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Hussain, Abraham Sappington AP Biology Period 4 31 January 2019 Seed Evolution Research and Opinion Essay A Chinese scientist, Jiang Xingcun, discovered that mutation rates could be increased exponentially through the use of space travel. This made many scientists experiment on how to take advantage of this discovery properly. Scientists learned to send plant seeds to space so that they can cultivate the resultant mutations. This has led to many plants being produced such as half-meter long cucumbers, large eggplants, and peppers with fewer seeds and higher yield. Not all the mutations will go the way as planned, and only some will be selected based on whether or not they have acquired the desired traits of the scientists. Scientists attempt to isolate the desired genes from the seeds that have successfully traveled using a breeding program. The reason that this mainly started in China was due to it’s overpopulation. China has a constantly growing population, which makes it very difficult to create an adequate supply of food. 50% of the vegetable seeds that are planted by Chinese farmers are imported from China. Citizens, especially farmers and others, desire to have another form of food that is cost efficient whilst being tasteful. Although China is a much discussed country regarding this matter, it is not the only country that has been experimenting with mutations based on radiation. For example, there are the US roses made to improve oil yields, russian cotton, wheat, and others. In my opinion, China’s work is ethical, which can be proven by safety, genetic diversity, and monetary means.

China is doing the right thing, and they are ethical in what they are doing, which can be seen through the use of safety. For the first point, the radiation levels of effect are largely debated between scientists. Which is the better option, a natural fruit or a fruit that has better taste and others along with the same amounts of radiation? The director of the Space Breeding Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Professor Liu Luxiang, and many other scientists still research the extent of radiation that the seeds are exposed to. Some of these scientists claim that the seeds are exposed to “higher levels of radiation than on earth,” compared to the scientists that proposed that “gravity also play[s] a role.” Apart from these two hypotheses, Dr. Cary Mitchell, a professor of horticulture and plant physiology at Purdue University, would be surprised if “they’d respond to radiation in any way.” China’s space breeding experiments led the scientists to conclude that their “fruit yield was ‘unaffected’ in plants grown from space-exposed seeds.” From this, it is evident that China is doing the right thing concerning safety as the procedure of the experiments are harmless and do not have a negative impact on health. China is ethical in their experimenting because of the genetic diversity that the seeds bring to the biosphere. The sources of genetic variation are mutations, gene duplication, and sexual reproduction. In my opinion, space seeds should be considered a new species because ideally and technically, the group of seeds must be placed somewhere and it cannot be placed in the same category as the normal seeds. This speciation of seeds has resulted from an artificial mindset, but a natural phenomenon. This type of speciation is artificial selection, but because the actual mutation occurs naturally through the rays of the radiation, it can be considered natural selection. Natural selection is a method in which evolution occurs. Evolution is another word for

“descent with modification” as Charles Darwin said. This makes the seeds an example of a new species arising. Professor Liu Luxiang and other scientists have noted that “compared to traditional mutagenic techniques, space-bred mutations have greater efficacy in that they experience positive effects on their first generation of mutation, whereas eradicated crops often see no advantageous mutations in their first generations.” Another piece of evidence used to prove that China is ethical in their experiments is through monetary gains. Many evolutionary trends are being seen in the seeds in space like greater size and yield. This means that not only is their mass bigger, but the amount that the seeds can produce is also greater. That evolutionary trend helps the original issue of China, overpopulation. The increase in both mass and yield will provide for more of the population to be fed with the same amount of production. This ultimately leads to a benefit in terms of monetary issues. China’s work is ethical, which can be proven by safety, genetic diversity, and monetary means. This experiment is not harmful to humans, and it increases the amount of food that you get from a given seed. Certain seeds can yield more food and others can just give larger massed food items. Either way, it is a solution to the prime reason that China initiated the conquest to solve the overpopulation issue. In terms of genetic diversity, these seeds bring about a new species and more diversity into the already existing gene pool. This increases the variety of species in the phylogenetic tree.

Works Cited 1. Boundless. “Boundless Sociology.” Lumen Learning, Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/understanding-social-interac tion/. 2. “Chinese Use Space Radiation to Mutate Food Crops.” Space Safety Magazine , 4 Aug. 2014, www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-hazards/radiation/chinese-space-radiationmutate-food-crops/. 3. “Mutation Breeding.” Wikipedia , Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_breeding. 4. Young, Kelly. “Space Seed Idea Falls on Stony Ground.” New Scientist , New Scientist, www.newscientist.com/article/dn7472-space-seed-idea-falls-on-stony-ground/....