| |
Source: PRESS RELEASE, 7/28/13
"Citrus greening” is an insect-borne bacterial disease that poses a dire threat to the U.S. citrus industry. Fruit on an infected tree will turn green and fall off, and the tree will eventually die. Growers have cut down and burned thousands of trees in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, but the problem is getting worse. The National Academy of Sciences has warned that citrus greening threatens the very existence of the U.S. citrus industry.
Genetic engineering is coming to the rescue. Reseachers have spliced a gene from the spinach plant into citrus DNA, and so far the transgenic trees seem resistant. The usual regulatory hurdles lie ahead, not to mention questions of public acceptance.
Amy Harmon of The New York Times wrote a very good article on the development of the new varieties and the role of a farsighted industry executive who supported the necessary research. See it at http://nyti.ms/12VuLFD
|
