Is the latest seedless watermelon genetically modified?

Watermelon is an annual trailing vine of Cucurbitaceae. It was introduced into China in Jin and Yuan dynasties, which can be called the "king of midsummer". It is widely cultivated in various parts of our country, with many varieties, exocarp, pulp and seeds in various forms. Xinjiang, Lanzhou, Gansu, Dezhou, Shandong, Liyang and other places are the most famous. Let's take a look at whether seedless watermelon is genetically modified.

Is seedless watermelon genetically modified?

Seedless watermelon is not genetically modified, the so-called genetically modified food is the use of biotechnology to transfer the genes of some organisms to other species, to transform the genetic material of organisms, so as to optimize and improve their traits, nutritional quality, consumption quality and so on. Seedless watermelon is triploid, which is formed by hybridization between diploid and tetraploid produced by mutagenesis. Triploid watermelon cannot form seeds because triploid cells have synaptic disorder during meiosis, so seedless watermelon is not genetically modified.

Where did seedless watermelons come from?

Seedless watermelon is obtained by artificially inducing polyploidy, such as treating seeds or seedlings of diploid watermelon with colchicine (a plant base) to hinder the formation of spindle filaments and primary walls in the middle of cell division. so that the replicated genome can not be divided to the poles and form a secondary wall in the middle, resulting in the formation of double genome cells and tetraploid watermelon plants. Then the triploid seeds were obtained by crossing with the diploid watermelon plant (as the male parent). The triploid plant could not form normal germ cells because of the disordered synapsis of homologous chromosomes in the process of reduction. Then the mature pollen of diploid watermelon was used to stimulate the flower ovary of triploid plant to form triploid fruit, because its ovule could not develop into seed.

What are the genetically modified agricultural products?

1. Tomatoes: tomatoes are most popular vegetables around the world, and the genes of tomatoes are relatively easy to transfer, so the tomatoes eaten today are also slowly becoming genetically modified, and there is even a tendency to start commercial production.

2. Sweet pepper: approved by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1998, genetically modified colored peppers were allowed to be planted commercially, but genetically modified colored peppers do not seem to have received much welcome from the public in China, and today they basically do not produce genetically modified colored peppers.

3. Corn: genetically modified corn has been allowed to be imported into the United States in China, especially on January 7, 2015, an agricultural university developed genetically modified corn varieties in addition to insect-resistant rice, and also won a prize.

4. Rapeseed: at present, genetically modified rapeseed is still controversial in various countries, in the final analysis, it is still worried about toxicity and allergy, although the cultivation of genetically modified rapeseed has not been promoted in our country, but genetically modified rapeseed is imported.

5. Soybeans: genetically modified soybeans have begun to enter the market on a large scale and are mainly used for the processing of edible oil. it is not known whether genetically modified soybeans are sold on the market. If you don't want to eat genetically modified edible oil, it is recommended to read the product label clearly before buying it.