Transcript No Slide Title

(
some of
what you need to know in a few minutes)
Peggy G. Lemaux
Cooperative Extension Specialist
UC Berkeley
Tour D’Onion:
Where is all that genetic information?
CELLS
Cell Wall
Nucleus
Dividing cell
Chromosomes
Chromosome
Genes
Used in
MarkerAssisted
Breeding
Strategies
(equivalent to a gene)
TERMS USED
GMO
GEO
LMO
rDNA
Genetically Modified Organism
Genetically Engineered Organism
Living Modified Organism
Recombinant DNA
Biotechnology
Classical
Breeding
compared to
Genetic
Engineering
Uses plant machinery in plant
Uses plant machinery in laboratory
Gene exchange is random
involving entire genome
Gene exchange is specific,
single or a few genes
When/where genes expressed
not controlled by breeder
When/where gene expressed
can be controlled precisely
Primarily within genera, not
between kingdoms like plants
and bacteria
Source of gene from any
organism
Total all GE varieties in U.S. in 2007
Corn = 73% Cotton = 87% Soybean = 91%
SOURCE: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/
Global Area of Biotech Crops, 1996 to 2007:
Industrial and Developing Countries (Million Hectares)
140
282 million acres worldwide: comparable in size to combined areas of CA and TX
120
100
80
60
Total
Industrial
Developing
40
20
0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
23 industrial and developing countries in order of acreage: US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India,
China, Paraguay, South Africa, Uruguay, Philippines, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Chile,
France, Honduras, Czech Republic, Portugal, Germany, Slovakia. Romania, Poland.
Source: Clive James, 2008
Estimated 75% of Processed Foods
Have GE Ingredients
Only a few whole foods
on the market are
genetically engineered
GE Papaya
GE Sweet Corn
GE Squash
WHAT’S IN THE
PIPELINE?
Engineered drought tolerance leads to
vigorous growth of plants after prolonged
drought while control plants died
SOURCE: Rivero, R.M., Kojima, M., Gepstein, A., Sakakibara, H., Mittler, R., Gepstein, S. and Blumwald, E. 2007. Delayed leaf senescence induces extreme drought tolerance in
a flowering plant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104: 19631-19636.
Arcadia Biosciences develops canola that
uses 50% less nitrogen fertilizer
SOURCE: http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/agnet/2007/4-2007/agnet_april_10.htm#story0
Field Trials Conducted in California with
Grape Root Stocks Engineered for
Resistance to Fanleaf Virus
SOURCE: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080806/BUSINESS/808060336/1001
Altering transport gene in carrot results
in more bioavailable calcium in humans
SOURCE: Morris, J., Hawthorne, K.M., Hotze, T., Abrams, S.A. and Hirschi, K.D. 2008. Nutritional impact of elevated calcium transport activity in carrots. PNAS
10.1073/pnas.0709005105.
New High Lysine Corn for Animal
Feed Deregulated - Reduces Need
for Lysine Supplements
SOURCE:February 2006, BIOSPACE
http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?StoryID=8883&full=1
Genetically engineered pollen reduces
allergy symptoms in sufferers
SOURCE: Niederberger et al., 2004. Vaccination with genetically engineered allergens prevents
progression of allergic disease. PNAS early edition (August 13, 2004)
Engineered poplar removes environmental
pollutants through roots and air
Removal of carbon tetrachloride
SOURCE: Doty, S.L., James, C.A., Moore, A.L., Vajzovic, A., Singleton, G.L., Ma, C., Khan, Z., Xi, G., Kang, J.W., Park, J.Y., Meilan, R., Strauss, S.H., Wilkerson, J., Farin, F. and
Strand. S.E. 2007. Enhanced phytoremediation of volatile environmental pollutants with transgenic trees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104:16816-16821.
What is the U.S. regulatory
process that governs these
engineered plants?
U.S. Regulatory Agencies
(based oversight on existing regulations)
USDA
• Field testing
-Permits
-Notifications
• Determination of
non-regulated
status
FDA
• Food safety
• Feed safety
EPA
• Pesticidal plants
-tolerance exemption
-registrations
• Herbicide registration
What are some food safety issues?
• Changes in nutritional content
• No peer-reviewed food safety tests
• Creation of allergens or activation of toxins
• Pharma crops contaminating food supply
• Labeling
• Gene flow from food to intestinal bacteria
that increases antibiotic resistance
What are some food safety issues?
• Changes in nutritional content
• No peer-reviewed food safety tests
• Creation of allergens or activation of toxins
• Pharma crops contaminating food supply
• Labeling
• Gene flow from food to intestinal bacteria
that increases antibiotic resistance
Example of animal
safety test
Experiments comparing first generation GE
crops with comparable non-GE crops
SOURCE: Flachowsky, G. 2007. Feeds from Genetically Engineered Plants - Results and Future Challenges. ISB News Report, March 2007, pp. 4-7.
What are some food safety issues?
• Changes in nutritional content
• No peer-reviewed food safety tests
• Creation of allergens or activation of toxins
• Pharma crops contaminating food supply
• Labeling
• Gene flow from food to intestinal bacteria
that increases antibiotic resistance
Inadvertent Creation of Allergens and Toxins
Is Toxin Creation Confined to GE
Foods?
No – naturally occurring toxins happen due to
classical breeding efforts also, e.g., potato
(glycoalkaloids) and celery (psoralens)
Starlink corn contamination
Kraft Food recalls all taco shells sold
nationwide under Taco Bell Brand
SOURCE: Washington Post, September 19, 2000
Fumonisin Reduction with Bt-maize
• 1989: High levels of fumonisin cause
large-scale outbreaks of lethal lung
edema in pigs, brain tumors in horses
• Fumonisin contamination caused by
insect infestation
• 20- to 30-fold fumonisin reduction with
Bt-maize
Modified from Drew L. Kershen
University of Oklahoma
SOURCE; Hammond, B. et al., (Feb. 2004), Lower fumonisin
mycotoxin levels in the grain of Bt-corn grown in the United
States in 2000-2002, J. Agric. Food Chem. 52: 1390-1397
Where to get more information?