Glossary
Terms
GMOs - a microorganism, plant or animal whose genetic composition is altered to produce favorable characteristics
Ht crop – a crop meant to endure the application of herbicides
transgenic maize - a type of corn that has been genetically altered to resist herbicides and pests.
Bt corn - Bt corn is a variant of maize, genetically altered to express the bacterial Bt toxin, which is poisonous to insect pests.
Mychorrizal fungi - Mycorrhizal fungi colonize the roots of many plants. Mycorrhizal fungi don’t harm the plant; on the contrary, they develop a "symbiotic" relationship that helps the plant be more efficient at obtaining nutrients and water. In return, the plant provides energy to the fungus in the form of sugars.
Symbiotic relationship - a close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species for mutual benefit.
Golden rice - a strain of rice produced by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences that contains a higher amount of vitamin A.
Transgenic - organism that contains genetic material into which DNA from an unrelated organism has been artificially introduced.
Biosphere - the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.
GMOs - a microorganism, plant or animal whose genetic composition is altered to produce favorable characteristics
Ht crop – a crop meant to endure the application of herbicides
transgenic maize - a type of corn that has been genetically altered to resist herbicides and pests.
Bt corn - Bt corn is a variant of maize, genetically altered to express the bacterial Bt toxin, which is poisonous to insect pests.
Mychorrizal fungi - Mycorrhizal fungi colonize the roots of many plants. Mycorrhizal fungi don’t harm the plant; on the contrary, they develop a "symbiotic" relationship that helps the plant be more efficient at obtaining nutrients and water. In return, the plant provides energy to the fungus in the form of sugars.
Symbiotic relationship - a close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species for mutual benefit.
Golden rice - a strain of rice produced by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences that contains a higher amount of vitamin A.
Transgenic - organism that contains genetic material into which DNA from an unrelated organism has been artificially introduced.
Biosphere - the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.