Bt Brinjal: Risks and Benefits

This assignment critically analyzes the genetically modified Bt brinjal, focusing on its intended purpose of reducing pesticide use. While initially promising, quality testing revealed significant health and environmental impacts, raising concerns about human consumption. The assignment emphasizes the need for further research to understand public attitudes towards this technology and advocates for a balanced policy approach considering both potential benefits and risks.

Running head: GENETIC ENGINEERING
Genetic Engineering is Dangerous
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Need for the Production of BT Brinjal.......................................................................................2
The Transgenic Mechanism behind the Production of BT Brinjal............................................3
Utility of BT Brinjal...................................................................................................................3
Limitation of the Transgenic Process.........................................................................................4
Harmful Effects of the BT Brinjal.............................................................................................5
Health Impact.........................................................................................................................5
Debate of the BT Brinjal............................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The year of 1946 lead to the discovery of the process of DNA transmission between
two organisms (James, 2011). The discovery of the DNA transmission concept lead to the
foundation of first genetically modified (GM) plant in the year of 1983 via employing
antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant. In the domain of commercial crop, China can be regarded
as the first country to commercialize the transgenic crop during early 1990s via the
introduction of the virus resistant tobacco gene (Séralini et al., 2011). Year of 1994
experienced the introduction of the Flavour Saver Tomato, as FDA (Food and Drug
Administration) approved for its marketing is USA (Séralini et al., 2011). This report sheds
light on the debate of the whether genetically engineered BT brinjal is unfit for consumption.
Need for the Production of BT Brinjal
The production of BT brinjal took place in India and the main concept behind the
production of the BT brinjal is to cut short the harmful effects of the pesticides over the crop
plant (Bandopadhyay, Sinha & Chaudhary, 2012). It is well known that the farmers often loos
a huge amount of crops or vegetables due to the attack of insects. In order to reduce the pest
attack there are pesticides. Although it was successful in providing temporary relief, but the
economic burden over the framers was high. On the other hand, the end consumers have no
choices but to thrive on the insect damaged fruits or crops which are high on pesticide
content. Brinjal is highly susceptible for insect attack and since in India and other
neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and Myanmar, Brinjal was one of
the most edible vegetables, scientists planned to frame a transgenic brinjal which is shielded
from the pesticide attack (Bawa & Anilakumar, 2013). This concept leads to the foundation
of the BT Brinjal.

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The Transgenic Mechanism behind the Production of BT Brinjal
BT Brinjal is a transgenic brinjal developed via insertion of the transgenic gene (cry
1Ac gene). cry 1Ac gene encodes for the insecticidal protein, which confers resistance
against the fruit and shoot borer (FSB) (Banerji, 2010). The cry 1Ac gene is derived from the
Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), an ubiquitous soil bacterium. It has been frequently used for
several biological control measures against the FSB via mixing in granular powder. The
insertion of the BT gene occurs inside the cell of the young cotyledons of the brinjal and is
facilitated by the use of the agro bacterium vector mediated transgenesis. Maharashtra
Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), a leading Indian seed company, has designed a new
DNA construct to aid the process of transgenesis. This gene construct contain the cry1 Ac
gene along with two other supporting genes namely nptll and aad genes. These genes are
arranged in such a way that they express in tandem to produce insecticidal protein. The
transcription of the cry 1Ac gene is further enhanced via expressing it under the influence of
the CaMV35S promoter (P-E35S).
Figure: The gene construct used of BT brinjal
(Source: Banerji, 2010)
Utility of BT Brinjal
The utility of the BT Brinjal lies in several spheres of cultivation. BT brinjal thus
produced via transgeneis required negligible or nor use of the pesticides and thus reduce the
environmental impact of the harmful pesticides. Moreover, less use of the pesticides promote

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less exposure of pesticides, leading to reduced level of human pesticide poisoning. The
cultivation of the BT brinjal also showed favourable response in the increase in the crop yield
thus facilitating the farmers economically. It also reduces the amount of pesticide residues on
the food.
Figure: The benefits of BT Brinjal
Source: Created by author
Limitation of the Transgenic Process
Process limitation Gene Exchange is only possible between closely related species
Time quotient It takes significant amount of time in order to achieve the desired results
Less chance of positive
results
There is less chance of obtaining accurate cross
Undesired gene Harmful or faulty gene may get transmitted with the gene of interest due

