---
title: "GM as a natural process?"
url: https://plants.lasse.co.uk/fact-archive/gm-as-a-natural-process/
---

# GM as a natural process?
Date: 2026-06-06

There's a lot of debate about the use of Genetically Modified (GM) crops. In research labs, GM is often done by introducing a bacteria, *Agrobacterium tumefaciens,* which transfers DNA into the plant. However, this bacteria also occurs naturally, and sweet potato has been found to naturally contain DNA transferred by this bacteria, making sweet potato a naturally GM plant



## References:

1. [An example of a naturally transgenic food crop](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25902487/)





```json
[
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "WebSite",
    "url": "https://plants.lasse.co.uk",
    "name": "Phytotastic",
    "description": "Phytotastic - Occasional fun facts about plants, because plants are phytotastic",
    "potentialAction": {
      "@type": "SearchAction",
      "target": {
        "@type": "EntryPoint",
        "urlTemplate": "https://plants.lasse.co.uk/search/?q={search_term_string}"
      },
      "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
    },
    "sameAs": [
      "https://bsky.app/profile/phytotastic.bsky.social",
      "https://plants.lasse.co.uk/llms.txt"
    ]
  },
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "GM as a natural process?",
    "description": "There's a lot of debate about the use of Genetically Modified (GM) crops. In research labs, GM is often done by introducing a bacteria, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which transfers DNA into the plant. However, this bacteria also occurs nat...",
    "url": "https://plants.lasse.co.uk/fact-archive/gm-as-a-natural-process/",
    "datePublished": "2026-06-06",
    "author": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "Phytotastic"
    },
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "An example of a naturally transgenic food crop",
        "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25902487/"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 1,
        "name": "Home",
        "item": "https://plants.lasse.co.uk"
      },
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 2,
        "name": "Fact Archive",
        "item": "https://plants.lasse.co.uk/fact-archive/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "ListItem",
        "position": 3,
        "name": "GM as a natural process?",
        "item": "https://plants.lasse.co.uk/fact-archive/gm-as-a-natural-process/"
      }
    ]
  }
]
```