Adopt-A-Species Assignment 2

TO: Society for the Conservation of the Colorado Butterfly Plant

FROM: Iman Evergreen, host of "All about Plants" and endangered species consultant

SUBJECT: How DNA fingerprinting helps conservation


DNA fingerprinting has already proved useful in many aspects, from seeing justice served to finding cures for deadly diseases. It is only logical to wonder if it will also help with the conservation of endangered species. There are actually a few different ways in which DNA fingerprinting will help your organization to conserve the dwindling population of the Colorado Butterfly Plant, but I'd like to focus mainly on using it to diversify the gene pool.

If DNA is collected from a variety of the remaining plants and "fingerprinted," it is possible to find enough variations in the genetic material to help this plant survive. For example, there may be a specific genetic sequence that affects survival; some plants may be more capable of withstanding herbicides (one of the reasons for the disappearance of this plant) because of their genetics due to natural selection. Because there are no ethical issues to hamper the selected crossing of plants, offspring could be produced with this specific gene.

This is similar to a study done by Mike Russello at the American Museum of Natural History with the St. Vincent parrot, a bird on the verge of extinction. The DNA of different St. Vincent parrot's was studied to find which birds' DNA best complement each other, and therefore give them a better chance of survival. I believe this type of "genetic selection" could also arm the Colorado Butterfly Plant to fight global warming by making it more hardy.

This procedure can easily be modeled for the Colorado Butterfly Plant:

• DNA would need to be taken from many of the plants, especially those that are older and those that are dying. DNA can be taken from the leaves of a plant, so a leaf would be needed from each plant.
  
• The DNA could be analyzed to discover if there is a particular difference in the sequence between the older plants and those that are dying; this may show the genetic vulnerabilities of the plants that are not surviving and the strengths of those that are.
  
• Finally, after this study is conducted and a genetic sequence is determined, hardy plants can be cross-pollinated to form resistant offspring (similar to Mendel cross-pollinating pea plants to produce certain characteristics).
  
• Hopefully, this DNA study could also unveil ways that the Colorado Butterfly Plant could be useful medicinally, as many other herbs are, for extra incentive to fund it's conservation.

Unfortunately, no kind of DNA fingerprinting or forced crossing to preserve choice genes will help protect the Colorado Butterfly Plant from urban development, haying, mowing, overgrazing, or land cultivation, the major reasons why this precious plant is disappearing. To combat this, measures need to be taken to protect the areas that the plant grows in, particularly the critical habitat area in Wyoming assigned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. I believe your organization can make this happen.

Best wishes,
Iman Evergreen

[source: CPC National Collection Plant Profile - CO Butterfly Plant]

TO: Society for the Genetic Modification of the Colorado Butterfly Plant

FROM: Iman Evergreen, host of "All about Plants" and endangered species consultant

SUBJECT: Genetic Modification of the Colorado Butterfly Plant


Genetic modification seems to be a miracle cure for most things; it has helped improve the quality and shelf life of many crop plants and is also being studied as a way to prevent life-threatening diseases in humans. It is also very probable that it could help save the dwindling population of Gaura neomexicana var. coloradensis, the perennial herb called the Colorado Butterfly Plant.

The most useful type of genetic modification in this case would be one that helps the plant survive non-selective herbicide spraying and also improves the plant's water retention. Making the Colorado Butterfly plant more resistant to herbicides yields obvious results - the plant would not be harmed by accidental contact with herbicides (like runoff or spray that has been wind blown) as well as direct spraying with non-selective herbicides (maybe to get rid of other plants in close proximity). Helping the plant retain water more effectively also yields obvious results - since the habitat of this plant, mostly wet, marshy areas, are being cultivated, urbanized, etc., this could enable the Colorado Butterfly Plant to live in drier areas. This may also help it survive droughts or habitat dry-up due to global warming.

To do this, a gene (or genetic sequence) that has been shown to improve these qualities would need to be obtained. More than one may need to be obtained if no one particular gene has been shown to improve both qualities; this may be the best option currently. For the first quality, herbicide resistance, over 80% of the soybeans grown in the United States have been genetically modified for this exact purpose (Belk 211 P2). The gene that is used to do this in soybeans could very well prove useful in the Colorado Butterfly Plant. The second quality, improved water retention, could prove a little more tricky. It is well known that cacti are genetically wired to have impeccable water retention. This gene could be found in cacti and used in the Colorado Butterfly Plant. However, a study would be needed to discover which kind of cactus would be most compatible with the genetics of the Colorado Butterfly Plant.

There are two popular ways in which this genetic modification can be done. Both options, of course, will need to be further studied before a final decision is made, so I will present them both here:

1. Using the Ti Plasmid

• Make a culture of young plant cells from the Colorado Butterfly Plant.
  
• Isolate the Ti Plasmid from the bacterium cytoplasm of the bacteria called A. tumefaciens.
• Cut the plasmid with a restriction enzyme.
• Use the same restriction enzyme to cut the gene of the soybean or cactus that is going to be put into the Colorado Butterfly Plant.
• Allow the gene to attach itself to the plasmid (because of the "sticky ends" caused by using the same restriction enzyme on both the plasmid and the desired gene).
• Expose the altered plasmids to young plants cells in the culture.

2. Using the "gene gun"

• Make a culture of young plant cells from the Colorado Butterfly Plant.
• Use the gene gun to "shoot" the gene of the soybean or cactus of interest into the culture (the DNA is basically pushed off the bullet of the gun when the bullet is prevented from exiting the gun because of the momentum)

Using the Ti plasmid can be more expensive than using the gene gun because a license to use the plasmid is required by Monsanto, the company that holds the patent of the bacteria that contains the it (Belk 210, 211). As a result, researchers that want to avoid this extra expense often use the gene gun instead.

Of course, manipulating the genetics of the Colorado Butterfly Plant could have harmful consequences. For example, it could lead to decreasing genetic variation. This could cause the majority of plants to have almost identical genes, and if a disease was to infect one plant, the probability of the disease wiping out the entire population of plants is drastically increased. There could also be unforeseen environmental impacts such as the gene for herbicide resistance being harmful to the insects that pollinate these flowering plants. If this gene, in any way, alters the pollen of the plant, it could become deadly to butterflies, caterpillars, and bees, among other insects, which could cause a widespread decrease in many plant populations.

If somehow these genes are acquired by other organisms in the immediate area of the Colorado Butterfly Plant, a more drastic occurrence of what I just described could be possible; the areas of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado that support the plant could eventually become literal deserts, with no plant life. I hope that your organization explores all consequences, good and bad, before beginning genetic mutation of the Colorado Butterfly Plant.

Best wishes,
Iman Evergreen

Sources:

American Museum of Natural History. No posting date found. "Around the World with DNA." http://www.ology.amnh.org/genetics/aroundtheworld/index.html. Accessed 31 Mar 07.

Belk, Colleen and Virginia Borden. 2007. Biology: Science for Life. Chapter 8: Genetic Engineering. pages 192 - 221.

CPC National Collection Plant Profile. No posting date found. Gaura neomexicana var. coloradensis. http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=1997. Accessed 31 Mar 07.

US Fish and Wildlife Service. 2007. Colorado Butterfly Plant. http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfileSpeciesReport.do?spcode=Q0VV.
Accessed 31 Mar 07.