The Relation Between Genetic Engineering and Biodiversity

In one line

Genetic engineering takes from biodiversity and can also damage it, and the University's question is about both directions.

In exam wording: the relation between genetic engineering and biodiversity runs in two directions: biodiversity supplies the genes, the promoters and the marker sequences on which genetic engineering depends, so that access to it is regulated by sections 3, 6 and 7 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and by articles 15 and 16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992; and genetic engineering may affect biodiversity through gene flow to wild relatives, effects on non-target organisms, the development of resistance, the displacement of landraces and the concentration of seed supply, which is why article 8(g) of the Convention requires each Party to regulate the risks of living modified organisms, why article 19(3) mandated the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 2000, and why the Indian Rules of 1989 forbid release except with approval.

Direction one: biodiversity into genetic engineering

The gene. Every transgene comes from an organism. The insect-resistance genes used in Indian cotton come from a soil bacterium.

The rest of the construct. A working construct needs a promoter to switch the gene on, a terminator, and usually a marker for selection. Those too come from organisms, often from bacteria and viruses.

The recipient. A crop variety, itself the product of centuries of breeding from wild relatives.

The legal consequence. All three engage the access regime. Section 2(c) of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 defines a biological resource to include micro-organisms and parts of their genetic material and derivatives. Section 3 requires approval before a foreign person obtains one; section 7 requires intimation by an Indian for commercial utilisation; section 6 requires approval or registration before an intellectual property right is granted. Rule 16(1)(a) of the Rules of 2024 covers digital sequence information, which matters because a gene can now be synthesised from a published sequence without any physical material moving.

And internationally, article 15 of the Convention governs access and article 16 technology transfer, while article 19(1) and (2) require the provider country to have effective participation in the biotechnological research and priority access to the results.

Direction two: genetic engineering into biodiversity

Gene flow to wild relatives. Pollen from a modified crop can fertilise a wild or weedy relative growing nearby, transferring the trait. Where the crop's centre of origin or diversity is in the same country, the risk is to the wild gene pool the crop was bred from. India is a centre of diversity for several crops, which is why the question is sharper here than in a country that grows only introduced crops.

Effects on non-target organisms. An insecticidal protein expressed throughout a plant is met by insects other than the pest, and by soil organisms when the residue decays.