in nature a lot. There's an entire class of viruses that insert genetic material into the DNA of their hosts. It's just usually not beneficial, and results in immune system activation to kill the cell.
That's not what I'm talking about.
pittaxx t1_ivl07by wrote
You are talking Genetic Engineering. Genetic Modification can refer to that, but it also refer to any process that modifies genes, which includes stuff like artificial selection.
The_Revisioner t1_ivl6hxl wrote
Perhaps in a very broad sense, but not in the context of GMO produce, which specifically refers to crops with artificially modified genomes.
pittaxx t1_ivnt998 wrote
Yes, GMO refers specifically to genetically engineered products. Article doesn't use "GMO" though, just "genetically modified", which is fine as it can mean anything. It's a bit silly, but the "O" part is really important here.
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