Opinion building on a socio-scientific issue: the case of genetically modified plants

This paper presents results from a study with the following research questions: (a) are pupils' opinions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) influenced by biology teaching; and (b) what is important for the opinion pupils hold and how does knowledge work together with other parameters such as values? 64 pupils in an upper secondary school answered questionnaires, in which they expressed opinions and gave arguments on applications of GMOs, before and after biology courses. The pupils' knowledge of genetics and GMOs was also investigated. Eleven pupils were then in-terviewed to examine their reasoning in more depth. More pupils were positive about genetically modified tomatoes after the courses. Males were more positive than females. No correlation was found between knowledge of basic genetics and opinion. Most of the pupils could express arguments for and against the applications but they built their personal opinion on different arguments. An important concern was potential risks. Depending on risk judgement and/or how they trusted scientists, the pupils came to different conclusions. Few had any idea of how the different applications are risk assessed or how scientists work. Other important factors for decision-making were the purpose of the application, the time perspective and feelings.     

Between myth and reality: genetically modified maize,an example of a sizeable scientific controversy

Maize is a major crop plant with essential agronomical interests and a model plant for genetic studies. With the development of plant genetic engineering technology, many transgenic strains of this monocotyledonous plant have been produced over the past decade. In particular, field-cultivated insect-resistant Bt-maize hybrids are at the centre of an intense debate between scientists and organizations recalcitrant to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This debate, which addresses both safety and ethical aspects, has raised questions about the impact of genetically modified (GM) crops on the biodiversity of traditional landraces and on the environment. Here, we review some of the key points of maize genetic history as well as the methods used to stably transform this cereal. We describe the genetically engineered Bt-maizes available for field cultivation and we investigate the controversial reports on their impacts on non-target insects such as the monarch butterfly and on the flow of transgenes into Mexican maize landraces.     

Genes, genome and Gestalt

According to Gestalt thinking, biological systems cannot be viewed as the sum of their elements, but as processes of the whole. To understand organisms we must start from the whole, observing how the various parts are related. In genetics, we must observe the genome over and above the sum of its genes. Either loss or addition of one gene in a genome can change the function of the organism. Genomes are organized in networks of genes, which need to be well integrated. In the case of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), for example, soybeans, rats, Anopheles mosquitoes, and pigs, the insertion of an exogenous gene into a receptive organism generally causes disturbance in the networks, resulting in the breakdown of gene interactions. In these cases, genetic modification increased the genetic load of the GMO and consequently decreased its adaptability (fitness). Therefore, it is hard to claim that the production of such organisms with an increased genetic load does not have ethical implications.     

Environmental risks from the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)–the need for molecular ecology

Applications to release genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment, usually the agricultural environment, are increasing exponentially. Many involve crop plants that are also weeds. Studies of biological invasions and of biological control show that the probability that a genetically new organism establishing itself is small; it is also unpredictable and in some cases could have severe ecological effects. GMOs pose risks both because they will be released in large numbers and because the greater the genetic novelty the greater the possibility of ecological novelty. Molecular ecology is an essential ingredient in ensuring that risks are assessed efficiently.     

Composting: a potentially safe process for disposal of genetically modified organisms

The widespread use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may result in the release of GMOs into the environment. The potential risks regarding their use and implementation of disposal methods, especially the possibility of novel genes from GMOs being transferred to natural organisms, need to be evaluated and better understood. There is an increasingly accepted public view that GMO products introduced into the environment should be degradable and should disappear after a limited period of time. Due to the risk of possible horizontal gene transfer, disposal methods for GMOs need to address destruction of both the organism and the genetic material. During the last two decades, we have developed a greater understanding of the biochemical, microbiological and molecular concepts of the composting process, such that maximum decomposition may be achieved in the shortest time with minimal negative impacts to the environment. The conditions created in a properly managed composting process environment may help in destroying GMOs and their genes, thereby reducing the risk of the spread of genetic material. When considering composting as a potential method for the disposal of GMOs, the establishment of controlled conditions providing an essentially homogenous environment appears to be an important requirement. An evaluation of composting as a safe option for disposal of GMOs is provided in this review.     

