Question: Are there any limitations to genetic modification/genome sequencing and what limitations or areas of uncertainty have been overcome in this area over the course of the last few decades?

Hi davidmcafee,
There are a lot limitations to GM in plants and animals that prevents high rates of success. The simple procedure of culturing plants from cells can vary dramatically between plant species. The insertion of DNA into the plant genome is still a random process which causes a number of other issues with respect to the disruption of other genes during the process. This slows down the GM approach in plants as you have to screen large populations for the event that really works well.

I guess the biggest advance is the ease and rapidity of DNA sequencing. We can now sequence whole genomes quickly and cheaply. This has had a huge benefit in identifying how DNA works but at the same time has created so many more unknowns and mechanisms we didn’t even know existed 3-5 years ago. Over the next 10 years we will be able to sequence any plant or animal (including yourself) very quickly and cheaply and then use that information for genetic improvement based on the knowledge the information provides. I see great things happening in the future.