Genetic Engineering and Cell Fusion CMS

Reader Contribution by Joseph Lofthouse
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This weekend I listened to the webinar broadcast of the Organic Seed Growers Conference 2014. One of the sessions was titled: ‘Unpacking the Cell Fusion Debate’. I touched on this topic in a previous blog on landrace gardening, and promised to return to it at a later time. Seems like now would be appropriate.

What is Cell Fusion?

Cell fusion is a genetic engineering process in which the nucleus is removed from a plant cell and replaced by a nucleus from a different plant that might be from a different species or genera. This creates a new plant with mixed genetics. It contains the mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA from one cell and the nuclear DNA from a different one. This is typically done for the purpose of creating cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), which allows hybrids to be created reliably and inexpensively, and prevents anyone other than the seed company from recreating the variety. This process is also called somatic fusion or protoplast fusion. The plants created by using this technology are sometimes called transgenic cybrids.

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