As an example , some rice strains are made by inserting new genetic material into a rice plant , all the descendants of the genetically modified rice plant are a strain with a unique genetic code that is passed on to later generations ; the strain designation , which is normally a number or a formal name , covers all the plants that descent from the originally modified plant . As an example , some rice strains are made by inserting new genetic material into a rice plant , all the descendants of the genetically modified rice plant are a strain with a unique genetic code that is passed on to later generations ; the strain designation , which is normally a number or a formal name , covers all the plants that descend from the originally modified plant .