GMO Research
Abstract: This review evaluates scientific studies published in peer-review journals during the last 3-4 years that considered ecological effects of insect resistant (Bt) and herbicide tolerant maize. The majority of the scientific studies deal with ecological effects of maize containing the Cry1Ab toxin. In contrast, very few studies are available that considered other Cry toxins …
Abstract: The tiered approach to assessing ecological risk of insect-resistant transgenic crops assumes that lower tier laboratory studies, which expose surrogate non-target organisms to high doses of insecticidal proteins, can detect harmful effects that might be manifested in the field. To test this assumption, we performed meta-analyses comparing results for non-target invertebrates exposed to Bacillus …
Abstract: Glyphosate is the most widely used non-selective, systemic herbicide. It is easily translocated from shoot to roots and released into the rhizosphere, where it is immobilized at the soil matrix or microbially degraded. However, contradictory results are reported in the literature concerning the bio-availability of glyphosate residues in soils and the potential risks for …
Abstract: According to the current legal background for the regulation of genetically modified plants (GMPs) in Europe, an environmental risk assessment (ERA) has to be performed considering i) the crop plant, ii) the novel trait relating to its intended effect and phenotypic characteristics of the GM crop plant and iii) the receiving environment related to …
Abstract: The entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and its toxins are extensively used for pest control purposes in agriculture, forestry and public health programmes since the 1930. In addition to spray formulations, transgenic plants containing Bt genes for the expression of the toxins (Bt plants) are commercially available since the mid 1990s and are grown …
Abstract: Agriculture based on transgenic crops has expanded in Argentina into areas formerly occupied by Chaco forest. Even though glyphosate is the herbicide most widely used in the world, increasing evidence indicates severe ecotoxicological effects on non-target organisms as native plants. The aim of this work is to determine glyphosate effects on 23 native species …
Abstract: Agriculture forms a basis for survival and advancement of civilization of mankind and economic growth. The production and quality of food depends on nature of cultivars that have hitherto been obtained by mutation and hybridization of selected plants. Since the productivity of many crops has reached a plateau the gene transfer technology is used …
Text: B. thuringiensis (Bt) was discovered by Ernst Berliner in 1911 when a consignment of flour moths sent in from Thuringia was found to be infected by some contagious pathogen. After some more properties of this Bacillus species had been identified, including its host specifity, it did not take long until first experiments were being carried …
Abstract: In the risk debate over genetically modified (GM) crops, Europe’s regulatory delays have often been branded as "political", i.e. not based on science. Yet the US slogan "sound science" tends to conceal value-laden features of safety claims, their weak scientific basis, their normative framing and their socio-political influences. By contrast a "precautionary approach" can …
Abstract: Glyphosate has been the most widely used herbicide worldwide over the last three decades, raising increasing concerns for its potential impacts on environmental and human health. Recent studies revealed that glyphosate occurs in soil, surface water, and groundwater, and residues are found at all levels of the food chain, such as drinking water, plants, …
Abstract: Genetically modified plants are widely grown predominantly in North America and to a lesser extent in Australia, Argentina and China but their regions of production are expected to spread soon beyond these limited areas also reaching Europe where great controversy over the application of gene technology in agriculture persists. Currently, several cultivars of eight …
Abstract: Background, aim, and scope: This review deals with publications concerning the mode of action of Bt proteins and their potential synergism with extrinsic factors. The aim was to assess the impact of those factors especially regarding selectivity and efficacy of Bt toxins and to discuss possible gaps in current risk assessment of genetically engineered …
Abstract: Cry proteins are expressed in rice lines for lepidopteran pest control. These proteins can be transferred from transgenic rice plants to non-target arthropods, including planthoppers and then to a predatory spider. Movement of Cry proteins through food webs may reduce fitness of non-target arthropods, although recent publications indicated no serious changes in non-target populations. …
Abstract: The rapid adoption of genetically engineered (GE) plants that express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has raised concerns about their potential impact on non-target organisms. This includes the possibility that non-target herbivores develop into pests. Although studies have now reported increased populations of non-target herbivores in Bt cotton, the underlying mechanisms …
Abstract: Fundamental differences between Cry1Ab-based Bt-bioinsecticides and MON 810 maize varieties render these technologies not equivalent. While the former contain at least five different crystalline (Cry) toxins, the latter produce a single Cry1Ab toxin as active ingredient. Moreover, the lectin type toxin protein produced by these plants is a truncated version of microbial Cry1Ab. The …
Abstract: The concept of sustainability applied to agriculture has developed mainly as a result of growing awareness of negative impacts of intensive agriculture production systems on the environment and the quality of life. Intensive agriculture systems are based on genetically uniform crops which can be susceptible to various diseases and insect pests. Genetically modified (GM) …
Abstract: Stacked GM crops expressing up to six Cry toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are today replacing the formerly grown single-transgene GM crop varieties. Stacking of multiple Cry toxins not only increase the environmental load of toxins but also raise the question on how possible interactions of the toxins can be assessed for risk assessment, …
Abstract: The glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, is among the most used pesticides worldwide. Due to its extensive use, it has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems representing a potential threat to non-target organisms, including fish. Despite the negative impact of this commercial formulation in fish, as described in literature, the scarcity of studies assessing its genotoxicity …
Abstract: Argentina is the second largest world producer of soybeans (after the USA) and along with the increase in planted surface and production in the country, glyphosate consumption has grown in the same way. We investigated the effects of Roundup (glyphosate formulation) on the periphyton colonization. The experiment was carried out over 42 days in …
Abstract: Glyphosate is the isopropyl amine salt of N-(Phosphonomethyl)-glycine, a broad-spectrum nonselective herbicide, which has been extensively used to control annual and perennial weeds in agricultural, forest and aquatic systems. The ultrastructural changes in different regions of alimentary canal and gill were observed by Scanning Electron Microscopic study on a non-target aquatic teleostea fish, Channa …
Abstract: Formulated and sporulated cultures of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been widely used against insect pests, but after the advent of genetically modified plants expressing δ-endotoxins, the bioavailability of Cry proteins has been increased. For biosafety reasons their adverse effects should be studied, mainly for non-target organisms. Thus, we evaluated, in Swiss albino mice, the …
Abstract: Genetically modified (GM) plants represent a potential benefit for environmentally friendly agriculture and human health. Though, poor knowledge is available on potential hazards posed by unintended modifications occurring during genetic manipulation. The increasing amount of reports on ecological risks and benefits of GM plants stresses the need for experimental works aimed at evaluating the …
Abstract: Before a genetically modified plant (GMP) can be placed on the market in the European Union (EU), an environmental risk assessment has to be conducted according to EU‐Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council. However, no harmonized concept for ecotoxicological testing is available today that considers …
Abstract: In order to help facilitate scientific debate on GMO risks a literature search of peer-reviewed science was conducted on GMO risks resulting in the following bibliography. While there is a great deal of published science on genetic modification in general, there is far less that specifically targets the bio-safety issues associated with genetic modification. …
