GENETIC-ENGINEERING IN PLANTS

Until now most research, and its funding, has been focused on animal a nd human health care as well as simple microbiological model systems s uch as Escherichia coli and yeast. Molecular plant studies have genera lly lagged behind, often simply adapting discoveries from the animal f ield to plants, Clearly, good health and the efficient tackling of dis eases is crucial for the wellbeing of humans, and good remedies have a high economic value for the pharmaceutical industry, However, one sho uld not forget that plants are an essential component of the large eco system that is our planet, They are not only the basic food producers but they are also necessary for a balanced atmosphere (oxygen producti on) and stable and viable climates, Especially in this period of demog raphic explosion and growing environmental deterioration, there is a n eed to rebuild our agricultural systems, Plants also have a wide varie ty of 'non-food' uses, for instance as energy sources, construction ma terials, or cosmetics, Last, but not least, they produce a lot of chem icals that can be used as pharmaceuticals, The growing awareness of th e importance of plants has coincided with the development of plant mol ecular biology, Specific features make them ideally suited for gene en gineering and genetic studies in general.