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Listen to this siteWednesday 16 October 2002
This research project compares GM potato with non-GM potato by using the latest scientific methods.
Study Duration : September 2001 to January 2005
Contractor : Scottish Crop Research Institute
Current methods used to determine the (compositional) substantial equivalence of GM crops are limited to quantification of specific compounds.
This project assesses the use of microarrays, multidimensional protein chromatography and metabolic profiling approaches (collectively termed "omics" technologies) to deliver more wide-ranging, comprehensive analyses of GMOs, increasing the chances of discriminating unintended effects. The potato (the world's fourth most important food crop) is selected for study but protocols developed can be easily translated to other species. GM potato lines with modified metabolism and development are being used together with appropriate controls. Non-GM genotypes are used to give new information on natural (compositional) variation in Solanum species used to derive modern potato cultivars (genetic diversity). Procedures to maximise the numbers of genes, proteins and metabolites analysed will be developed and sampling approaches validated. This project will build on the latest scientific developments in the screening for metabolic differences in cell systems.
This study applied transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics to the analysis of genetically modified potatoes. The objective was to ensure that the technologies were robust and reproducible in analysing a range of GM and non-GM potato varieties.
The procedures used were effective and have potential to be used in the risk assessment of GM foods. The project developed operating practices, which could be applied across the scientific community to ensure consistency when analysing the same plant lines.
Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses successfully detected both intended and unintended effects in transgenic potatoes. However, in most cases the magnitude of the changes was small, even in a line with a defect in a key biosynthetic step (polyamine biosynthesis), and seldom exceeded twofold. By contrast, the range of natural variation in metabolite levels seen in common cultivars was much greater and frequently exceeded fivefold. This natural variation was measured in plants grown in one location in one season.
Analysis with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) detected no new compounds but four novel polyamines were detected in the various cultivars of potato by high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS).
Data suggested that changes induced by plant tissue culture rather than genetic modification per se were responsible for some of the cluster separations observed between the wild type Desiree, GM and control lines (vector only and tissue culture derived lines). The levels of glycoalkaloids were generally lower in these lines compared with the wild types. The latter observation also was made in the EU GMOCARE project using targeted analysis and using plants grown under containment in different years.
The final report is available from the FSA
Information Centre.
To obtain a copy, please contact the Enquiry Desk, Information Services, Food Standards Agency (tel: 020 7276 8181/8182 or email:
library&info@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
)
The following papers have also been published from this project:
Chassy, B., Hlywka, G.A., Kleter, G.A., Kok, E.J., Kuiper, H.A., McGloughlin, M., Munro, I.C., Phipps, R.H. & Reid, J.E. (2004). Nutritional and safety assessment of foods and feeds nutritionally improved through biotechnology. Prepared by a task force of the ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 3 , 35-104.
Defernez, M. & Colquhoun, I.J. (2003). Factors affecting the robustness of metabolite fingerprinting using 1 H NMR spectra. Phytochemistry 62 , 1009-1017.
Defernez, M., Gunning, Y.M., Parr, A.J., Shepherd, L.V.T., Davies, H.V. & Colquhoun, I.J. (2004). NMR and HPLC/UV profiling of potatoes with genetic modifications to metabolic pathways. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 52 , 6075-6085.
Kok, E.J. & Kuiper, H.A. (2003). Comparative safety assessment for biotech crops. Trends in Biotechnology 21 , 439-444.
Kuiper, H.A., Kok, E.J. & Engel, K.-H. (2003). Exploitation of molecular profiling techniques for GM food safety assessment. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 14 , 238-243.
Contact
:
Email
: science@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
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