To: Sharck who wrote (4321 ) 11/4/2000 5:14:36 PM From: velociraptor_ Respond to Lots of good points Sharck. My original response was of course a simplified one as there is obviously so much more behind it. In selective breeding, you do take advantage of pre-existing traits, but even in nature random mutations occur and it is the beneficial ones that we have always, and still do, select for. Mutations do not occur in nature very often and the majority are often "silent" meaning they have a neutral effect. In the lab, we are able to create mutations ourselves and test whether something is improved or not, and we can do it at rates from tens to tens of thousands faster than the natural process. We can also introduce new proteins into a plant which may not even exist in that species, but it has been found elsewhere. We are not smart enough just yet to create proteins "out of the blue" that have a specific function. And you would be surprised at the things we are finding which may seem unnatural such as the oil eating bacteria. We have found naturally occuring bacteria that are able to live in over 90 degrees celcius conditions (near boiling), and others that thrive on sulphur in suphur springs deep in the ocean. Both of these are natural, not genetically engineered.
