Modified

HA Wallace and the Green Revolution

Henry Agard Wallace was FDRs Vice-President. That is a pretty big deal in itself. But he also kick started the most consequential scientific project in the history of mankind (at least according to some) - The Green Revolution. A technological transformation of global agriculture, combining the cutting edge of mechanical, chemical and genetic technology. And the year was 1940. ' What was the green revolution? What is a semi-dwarf variety and what would HA Wallace make of it all, looking back on his legacy. Tune in and find out.

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SE02 EP1 Introducing the GMO Wars

A short episode to give you a sense of what to expect from this season. References https://www.the-independent.com/news/the-strange-case-of-the-rats-the-coverup-and-a-political-hot-potato-1071126.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pusztai_affair

Season 2 Teaser

A quick update on what to expect from Season 2 and when to expect it.

CRISPR changes the world and unlocks GMO 2.0

What is CRISPR-Cas9 and how is it going to revolutionize the world of GMO crops? References de Lange, O., Binder, A. and Lahaye, T. (2014), From dead leaf, to new life: TAL effectors as tools for synthetic biology. Plant J → Review article on TAL effectors by yours truly Ishino Y, Shinagawa H, Makino K, Amemura M, Nakata A. Nucleotide sequence of the iap gene, responsible for alkaline phosphatase isozyme conversion in Escherichia coli, and identification of the gene product. J Bacteriol. 1987 → Paper first describing CRISPR in 1987 Interview with the 2020 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, Emmanuelle Charpentier, recorded in Stockholm on 12 December 2022. Martin Jinek et al.,A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity.Science337,816-821(2012). —> First paper describing use of CRISPR as a programmable DNA endonuclease Updates on Global Regulatory Landscape for Gene-Edited Crops By Clement Dionglay, January 24, 2024 https://www.isaaa.org/blog/entry/default.asp?BlogDate=1/24/2024 -> Update on regulation of gene editing. https://sanatech-seed.com/en/221226-2/ → Article from Sanatech describing the gene-edited, High GABA tomato.

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The colorful world of GMOs

From glowing petunias to purple tomatoes - this episode is a roundup of some of the lesser known GMO crops that are nonetheless out there in our world. Key references Glowing plants I Bought a Glowing Plant. It Led Me Down a Rabbit Hole. Scientific American. 2024 Glowing Plant US Patent www.light.bio - to buy your own glowing plant. Blue Roses https://www.suntoryapplause.com/ https://www.suntory.com/sic/story/bluerose/ Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_rose Pink Pineapples https://www.pinkglowpineapple.com/ US Patent Purple tomatoes Martin C, Butelli E. The Purple Tomato Story; From Laboratory Bench to the Consumer. ACS Food Sci Technol. 2024 GM Purple Tomato Gets Approval in the United States. ISAAA. 2024 https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/ Rainbow Papaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Gonsalves Arctic apples https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02648725.1998.10647966 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Apples#Commercialization GMO poplar trees https://www.livingcarbon.com/ For the First Time, Genetically Modified Trees Have Been Planted in a U.S. Forest. New York Times. 2023 Wang G, Dong Y, Liu X, Yao G, Yu X, Yang M. The Current Status and Development of Insect-Resistant Genetically Engineered Poplar in China. Front Plant Sci. 2018 Tao, Y.; Chiu, L.-W.; Hoyle, J.W.; Dewhirst, R.A.; Richey, C.; Rasmussen, K.; Du, J.; Mellor, P.; Kuiper, J.; Tucker, D.; et al. Enhanced Photosynthetic Efficiency for Increased Carbon Assimilation and Woody Biomass Production in Engineered Hybrid Poplar. Forests 2023

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Your Questions Answered - Part 2

From glowing fish to feminizing tofu - the second and final installment of me answering your questions about GMO. References relevant to Question 1 - Soy Phytoestrogens Article on use of the term “Soy boy” Messina, M., Mejia, S. B., Cassidy, A., Duncan, A., Kurzer, M., Nagato, C., … Barnes, S. (2022). Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational and clinical data. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62(21), 5824–5885. Povey AC, Clyma J-A, McNamee R, et al; Participating Centres of Chaps-UK. Phytoestrogen intake and other dietary risk factors for low motile sperm count and poor sperm morphology. Andrology. 2020;8:1805–1814. References relevant to Question 2 - GMO animals Wikipedia article on GloFish - provides a good summary of the history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish 2003 discussion forum - discussing merits of brand new GloFish product. Bratspies, Rebecca. (2005). Glowing in the Dark: How America's First Transgenic Animal Escaped Regulation. CAPITOL ALERT ‘Glowing fish’ exempt from proposed ban on gene-edited pets in California By Kate Wolffe Updated February 5, 2026 2:20 PM Wikipedia article on AquaAdvantage Salmon 2024 AquaBounty press release announcing sell off of assets. References relevant to Question 3 - Health impacts of GMOs Shen, C., Yin, XC., Jiao, BY. et al. Evaluation of adverse effects/events of genetically modified food consumption: a systematic review of animal and human studies. Environ Sci Eur 34, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-021-00578-9

