Genetically modified myths and realities

Should we still worry about the safety of GMO foods? Why and why not? A review

Global population is increasing at an alarming rate, posing a threat on the supplies of basic needs and services. However, population increase does not seem to be a common agendum of the global scientists and political leaders. People in the developed countries are more concerned about new technologies and their products. Pseudo-threats related to the uncertainties of genetic engineering of crops and their outputs present on consumers are more audible and controversial than the real difficulties the world is experiencing at the moment and in the future. This review presents brief summaries of the real reasons to worry about and the uncertainties about genetically modified organisms. This article also presents the real uncertainties shared by consumers and scientists with respect to the past, present, and future of genetically engineered organisms. Developments in the field of precision genetics in the recent years and the implications on regulatory, breeding, and socio-cultural dimensions of the global settings are included.

Risk-Only Assessment of Genetically Engineered Crops Is Risky

The risks of not considering benefits in risk assessment are often overlooked. Risks are also often evaluated without consideration of the broader context. We discuss these two concepts in relation to genetically engineered (GE) crops. The health, environmental, and economic risks and benefits of GE crops are exemplified and presented in the context of modern agriculture. Misattribution of unique risks to GE crops are discussed. It is concluded that the scale of modern agriculture is its distinguishing characteristic and that the greater knowledge around GE crops allows for a more thorough characterization of risk. By considering the benefits and risks in the context of modern agriculture, society will be better served and benefits will be less likely to be forgone.

Combating Information Attacks in the Age of the Internet: New Challenges for Cognitive Engineering

OBJECTIVE

This article provides an overview of the characteristics of misinformation and information attack and their effects on the perceptions of the public, with the objective of outlining potential solutions and needed research for countering this growing problem.

BACKGROUND

Society is facing a significant challenge from the spread of misinformation through websites and social media that has driven a divergence in people's perceptions and understanding of basic facts associated with many issues relevant to public policy decisions, including the economy, taxation, and the deficit; climate change and the environment; and vaccinations and public health and safety. A number of factors are driving this fracture, including information presentation challenges that lead to poor information understanding, deliberate information attacks, social network propagation, poor assessments of information reliability, and cognitive biases that lead to a rejection of information that conflicts with preexisting beliefs.

RESULTS

A framework for understanding information attack is provided, including common sources, features, avenues, cognitive mechanisms, and major challenges in overcoming information attacks.

CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION

Potential solutions and research needs are presented for improving people's understanding of online information associated with a wide range of issues affecting public policy.

Profile of genetically modified plants authorized in Mexico

Mexico is a center of origin for several economically important plants including maize, cotton, and cocoa. Maize represents more than a food crop, has been declared a biological, cultural, agricultural and economic patrimony, and is linked to the national identity of Mexicans. In this review, we describe the historic and current use of genetically modified plants in Mexico and factors that contributed to the development of the biosafety regulation. We developed a database containing all permit applications received by the government to release genetically modified plants. A temporal and geographical analysis identified the plant species that have been authorized for experimental purposes, pilot programs, or commercial production, the geographic areas where they have been released, and the traits that have been introduced. Results show that Mexico has faced a dual challenge: accepting the benefits of genetically modified plants and their products, while protecting native plant biodiversity.

Transgene flow: facts, speculations and possible countermeasures

Convincing evidence has accumulated that unintended transgene escape occurs in oilseed rape, maize, cotton and creeping bentgrass. The escaped transgenes are found in variant cultivars, in wild type plants as well as in hybrids of sexually compatible species. The fact that in some cases stacked events are present that have not been planted commercially, implies unintended recombination of transgenic traits. As the consequences of this continuous transgene escape for the ecosystem cannot be reliably predicted, I propose to use more sophisticated approaches of gene technology in future. If possible GM plants should be constructed using either site-directed mutagenesis or cisgenic strategies to avoid the problem of transgene escape. In cases where a transgenic trait is needed, efficient containment should be the standard approach. Various strategies available or in development are discussed. Such a cautious approach in developing novel types of GM crops will enhance the sustainable potential of GM crops and thus increase the public trust in green gene technology.

Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing

The widespread prevalence and persistence of misinformation in contemporary societies, such as the false belief that there is a link between childhood vaccinations and autism, is a matter of public concern. For example, the myths surrounding vaccinations, which prompted some parents to withhold immunization from their children, have led to a marked increase in vaccine-preventable disease, as well as unnecessary public expenditure on research and public-information campaigns aimed at rectifying the situation. We first examine the mechanisms by which such misinformation is disseminated in society, both inadvertently and purposely. Misinformation can originate from rumors but also from works of fiction, governments and politicians, and vested interests. Moreover, changes in the media landscape, including the arrival of the Internet, have fundamentally influenced the ways in which information is communicated and misinformation is spread. We next move to misinformation at the level of the individual, and review the cognitive factors that often render misinformation resistant to correction. We consider how people assess the truth of statements and what makes people believe certain things but not others. We look at people's memory for misinformation and answer the questions of why retractions of misinformation are so ineffective in memory updating and why efforts to retract misinformation can even backfire and, ironically, increase misbelief. Though ideology and personal worldviews can be major obstacles for debiasing, there nonetheless are a number of effective techniques for reducing the impact of misinformation, and we pay special attention to these factors that aid in debiasing. We conclude by providing specific recommendations for the debunking of misinformation. These recommendations pertain to the ways in which corrections should be designed, structured, and applied in order to maximize their impact. Grounded in cognitive psychological theory, these recommendations may help practitioners-including journalists, health professionals, educators, and science communicators-design effective misinformation retractions, educational tools, and public-information campaigns.