U.S. regulatory framework for genetic biocontrol of invasive fish

This paper provides an overview of the U.S. regulatory framework governing genetic biocontrol efforts for invasive fish. Genetic biocontrol refers to the intentional release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment to control a target population of a non-native species. The terms “genetically modified” and “genetically engineered” are often used interchangeably, despite the scientific distinctions. A GMO is an organism that has had its genetic material altered or modified by humans through any method, including conventional breeding. Genetic engineering, as defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is the use of recombinant DNA techniques to introduce new characteristics or traits into an organism. GE organisms are therefore a subset of GMOs. As this paper will discuss, existing laws focus on GE organisms raising significant questions as to whether organisms modified without utilizing rDNA techniques fall within the jurisdiction of any federal agency. Under the 1986 Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, three federal agencies have primary responsibility over biotechnology—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the FDA. Because the EPA has exempted biological control agents from regulation as pesticides and no fish species are currently considered plant pests, the FDA is the agency responsible for approving the use of genetically engineered fish for biocontrol. FDA regulates genetically engineered animals through its New Animal Drug Application (NADA) process. The NADA process presents several challenges to effective and transparent regulation of genetic biocontrol, including the FDA’s focus on drug safety, secrecy provisions potentially limiting disclosure of the results of environmental reviews, and the secondary role of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency with the most experience with invasive species management. In addition, relying on the NADA process creates a significant regulatory gap as NADA approval is only required for GE organisms. The regulatory framework for GMOs created for genetic biocontrol without rDNA technology is unclear and primary responsibility may fall to the states. Given its extensive experience with hatcheries, invasive fish species control, and environmental reviews, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is the more appropriate agency to review applications for genetic biocontrol. Efforts should be undertaken now, while genetic biocontrol is still in the theoretical stages, to increase the role of the FWS in the permitting process either through formal regulations or more informal mechanisms such as memorandum of understanding.     

Design of a DNA chip for detection of unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

MOTIVATION: Unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have not undergone a risk evaluation, and hence might pose a danger to health and environment. There are, today, no methods for detecting unknown GMOs. In this paper we propose a novel method intended as a first step in an approach for detecting unknown genetically modified (GM) material in a single plant. RESULTS: A model is designed where biological and combinatorial reduction rules are applied to a set of DNA chip probes containing all possible sequences of uniform length n, creating probes capable of detecting unknown GMOs. The model is theoretically tested for Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia, and the probabilities for detecting inserts and receiving false positives are assessed for various parameters for this organism. From a theoretical standpoint, the model looks very promising but should be tested further in the laboratory. AVAILABILITY: The model and algorithms will be available upon request to the corresponding author.     

Detection of nonauthorized genetically modified organisms using differential quantitative polymerase chain reaction: application to 35S in maize

Detection of nonauthorized genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has always presented an analytical challenge because the complete sequence data needed to detect them are generally unavailable although sequence similarity to known GMOs can be expected. A new approach, differential quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for detection of nonauthorized GMOs is presented here. This method is based on the presence of several common elements (e.g., promoter, genes of interest) in different GMOs. A statistical model was developed to study the difference between the number of molecules of such a common sequence and the number of molecules identifying the approved GMO (as determined by border-fragment-based PCR) and the donor organism of the common sequence. When this difference differs statistically from zero, the presence of a nonauthorized GMO can be inferred. The interest and scope of such an approach were tested on a case study of different proportions of genetically modified maize events, with the P35S promoter as the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus common sequence. The presence of a nonauthorized GMO was successfully detected in the mixtures analyzed and in the presence of (donor organism of P35S promoter). This method could be easily transposed to other common GMO sequences and other species and is applicable to other detection areas such as microbiology.     

Implications of natural propagule flow for containment of genetically modified forest trees

Propagule flow in populations of virtually all organisms has importance for both the genetic cohesion of the species and for its interaction with natural selection. It’s relevance` for the deployment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is that propagules can be expected to move, under a wide range of circumstances, and will carry transgenic elements with them. Any consideration of the potential risks of deploying GMOs in the wild must include an assessment of how far and how fast introduced elements are transferred to surrounding conspecific (and sometimes congeneric) populations. In practice, we need estimates of the rates/distances of both pollen and seed movement. There are analytical methods to characterize seed (maternity), pollen (paternity), and established offspring (parent-pair) data, but spatial limitations restrict the area that one can study, and these approaches require modification for application to propagule flow in GMOs. We can apply indirect methods to estimate male gamete dispersal based on pollen pool analysis for single mothers, when some degree of precision can be sacrificed in return for compensating gains in the spatial coverage, but the loss of precision is problematic for GMO tracking. Special methods have been developed for GMO tracking, and we shall show how to assess spatial movement of both transgene-carrying seeds and pollen and will illustrate with an example from Brassica napus, a well-studied crop species. Institute of Forest Biotechnology conference on Ecological Risks Associated with the Products of Forest Biotechnology     

