ABSTRACT
Genetically modi™ed organisms (GMOs) are de™ned as organisms in which the genetic material [deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)] has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. This is accomplished through the “recombinant DNA” or “genetic engineering” technology, sometimes also called “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology.” It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species. Therefore, GMOs are understood to be plants, microorganisms, or animals into which foreign DNA coding one or more new genes has been integrated. However, so far, the term usually refers to genetically modi™ed (GM) plants, which are then used to grow GM food crops. Foundation lines/hybrids are the conventional or unmodi™ed parental or isogenic line/hybrids used in transformation events, and the resulting GMO line/hybrids are referred to as the transgenic line/hybrids. Both the products of GMOs and the GMOs themselves are potentially available for human and/or animal nutrition (WHO 2010).
