Science - April 14, 2010
Gene technology changes plants less than trad plant breeding
Genetically, crops are changed far more by classic plant breeding methods than by genetic modification. This claim has been made in the scientific journal PNAS by researchers from the Justus Liebig University in the German town of Giessen.
Moreover, useful soil fungi have more influence on the chemical composition - the metabolites - of the barley plants than does the breeding method, the researchers found. They conducted field tests over several years. These tests were regularly destroyed by opponents of genetic modification. The publication in PNAS came out last week.