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Round Up Ready - The GMO that launched a thousand lawsuits

Why did Monsanto take a canadian farmer all the way to the supreme court? And what does this have to do with controversial herbicide glyphosate? Learn about the science and history of Round Up Ready GMO crops. Key references https://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fc-cf/decisions/en/item/38991/index.do → The Monsanto vs. Schmeiser Supreme Court Decision. https://www.helbocklaw.com/california-jury-awards-2-billion-couple-roundup-weed-killer-cancer-trial/ → Article about California lawsuit related to glyphosate https://academic.oup.com/toxsci/article/192/2/131/7066927#402719028 → Review of glyphosate studies. Funke, H. Han, M.L. Healy-Fried, M. Fischer, & E. Schönbrunn, Molecular basis for the herbicide resistance of Roundup Ready crops, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (35) 13010-13015, Landau et al., The silver bullet that wasn’t: Rapid agronomic weed adaptations to glyphosate in North America, PNAS Nexus, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2023, pgad338, https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60663500/publications/reddy/reddy%20and%20nandula_2-12_ija_57-1-7.pdf → Overview of herbicide resistant crops.

Bt Crops - GMOs go mainstream

The NewLeaf potato was a failure, appearing and disappearing in under a decade. But it was the first of a new wave of GMO crops that have endured to the present day - Bt crops. Key references Insect Resistance in Crops: A Case Study of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and its Transfer to Developing Countries. 1997. The chronicle of the ups and downs that made Bacillus thuringiensis a natural insecticide by Ninfa Rosas-Garcia, 2023. https://dfg-vk-darmstadt.de/Lexikon_Auflage_2/BerlinerErnst.htm Biographical details about Ernst Berliner. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/biotechnology → 2025 USDA data on Bt crops https://farmingfirst.org/2025/12/how-africa-can-benefit-from-south-africa-success-with-gm-crops/ ⇒ GMO crops in South Africa. https://farmingfirst.org/2025/12/how-africa-can-benefit-from-south-africa-success-with-gm-crops/ ⇒ GMO crops in Kenya Rise and fall of the New Leaf Potato - https://krautnah.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/15_7_2_Thornton.pdf. https://time.com/archive/6925559/why-mcdonalds-pulled-frankenfries-from-menu/TIME article about lack of commercial interest in NewLeaf potato. Resources on Bt and milkweed https://news.cornell.edu/stories/1999/04/toxic-pollen-bt-corn-can-kill-monarch-butterflies https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/116/2/297/6968925 → 2023 review paper on Bt crops and resistance https://www.monarchscience.org/single-post/2020/09/02/a-look-back-at-the-time-when-the-entire-world-thought-bt-corn-was-killing-monarchs → Blog post summarizing the incident https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001415 → Bt crops and bees https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.241503398 → read this and see if its useful

First ever GMO: The FlavrSavr tomato

How one tomato changed the world? Or was it two? And what is a GMO tomato anyway. Slice into the story of the FlavrSavr tomato. Key references Grierson D. Identifying and silencing tomato ripening genes with antisense genes. Plant Biotechnol J. 2016 Mar;14(3):835-8. doi: 10.1111/pbi.12463. Epub 2015 Sep 15. PMID: 26369550; PMCID: PMC11389017. https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/altered-stakes https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/jun/14/hot-tomatoes-genetically-altered-tomatoes-are/ → Articles about the sales of the Flavr Savr. Commercialization_of_a_tomato_with_an_antisense_po.pdf - 1994, Euphytica The Flavr Savr Tomato, an Early Example of RNAi Technology.pdf - 2008, HortScience

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How to Make a GMO Plant

From hacking bacteria to blasting your way into the heart of the cell, in this episode we explore the ways to get a transgene into a plant cell and go from there to a whole genetically engineered plant. Key references Herrera-Estrella L. My journey into the birth of plant transgenesis and its impact on modern plant biology. Plant Biotechnol J. 2020 Chimeric Genes as Dominant Selectable Markers in Plant Cells. Herrera-Estrella et al., 1983, the EMBO Journal. - First publication of delivering a recombinant T-DNA plasmid into plant cells. History of Plant Tissue Culture. Trevor A Thorpe. University of Calgary Current Advancement and Future Prospects in Simplified Transformation Based Plant Genome Editing. Han et al., Plants (Basel). 2025 - Review of plant transformation techniques. Deep Dive into Plant Transformation: Protoplast Mediated, Biolistic, Agrobacterium Mediated Gene Transfer. Dr Adriana Gallego. GoldBio. - Article about different plant transformation methods.

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The Early Days of Genetic Engineering

How did a few labs in the San Francisco area transform our relationship to life itself? Guidelines for Hybrid DNA Molecules - Maxine Singer and Dieter Soll - Science, 1973 Potential Biohazards of Recombinant DNA Molecules - Berg et al., Science, 1974 Electron Micrograph of plasmid DNA, 1967 Valentine remembered for visionary thinking that transformed agriculture - Trina Kleist, 2023

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How Science Took Over Plant Breeding

What actually is plant breeding and how did it become so deeply intertwined with genetics?

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What makes a plant a crop?

