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A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques (i.e. genetically ''engineered'' organism). GMOs are the source of medicines and genetically modified foods and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce other goods.The term GMO is very close to the technical legal term, 'living modified organism', defined in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which regulates international trade in living GMOs (specifically, "any living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology"). A more specifically defined type of GMO is a "Transgenic Organism". This is an organism whose genetic makeup has been altered by the addition of genetic material from another, unrelated organism. This should not be confused with the more general way in which "GMO" is used to classify genetically altered organisms, as typically GMOs are organisms whose genetic makeup has been altered without the addition of genetic material from an unrelated organism. The first genetically modified mouse was in 1981,〔http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1981Sci...214.1244G〕 the first plant was produced in 1983 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History of Genetically Modified Foods )〕 and the first genetically modified human (modified mitochondrial DNA) was born on July 21, 1997. ==Production== Genetic modification involves the mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes. Inserted genes usually come from a different species in a form of horizontal gene-transfer. In nature this can occur when exogenous DNA penetrates the cell membrane for any reason. To do this artificially may require: * attaching the genes to a virus * physically inserting the extra DNA into the nucleus of the intended host with a very small syringe * with the use of electroporation (that is, introducing DNA from one organism into the cell of another by use of an electric pulse) * with very small particles fired from a gene gun.〔''Cornell Chronicle'', 14 May 1987, page 3. (Biologists invent gun for shooting cells with DNA )〕 Other methods exploit natural forms of gene transfer, such as the ability of ''Agrobacterium'' to transfer genetic material to plants,〔 〕 or the ability of lentiviruses to transfer genes to animal cells. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「genetically modified organism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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