This soya, together with GM maize, is now used in a variety of processed foods on sale in UK shops. The products range from crisps to pasta. Scientists have developed a number of techniques for getting a desired gene into a plant. One technique makes use of a soil bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The bacterium does this to make plants produce the particular chemicals it needs to survive.
Scientists get A. tumefaciens to deliver genes of their choice.
Labs also use a technique called biolistics. This uses a gun to fire the desired gene into a plant's cells. With luck, the plant will take up the DNA and start to read out its instructions. Wheat and rice have been modified in this way. Another method relies on protoplasts.