Learn what sushi and sugar beets can teach us about how to turn a plant into a crop and how this connects to GMOs.

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Your Questions Answered

Ant plants, Chameleon plants, and skinny-peel mangoes. Let's dive into your questions and I'll do my best to answer them. References Leaf Mimicry in a Climbing Plant Protects Against Herbivory - Gianoli & Carrasco-Urra - Current Biology, 2014 Boquila trifoliata Mimics Leaves of an Artificial Plastic Host Plant - White & Yamashita - Plant Signaling & Behavior, 2021 Endophytic Bacterial Communities are Associated with Leaf Mimicry in the Vine Boquila trifoliata - Gianoli et al. - Scientific Reports, 2021 How the Tulip Breaking Virus Created Striped Tulips - Wong, Carrero & Hillen - Communications Biology, 2025 Start of the Art of Dahlia Breeding - A dissertation by Karen Renae Bender - Iowa State University, 2022 The Genome Evolution and Domestication of Tropical Fruit Mango - Wang et al. - Genome Biology, 2020

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How Genes Keep Plants Alive

How do plants defend themselves, fighting a war of attrition cell by cell? And how did a scientist in Minnesota in the 1950s reshape how we understand plant immune systems and the genetics at their heart. And of course, how does this all connect to GMOs? Let's find out. References H. H. FLOR: PIONEER IN PHYTOPATHOLOGY Jin L, Chen M, Xiang M, Guo Z. RNAi-Based Antiviral Innate Immunity in Plants. Viruses. 2022 Feb 20;14(2):432. FAO. 2022. FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division. Rome. PAPAYA RINGSPOT VIRUS (PRY): A SERIOUS DISEASE OF PAPAYA 2024 STATE AGRICULTURE OVERVIEW - Hawaii

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How Genes Make Plants

What are these little bundles of DNA we call genes and how does a bunch of genes work together to make a whole plant? In this episode we’ll take a journey through plant genetics and see why scientists have been so keen to unlock these secrets and ultimately to shape them to human ends. References: On the history of Japanese rice research in Taiwan: Tracing the Roots of Taiwanese Rice. Cathy Teng, photos Chuang Kung-ju, tr. by Scott Williams July 2016 Leow, W.Y. (2020). Horai Rice in the Making of Japanese Colonial Taiwan. Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review 9(1), 40-66. Wikipedia: Taiwan Under Japanese Rule On Gibberellin research Hedden, P., Sponsel, V. A Century of Gibberellin Research. J Plant Growth Regul 34, 740–760 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-015-9546-1 RADLEY, M. Occurrence of Substances Similar to Gibberellic Acid in Higher Plants. Nature 178, 1070–1071 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/1781070a0 Bernard O Phinney. By Ann Hirsch. UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

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The One with Mendel and his Peas

Around the same time as Miescher was tinkering with DNA in Tubingen castle, a middle aged friar-scientist Gregor Mendel was experimenting with inheritance of pea plants. He was the first to define a set of mathematical rules behind inheritance that birthed the field of genetics - a field that lay dormant for a few decades before exploding in the 1900s, and continues to develop to this day. Genetics gives us the tools to reshape the living world with intention and at speed. References: 1. Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden. Zwei Abhandlungen. (1865 und 1869.) Von Gregor Mendel. Herausgegeben von Erich Tschermak [Experiments in Plant Hybridization. Two Treatments. (1865 and 1869). By Gregor Mendel. Published by Erich Tschermak. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hs118q&seq=7 2. Gregor Mendel and his Precusors. Conway Zirkle. 1951. https://www.jstor.org/stable/226964?seq=1 3. Bateson W. (1906) "The progress of genetic research" Report of the Third International Conference 1906 on Genetics, W. Wilks, ed. London, England: Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/206746#page/129/mode/1up 4. Fairbanks, D.J. Demystifying the mythical Mendel: a biographical review. Heredity 129, 4–11 (2022). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-022-00526-0

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What Genes are Made of

Genes can be a metaphor for our sense of self. But they are also real, physical, things made up of DNA parts, locked inside the cells of every living organism. In this episode we explore the materiality of genes, as well as some of the human stories behind the science. References: Waclaw Szybalski on Martha Chase - Cold Spring Harbor laboratory - Oral history collections. Martha Chase at the University of Rochester: The Woman in STEM Who Was Forgotten. The Journal of Undergraduate Research - University of Rochester. Spring 2024, Volume 22, Issue 2. Michelle A. Bischoff ‘24, Xuke Wang, Erin Song, Gabrielle Wilson, Monica Brody, Suchi Iyer, Kirya Caine, and Michael Clark*

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Introducing Modified

The roots of today’s genetically modified world stretch back two centuries, to a castle kitchen in Southern Germany. This episode will set the stage for our whole podcast introducing key themes and foundational concepts of genetics and molecular biology.

Announcing Modified

Everything you wanted to know about GMO crops and hopefully a lot of things you would have never thought to ask. Announcing Modified, a new podcast by Dr. Orlando de Lange - plant scientist, biotechnology educator, and lover of podcasts. This announcement episode briefly introduces the podcast and lets you know what to expect.

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