Initially she inserted the gene using bacteria, but then her colleagues managed to breed the ancient rice with modern varieties using genetics-assisted breeding technologies, which transferred the flood-resistance gene and not much else.

FORBES: Green Genes

Simon Best, former head of plant science at Zeneca, looks forward to the day when molecular switches might be so sophisticated that the process of infection or drought will itself be enough to turn on a genetically engineered resistance gene.

ECONOMIST: Terminator genes

This gene gives resistance to carbapenems and has been found in E. coli and Klebsiella.

BBC: Analysis: Antibiotic apocalypse

Pesticide resistance gets encoded as a gene and handed down to progeny.

FORBES: Digital Rules

For example, Zeneca has managed to switch the bt gene, which gives maize plants resistance to nasty insects, on and off using another chemical trigger.

ECONOMIST: Terminator genes

In the mid-1990s drug firms touted gene sequencing as the solution to the resistance problem.

FORBES: Germ Warfare

It performs all types of clinical tests but also touts itself as a pioneer in gene-oriented tests for things such as HIV resistance and cervical cancer screening.

FORBES: Good Genes

The discovery that animals in pristine environments have few bacteria with resistance genes makes it likely that much of the antibiotic resistance found in these other species is a result of human influence, rather than natural gene-circulation.

ECONOMIST: Are the bugs in wild animals resistant to antibiotics?

High-tech advances in improving the resilience, yield and herbicide resistance of mainstay crops have generated significant results along with a set of widely-licensed gene patents that are used in most soybean and corn crops grown in the U.S. today.

FORBES: The Seeds Of An Antitrust Disaster In Iowa