Detection of genetically modified DNA in fresh and processed foods sold in Kuwait

Developments in genetic engineering technology have led to an increase in number of food products that contain genetically engineered crops in the global market. However, due to lack of scientific studies, the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the Kuwaiti food market is currently ambiguous. Foods both for human and animal consumption are being imported from countries that are known to produce GM food. Therefore, an attempt has been made to screen foods sold in the Kuwaiti market to detect GMOs in the food. For this purpose, samples collected from various markets in Kuwait have been screened by SYBR green-based real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Further confirmation and GMO quantification was performed by TaqMan-based RT-PCR. Results indicated that a significant number of food commodities sold in Kuwait were tested positive for the presence of GMO. Interestingly, certain processed foods were tested positive for more than one transgenic events showing complex nature of GMOs in food samples. Results of this study clearly indicate the need for well-defined legislations and regulations on the marketing of approved GM food and its labeling to protect consumer's rights.     

Techne versus Technoscience: Divergent (and Ambiguous) Notions of Food "Quality" in the French Debate over GM Crops

In the French debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs), actors present divergent definitions of food quality located between poles of technoscience and techne. Although scientists often define food quality in terms of technoscience, assessing food safety, small farmers often appeal to technes of production, positing GMOs as a rupture with artisanal culture. Whereas small farmers (from the union the Confédération Paysanne [CP]) deploy notions of "techne" to promote their anti-GMO campaign, they often define quality in an ambiguous way, vacillating between ideas of agricultural method (technique) or production scale. Despite this ambiguity, the CP successfully designates GMOs as la malbouffe , or "bad" food, establishing themselves as protectors of artisanal technés such as Roquefort. Finally, unlike many cultures that cast GMOs as "unnatural," the CP tends to frame GMOs as "uncultural." In the French debate, the CP posits culture against a "culturelessness" associated with technoscience and industry-driven foods such as GMOs and McDonald's.     

转基因生物相关平台的构建

在转基因生物全球化形势下,我国十分重视转基因生物安全管理及转基因生物安全性风险交流。通过建设转基因生物相关平台,可以加强我国转基因生物安全评价、转基因生物检测、风险交流及信息的整理和共享,拓宽我国转基因生物安全管理服务和信息交流渠道。平台主要由五部分组成,即:转基因生物安全性评价数据库、转基因生物安全检测方法数据库、转基因生物安全管理政策法规数据库、转基因生物检测服务子平台、公众风险交流子平台。平台的访问界面友好、美观、实用,能方便快捷地为用户提供信息查询和浏览等服务。平台可于此地址浏览:http://www.shgmo.org/。     

Detection of genetically modified organisms by electrochemiluminescence PCR method

With the development of biotechnology, more and more genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have entered commercial market. Because of the safety concerns, detection and characterization of GMOs have attracted much attention recently. In this study, electrochemiluminescence polymerase chain reaction (ECL-PCR) combined with hybridization technique was applied to detect the GMOs in genetically modified (GM) soybeans and papayas for the first time. Whether the soybeans and the papayas contain GM components was discriminated by detecting the Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter. The experiment results show that the detection limit for CaMV35S promoter is 100 fmol, and the GM components can be clearly identified in GM soybeans and papayas. The technique may provide a new means in GMOs detection due to its simplicity and high efficiency.     

Development of melting temperature-based SYBR Green I polymerase chain reaction methods for multiplex genetically modified organism detection

Commercialization of several genetically modified crops has been approved worldwide to date. Uniplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods to identify these different insertion events have been developed, but their use in the analysis of all commercially available genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is becoming progressively insufficient. These methods require a large number of assays to detect all possible GMOs present in the sample and thereby the development of multiplex PCR systems using combined probes and primers targeted to sequences specific to various GMOs is needed for detection of this increasing number of GMOs. Here we report on the development of a multiplex real-time PCR suitable for multiple GMO identification, based on the intercalating dye SYBR Green I and the analysis of the melting curves of the amplified products. Using this method, different amplification products specific for Maximizer 176, Bt11, MON810, and GA21 maize and for GTS 40-3-2 soybean were obtained and identified by their specific Tm. We have combined amplification of these products in a number of multiplex reactions and show the suitability of the methods for identification of GMOs with a sensitivity of 0.1% in duplex reactions. The described methods offer an economic and simple alternative to real-time PCR systems based on sequence-specific probes (i.e., TaqMan chemistry). These methods can be used as selection tests and further optimized for uniplex GMO quantification.     

