Plant genetic engineers create new varieties of plants, including row crops, vegetables and berries, forest and fruit trees, and ornamentals. These new varieties contain any number of new or improved traits, such as resistance to pests and diseases, resistance to poor growing conditions, resistance to herbicides, and improved nutrition, wood quality, storage characteristics, and horticultural traits. Plant genetic engineers are also modifying plants to produce industrial enzymes, biodegradable plastics, pharmaceutical products, and edible vaccines. Plant genetic engineers collaborate closely with molecular biologists to identify and clone the necessary genes, and with plant breeders, who breed these into improved plant varieties.

A lab technician monitors the growth of a sunflower plant raised from an embryo in controlled conditions as a genetic engineering project at the Sungene Technologies Laboratory in Palo Alto, California.

Genetic engineers are drawn to the discipline because of the power that creating new plant...