I found the primary source to be much more comprehensive and detailed than the secondary source, however the reader must keep in mind that the author of the primary source did a two year study on the topic, while the reporter who wrote the newspaper article hadn’t. While the author of the newspaper article mentioned a few of the more basic but still important facts regarding the experiment there was a large amount of material they completely neglected to mention.
The first piece I discovered on the subject was a newspaper article in The London Free Press, which was entitled Researchers Develop Protein-Packed Potato. This piece became my secondary source, meaning that the author used their own personal interpretation of the original work to write it. The second written work -that is, the one cited in the secondary piece- was entitled Next-generation protein-rich potato expressing the seed protein gene AmA1 is a result of proteome rebalancing in transgenic tuber. This second piece is called the primary work, and was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The primary work is the piece originally written by the scientists who did the research on the subject.
The primary source, Next-generation protein-rich potato expressing the seed protein gene AmA1 is a result of proteome rebalancing in transgenic tuber, talked about the results of a two year long experiment regarding potatoes that had been genetically modified to contain more protein, and therefore more amino acids. There are 21 “essential” amino acids, and since humans can only make eleven of them this means we gain the other 10 from our diet. These essential amino acids make up polypeptide chains, which in turn form three-dimensional structures of protein; therefore the protein, and by extension the amino acids are a required part of a healthy and well balanced diet. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find a single food that contains all of the essential amino acids, so the developing countries are at a disadvantage and are more prone to suffer from protein malnutrition. This can lead to a variety of symptoms, from the weakening of the immune system to permanent brain disabilities in children (Agrawal et al., 2010).
In this study, the potatoes had specific genes originating from AmA1 (Amaranth Albumin 1) implanted in them in order to increase the levels of amino acids they contained. This resulted in not only an increase in the amount of protein contained inside the potatoes but also in the average biomass which means that farmers of these potatoes would have a better crop yield than farmers using “wild” tubers. The potatoes are considered a balanced source of protein because they contain values that greatly exceed the standards set by the World Health Organization (Agrawal et al., 2010).
As stated in the London Free Press article, the genes implanted in the potatoes originated from the Amoranth plant. It is an edible, wide-leafed vegetable that has been used as a grain crop in the United States since the 1970’s (Reuters, 2010). This makes it the ideal candidate for the donation of part of its genetic code to be engineered for the tubers because the Amoranth is already edible, unlike many of the other potential gene donors. Other than the Amoranth gene, a couple of the other edible candidates were the Brazil nut and Sunflower seed, however they were rejected because when these were used it resulted in an increase in one amino acid at the expense of all the rest (Agrawal et al., 2010).
In addition, the genetically modified potatoes were tested on live animals, specifically rats and rabbits (Agrawal et al., 2010). The London Free Press article almost completely failed to mention that any such study had been done. This is a serious gap in the information that should be given to the public, as lots of people are concerned about the uses of genetically engineered foods and the effects they could potentially have on people in today’s society (Reuters, 2010). In the study involving rats ingesting either the “wild” tubers or the genetically modified ones, there were no observations of toxicity. In addition, the studies involving testing the potatoes on the skin of rabbits proved them to be non-irritating and therefore it was concluded that there were no allergic reactions present (Agrawal et al., 2010). In the secondary resource all that was said was that the potatoes had been “fed to rats and rabbits with no adverse consequences.”
Another study that the newspaper article failed to mention was that the tests on the genetically modified potatoes were also completed in seven different simulated climatic regions. In this way they were able to test what some of the potential crop yields could be in different geographical areas. The primary source discusses this topic extensively, as it pertains to the issue of trying to improve nutrition in developing countries (Agrawal et al., 2010).
While a secondary source such as a newspaper article can be a fairly reliable resource it is better to trace the information back to the primary source in order to find the most accurate information. In doing so you can also read the original information exactly as the person doing the study intended for you to.
References
Reuters (2010). Researchers develop protein-packed potato. London Free Press. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www.lfpress.com/life/eat/2010/09/21/15423036.html.
S. Chakraborty, N. Chakraborty, L. Agrawal, S. Ghosh, K. Narula, S. Shekhar,
P Naik, P. P, K. Chakrborti, and A Datta. (2010) Next-generation protein-rich potato expressing the seed protein gene AmA1 is a result of proteome rebalancing in transgenic tuber. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Tuesday Sept 21, 2010, 1-6.
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