Disease-Resistant and

Herbicide-Resistant Crops
By: Nikka Nissa Z. Lopez
What is a Crop?
It is a plant which is cultivated for an intended
purpose of having a beneficial output.

“Crops are plants, but not all the plants can be considered as
crops.”
Herbicide-Resistant Crop
• Herbicides, also commonly known as
weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill
unwanted plants.
Selective Herbicides – do not harm
crops
Non-selective herbicides - kill all plant
material with which they come into
contact.
What is Herbicide-Resistant Crop?

• A transgenic crops contain genes that can

degrade the active ingredient in an
herbicide, rendering it harmless.
Herbicide resistant cropping systems

• Roundup Ready Crops* - Glyphosate-tolerant crops

• Liberty Link Crops*- Glufosinate-tolerant crops

*Common for soybean, maize, rapeseed, and cotton

Roundup Ready
Glyphosate herbicide kills plants by blocking the
EPSPS enzyme
Liberty Link
Glufosinate herbicide kills plants by blocking the
enzyme
Application of Genetic Engineering
Roundup Ready by Mosanto and Liberty Link Soybean
by Bayer CropScience
What is Disease-Resistant Crop?
• Disease is the impairment or destruction of the
normal state of a crop (plant) that interrupts or
modifies its vital functions.
“Most crop diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses,
and other pathogens .”
What is Disease-Resistant Crop?

• A transgenic crops obtained by

transferring a gene from a plant or
organism that has natural resistance or by
creating a "vaccine" using a part of the
virus DNA.
Mostly Disease in Crops are:
• Fungal diseases-
Fungi get inside the plant then they either poison and kill the
plant cells before absorbing food.
• Viral diseases
Viruses reproduce inside plant cells and infect the cell
How Virus Attack the crops
Several approaches
• Introducing plant genes (e.g. phytoalexin)
• Introducing bacteria encoding enzymes (e.g.
chitinase)
• Introducing viral gene
Papaya affected by Ringspot Virus
References:
• Source: Boundless. “Plant, Animal, and Human Parasites and
Pathogens.” Boundless Biology. Boundless, 03 Jul. 2014. Retrieved
17 Feb. 2015 from
https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-t
extbook/fungi-24/fungal-parasites-and-pathogens-152/plant-anima
l-and-human-parasites-and-pathogens-600-11819/
• Source: Boundless. “Plant Viruses.” Boundless Biology. Boundless, 14
Nov. 2014. Retrieved 17 Feb. 2015 from
https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-tex
tbook/viruses-21/virus-infections-and-hosts-137/plant-viruses-555
-11766/