Josh Kuikman (0713102)
September 23, 2010
Blog Assignment #1
Blog Assignment #1
Recently researchers in India have developed a potato that is packed with over 60%
the protein of normal potatoes and increased amino acids, this is the article that I
chose to read. After reading both the secondary and the primary sources I could see
some big differences between these two sources. For one, in order to understand the
style of writing in the primary source you had to have background information on the
subject. Also, the primary source used advanced vocabulary which I had to look up on a
number of different occasions. The secondary source was a’lot more easy to
understand. It was shorter and didn’t go into as great detail as the primary source. In
this blog I will spend time talking about both the secondary and the primary sources,
their limitations, information and strengths of claims.
A secondary source is, “any document that describes an event, person, place, or
thing not created contemporaneously” (“Secondary Source”, 2010). Secondary sources
are based on primary sources and as a result tend to have a higher standard deviation.
For every primary source there are usually multiple secondary sources. This can lead to
false facts and not including as much information as needed. For my secondary source I
read Researchers Develop Protein-Packed Potato in India. This potato was created by
a group led by Subhra Chakraborty at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research
in New Delhi. Chakraborty, used a gene from the amaranth plant called Amaranth
Albumin (AmA1) and inserted it into a potato. This gene endows the amaranth plant
Albumin (AmA1) and inserted it into a potato. This gene endows the amaranth plant
with its high protein and amino acid levels. After inserting this gene, the potatoes were
grown for two years which resulted in potatoes with 60% more protein. They also,
“contain increased levels of amino acids, notably lysine, tyrosine and sulphur, which are
usually limited in potatoes” (“Researchers Develop Protein-Packed Potato in India”,
2010). Potatoes are an important part of many peoples diets around the world, “over
one billion people consume potatoes a day” (“Researchers Develop Protein-Packed
Potato in India”, 2010). In my opinion the author of this article did a good job with the
information he presented. I found I could understand the article and that I learned from
it. Unfortunately the author didn’t go into great detail about the facts, which led to some
confusion. In all I found this was a strong piece of secondary writing.
Primary sources are usually more reliable and as a result have a lesser standard
deviation. The primary source I read is called, Next-generation protein-rich potato
expressing the seed protein gene AmA1 is a result of proteome rebalancing in
transgenic tuber. Compared to the secondary sources title this title holds a’lot more
detail and information. This trend continues throughout the article. The article starts off
talking about protein deficiency. Protein deficiency is, “the most crucial factor that affects
physical growth and development and that increases morbidity and mortality especially
in developing countries” (“Next-generation protein-rich potato”, 2010). This new
transgenic potato has higher protein levels, increased amino acids and enhanced
photosynthetic activity with a concomitant increase in total biomass. A test was
preformed to see the differences of protein levels in wild-type and AmA1-transgenic
tubers.
Table 1: Comparison of total protein content of wild-type and AmA1-transgenic tubers (“Next-generation
protein-rich potato”, 2010).
Genotype Year 1 Year 2
K Chipsona 1 C 87.90 +- 1.30 83.60 +- 5.10
21 131.70 +- 3.30 127.90 +- 5.60
(49.83) (52.99)
K Chipsona 2 C 130.0 +- 1.0 103.40 +- 10.9
15 138.50 +- 2.10 138.70 +- 6.00
(34.47) (34.14)
K Jyoti C 160.30 +- 1.00 120.70 +- 1.60
16 131.70 +- 1.70 129.6 +- 9.8
(23.89) (26.19)
K Sutlej C 94.80 +- 3.70 88.00 +- 2.10
3 148.60 +- 5.80 140.10 +- 7.50
(56.75) (59.20)
K Badsah C 89.40 +- 1.90 84.40 +- 7.70
9 121.20 +- 0.80 115.10 +- 2.30
(35.57) (36.37)
K Bahar C 97.60 +- 5.70 98.20 +- 3.80
5 124.90 +- 2.30 115.10 +- 2.30
(27.97) (29.22)
K Pukhraj C 95.00 +- 5.30 86.90 +- 7.20
1 126.60 +- 7.70 118.00 +- 3.90
(33.26) (35.79)
Each genotype was planted in a potato which was then planted on a trial. tubers were
harvested from each the wild-type and the transgenic potatoes. The value in brackets is
the percent increase in transgenic tubers compared to the wild-type tubers. Also, this
article went more in depth into the testing done on rats and rabbits where the secondary
source just mentioned that there was testing that was done. By going so into depth the
primary source ended up being six pages where the secondary one was only one page
long. Finally, the primary source used 41 references where the secondary source used
one. In all I learned a’lot from this piece of writing as well as the secondary source. I
thought they were both well done and had strong facts in them.
Joshua Kuikman
References
“Researchers Develop Protein-packed Potato in India”. (September 20, 2010). ABC News /
Technology. Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/
wireStory?id.
“Next-generation protein-rich potato expressing the seed protein gene AmA1 is a result of
proteome rebalancing in transgenic tuber”. (September 16, 2010). PNAS. Retrieved
September 20, 2010, from http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/09/13.
“Secondary Source”. (September 20, 2010). Dictionary.com. Retrieved September 20, 2010,
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