Mutagenesis                                                                                                         [home]   [topic page]

A chemical or X-Ray technique of forcing genetic variations in a crop beyond the normal range. At Tasmanian Alkaloids, poppy seeds were soaked in a chemical, a mutagen, which forced chemical reactions to occur in seeds' DNA. In this case methyl groups added to DNA sites changing the crosslinks. These genetic alterations became apparent when grown over two generations.

The company looked at the young plants' sap and checked their alkaloid cross section. Selection of the plants with the desired alkaloid spectrum led to the thebaine variety.

This process is different from "genetic engineering" in the sense that no genes were introduced into the plant from other sources. The thebaine strain could have arisen naturally but it would be rare and it would be very unlikely to be noticed amongst the rest of the poppies.