Detecting un-authorized genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and derived materials

Genetically modified plants, in the following referred to as genetically modified organisms or GMOs, have been commercially grown for almost two decades. In 2010 approximately 10% of the total global crop acreage was planted with GMOs (James, 2011). More than 30 countries have been growing commercial GMOs, and many more have performed field trials. Although the majority of commercial GMOs both in terms of acreage and specific events belong to the four species: soybean, maize, cotton and rapeseed, there are another 20 + species where GMOs are commercialized or in the pipeline for commercialization. The number of GMOs cultivated in field trials or for commercial production has constantly increased during this time period. So have the number of species, the number of countries involved, the diversity of novel (added) genetic elements and the global trade. All of these factors contribute to the increasing complexity of detecting and correctly identifying GMO derived material. Many jurisdictions, including the European Union (EU), legally distinguish between authorized (and therefore legal) and un-authorized (and therefore illegal) GMOs. Information about the developments, field trials, authorizations, cultivation, trade and observations made in the official GMO control laboratories in different countries around the world is often limited, despite several attempts such as the OECD BioTrack for voluntary dissemination of data. This lack of information inevitably makes it challenging to detect and identify GMOs, especially the un-authorized GMOs. The present paper reviews the state of the art technologies and approaches in light of coverage, practicability, sensitivity and limitations. Emphasis is put on exemplifying practical detection of un-authorized GMOs. Although this paper has a European (EU) bias when examples are given, the contents have global relevance.     

Monitoring the presence of genetically modified food on the market of the Republic of Croatia

From the beginning of the human race people have been applying different methods to change the genetic material of either plants or animals in order to increase their yield as well as to improve the quality and quantity of food. Genetically modified organism (GMO) means an organism in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. Analysing the presence of GMO in food is done by detecting the presence of either specific DNA sequences inserted in the genome of transgenic organism, or detecting proteins as a result of the expression of the inserted DNA. In this work food testing for the presence of genetically modified organisms was conducted during the period from 2004 to 2007 in the GMO laboratory of the Croatian National Institute of Public Health. According to the regulations, among the samples in which the presence of GMO was detected, all those which had more than 0.9% of GMO content were either rejected from the border or removed from the market, because such GM food has to be appropriately labelled. Among the food samples which were analysed in 2004: 127 (2.37%) of a total of 1226 samples contained more than 0.9% of GMOs; in 2005 there was only one in 512 (0.20%) samples in total; in 2006 there were 4 out of 404 samples (0.99%), and in 2007: 7 of a total of 655 samples (1.07%) had GMO content above the allowed threshold of 0.9%.     

Obligatory metabolomic profiling of gene‐edited crops is risk disproportionate

It has been argued that the application of metabolomics to gene‐edited crops would present value in three areas: (i) the detection of gene‐edited crops; (ii) the characterization of unexpected changes that might affect safety; and (iii) building on the track record of rigorous government regulation in supporting consumer acceptance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Here, we offer a different perspective, relative to each of these areas: (i) metabolomics is unable to differentiate whether a mutation has resulted from gene editing or from traditional breeding techniques; (ii) it is risk‐disproportionate to apply metabolomics for regulatory purposes to search for possible compositional differences within crops developed using the least likely technique to generate unexpected compositional changes; and (iii) onerous regulations for genetically engineered crops have only contributed to unwarranted public fears, and repeating this approach for gene‐edited crops is unlikely to result in a different outcome. It is also suggested that article proposing the utility of specific analytical techniques to support risk assessment would benefit from the input of scientists with subject matter expertise in risk assessment.     

转基因生物及其产品检测技术和标准化

随着转基因生物及其产品的大规模商业化以及消费者对其安全性的担心,很多国家和地区纷纷出台包括转基因产品标签制度在内的转基因生物安全管理的法律法规,为保障转基因产品标签制度的实施以及消费者知情权和选择权,转基因产品检测分析方法及其标准化研究受到人们广泛重视。目前,国内外常用的转基因产品检测方法主要包括针对转基因产品中的目的核酸DNA分子或者其编码的蛋白质分子,本文将对转基因生物及其产品检测方法及其标准化的进展及发展趋势做一概述。