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transmission to lack of the precision of the site specific recombination
Gene Loss Even after successful transmission, the gene gets lost due to the random
recombination between the parent gene (Holme, Wendt & Holm, 2013)
Harmful Effects of the BT Brinjal
According to the professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, a French scientist of the Committee
for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN), the BT
Brinjal though scoring high in terms of the pesticide control activity, impose a serious threat
to the health of both human and animal (De Vendômois et al., 2010).
Health Impact
BT brinjal produce a special protein the vegetative cell that generates antibiotic
resistance within the body (Verma et al., 2011). This generation of the antibiotic resistance is
considered as the major health care problem and it extremely significant in the of the Multi
Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria. BT brinjal contain 15% less calories and a completely
different alkaloid pattern than that of the non-genetically modified brinjal. However, it
contains 16 to 17 mg/Kg of BT insecticide toxin. This BT toxin hampers the equilibrium of
the blood corpuscles leading to the difficulty in blood clotting (prothrombin) and total
bilirubin (health of the liver) (Francisco, 2014).
Effects on Rat Effect on Cow Effect on Birds Effect on Fish
The safety quotient of
BT brinjal when tested
over rat, it experienced
diarrhoea, increase in the
rate of water
The effect of BT brinjal
on the lactating cows
showed increase in the
appearance of the BT
toxin in the milk and in
The effect of BT brinjal
consumption on broiler
chickens showed
decreased in their food
consumption along with
The average food
conversion and the
efficiency ratios
were significantly
high on the BT

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consumption and
decreases in the weight
of liver.
the blood. However, the
cows feeding on BT
brinjal showed greater
production of milk
when kept on low
hormone therapy
(Chong, 2015)
increase in the blood
sugar level
brinjal consuming
fishes
Debate of the BT Brinjal
Keeping the health hazards in mind, there are several controversies associated with
the GM BT brinjal in several levels. The dilemma is whether food produced is safe or
whether it should be labelled. Many problems came into consideration while using GM crops
like BT brinjal; the first and foremost ethical problem which surface was “tampering with
mother nature”. The other associated problems include health concerns faced by the
consumers upon consumption of the food, evolution of the pesticide resistant pest like super
bugs. Another major fact, which came into consideration, is, whether this pesticide resistant
nature of the genetically modified brinjal can be passed on the weeds (Shah, 2011). If the pest
resistant characteristic of the crops is transferred to their weedy relatives, then it may lead to
the increases in the amount of weed in the cultivating field, imposing a series threat to the
farmers (Shah, 2011). This dilemma led to serious controversies behind the acceptance of the
BT brinjal in the market.
Year Event
2000 Integration of the cry1Ac gene into brinjal hybrids
2001 to 2002 Development of the efficacy of the BT brinjal
2002 to 2004 Confined trials over the field to study the pollen flow, weediness and germination

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2004 Approval for the multi-location trails over the seven different BT hybrids
2005 The data obtained via trail was submitted to the review committee
2006 Recommendation of the large scale trial
2007 Supreme court of India bans the trial due to the possible threat on the mankind
2008 Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) gets approval for the trial
2009 IIVR submits the large scale trial data but stakeholders raise the concerns against the
validity and the safety of the crop
2009 In response to the strong view against the crop, the release of the BT brinjal was
upheld
Table: Chronology of the Legal Journey of BT Brinjal in India
(Source: Bt-Brinjal: Production and Its Development India, 2017)
Conclusion
The GM crops have immense potential to solve several problems in the world like
malnutrition and hunger while reducing the dependence on the synthetic pesticides and
herbicides. However, there lie several challenges in successful implementation of the
genetically modified crops in the market. The challenges include threats to the human health,
environmental impact, regulation of the ethical and governmental policies and proper food
labelling. Many scientists are of the opinion that the genetic engineering is an inevitable trend
in the future because the technology is brimmed with surplus benefits which one cannot in
ignore. The genetically modified BT brinjal was designed in order to decrease the chances of
cultivation damage arising out of the over use of the pesticides and herbicides. However,
quality testing revealed significant health and environmental impacts. So from the above
discussion it can be concluded that the BT brinjal is unfit for human consumption. Moreover,

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considerable efforts are required to be directed towards the understanding of the people’s
attitudes towards this gene technology.

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References
Bandopadhyay, R., Sinha, P., & Chaudhary, B. (2012). Is Bt-brinjal ready for future food?--A
critical study. Indian Journal of Biotechnology, 11(2), 238-240.
Banerji, D. (2010). Bt brinjal and GM crops: towards a reasonable policy ahead. Current
Science, 99(10), 1319.
Bawa, A. S., & Anilakumar, K. R. (2013). Genetically modified foods: safety, risks and
public concerns—a review. Journal of food science and technology, 50(6), 1035-
1046.
Bt-Brinjal: Production and Its Development | India. (2017). Biology Discussion. Retrieved 14
October 2017, from http://www.biologydiscussion.com/vegetable-breeding/bt-brinjal-
production-and-its-development-india/68749
Chong, M. (2005). Perception of the risks and benefits of Bt eggplant by Indian
farmers. Journal of Risk Research, 8(7-8), 617-634.
De Vendômois, J. S., Cellier, D., Vélot, C., Clair, E., Mesnage, R., & Séralini, G. E. (2010).
Debate on GMOs health risks after statistical findings in regulatory
tests. International journal of biological sciences, 6(6), 590.
Francisco, S. R. (2014). Health and Environmental Impacts of Bt Eggplant. Socioeconomic
impacts of Bt eggplant, 233.
Holme, I. B., Wendt, T., & Holm, P. B. (2013). Intragenesis and cisgenesis as alternatives to
transgenic crop development. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 11(4), 395-407.
James, C. (2011). Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops. International Service
for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).