December 2013

ISB News Report - December 2013
http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2013/Dec13.pdf

Table of Contents

REGULATORY NEWS

Of Rats and Regulators
Andrew Bartholomaeus & Wayne Parrott
GM crops are subject to a battery of safety considerations and tests. These tests begin with the selection of the parent crop and the transgene to be inserted and are followed by safety tests for the product of a transgene if that is novel in the context of the food supply. Next, a whole series of compositional analyses, comparisons to non-transgenic versions of the crop, and agronomic comparisons are performed, just in case production of some novel, unexpected gene product was accidentally triggered by the engineering process. In some jurisdictions whole food (WF) rat studies are also routinely required “just in case”. So, just how valid are such studies scientifically, and if they are not robust and necessary, are they ethical under existing animal ethics regulations?

PLANT RESEARCH

Bt Sweet Corn: A Commercial Product for the Public Good
Anthony M. Shelton
In the October 2013 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology, we reported on a 2-year trial conducted over 5 states comparing the use of Bt sweet corn for insect management to its non-Bt isoline protected with “conventional” and “reduced” insecticide application frequencies, as well as a “no spray” treatment. The objective of our study was to compare the performance of sweet corn varieties expressing Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 to a variety expressing only Cry1Ab and to compare both to their non-Bt isolines with and without the use of foliar insecticides.

Preservation and Faithful Expression of Transgene via Artificial Seeds in Alfalfa
Lining Tian and Wenting Liu
Plants possess a special feature—somatic cells can be induced to develop into somatic embryos, which can germinate and develop into fertile plants. Further, the induced embryos, following chemical or physical treatments can acquire tolerance to water loss. They can be dried to a water content that is similar to true seeds and kept at room temperature for long periods of time without losing viability. After rehydration, somatic embryos can germinate and develop into full plants. Along with the advancement of tissue culture research and technology development, somatic embryogenesis and artificial seed technology have been developed for many plant species. Here, we report the stable preservation and faithful expression of a transgene via artificial seed technology in alfalfa.
 

Website: http://www.isb.vt.edu

Published: December 29, 2013