grafting

Unintentional genetic engineering - grafted plants trade genes

edyong | May 1, 2009

For centuries, farmers have been genetically modifying their plants without even knowing it. That's the message from German scientists who found that grafting, a common technique used to fuse parts of two plants together, causes the two halves to swap genes with each other. Grafting can involve fusing the stem of one plant (the scion) to the roots of another (the stock), or a dormant bud to another stem. There are many reasons for this - sometimes it's the most cost-effective way of cultivating the scion, sometimes the stock has properties that the scion lacks including hardiness or…