Differences between traditional breeding and genetic engineering:

The first is the amount of genetic material involved. When two parental plant lines are crossed using traditional breeding methods, the new plant obtains half the genetic makeup of each parent, and the desirable gene may be accompanied by many undesirable genes from that same parent. To remove the undesirable genes, continued breeding is required. In the case of genetic engineering, only the few genes that are specifically desired are moved into the new plant, and it is not necessary to remove all of the undesirable genes. However, as in traditional plant breeding, it is important to assess how that desired gene is express.

A second difference between traditional breeding and genetic engineering is the source of genetic material used. Traditional breeding relies on closely related plant species. In genetic engineering, at least theoretically, a gene from any living organism may be moved into another living organism.