Unintended compositional changes in genetically modified (GM) crops: 20 years of research

The compositional equivalency between genetically modified (GM) crops and nontransgenic comparators has been a fundamental component of human health safety assessment for 20 years. During this time, a large amount of information has been amassed on the compositional changes that accompany both the transgenesis process and traditional breeding methods; additionally, the genetic mechanisms behind these changes have been elucidated. After two decades, scientists are encouraged to objectively assess this body of literature and determine if sufficient scientific uncertainty still exists to continue the general requirement for these studies to support the safety assessment of transgenic crops. It is concluded that suspect unintended compositional effects that could be caused by genetic modification have not materialized on the basis of this substantial literature. Hence, compositional equivalence studies uniquely required for GM crops may no longer be justified on the basis of scientific uncertainty.

Coenzyme Q10 production in plants: current status and future prospects

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or Ubiquinone10 (UQ10), an isoprenylated benzoquinone, is well-known for its role as an electron carrier in aerobic respiration. It is a sole representative of lipid soluble antioxidant that is synthesized in our body. In recent years, it has been found to be associated with a range of patho-physiological conditions and its oral administration has also reported to be of therapeutic value in a wide spectrum of chronic diseases. Additionally, as an antioxidant, it has been widely used as an ingredient in dietary supplements, neutraceuticals, and functional foods as well as in anti-aging creams. Since its limited dietary uptake and decrease in its endogenous synthesis in the body with age and under various diseases states warrants its adequate supply from an external source. To meet its growing demand for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, there is a great interest in the commercial production of CoQ10. Various synthetic and fermentation of microbial natural producers and their mutated strains have been developed for its commercial production. Although, microbial production is the major industrial source of CoQ10 but due to low yield and high production cost, other cost-effective and alternative sources need to be explored. Plants, being photosynthetic, producing high biomass and the engineering of pathways for producing CoQ10 directly in food crops will eliminate the additional step for purification and thus could be used as an ideal and cost-effective alternative to chemical synthesis and microbial production of CoQ10. A better understanding of CoQ10 biosynthetic enzymes and their regulation in model systems like E. coli and yeast has led to the use of metabolic engineering to enhance CoQ10 production not only in microbes but also in plants. The plant-based CoQ10 production has emerged as a cost-effective and environment-friendly approach capable of supplying CoQ10 in ample amounts. The current strategies, progress and constraints of CoQ10 production in plants are discussed in this review.

Control limits for accumulation of plant metabolites: brute force is no substitute for understanding

Which factors limit metabolite accumulation in plant cells? Are theories on flux control effective at explaining the results? Many biotechnologists cling to the idea that every pathway has a rate limiting enzyme and target such enzymes first in order to modulate fluxes. This often translates into large effects on metabolite concentration, but disappointing small increases in flux. Rate limiting enzymes do exist, but are rare and quite opposite to what predicted by biochemistry. In many cases however, flux control is shared among many enzymes. Flux control and concentration control can (and must) be distinguished and quantified for effective manipulation. Flux control for several 'building blocks' of metabolism is placed on the demand side, and therefore increasing demand can be very successful. Tampering with supply, particularly desensitizing supply enzymes, is usually not very effective, if not dangerous, because supply regulatory mechanisms function to control metabolite homeostasis. Some important, but usually unnoticed, metabolic constraints shape the responses of metabolic systems to manipulation: mass conservation, cellular resource allocation and, most prominently, energy supply, particularly in heterotrophic tissues. The theoretical basis for this view shall be explored with recent examples gathered from the manipulation of several metabolites (vitamins, carotenoids, amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, polyhydroxyalkanoates, fructans and sugar alcohols). Some guiding principles are suggested for an even more successful engineering of plant metabolism.

Genetic approaches for studying transgene inheritance and genetic recombination in three successive generations of transformed tobacco

Transgene integration into plant genomes is a complex process accompanied by molecular rearrangements. Classic methods that are normally used to study transgenic population genetics are generally inadequate for assessing such integration. Two major characteristics of transgenic populations are that a transgenic genome may harbor many copies of the transgene and that molecular rearrangements can create an unstable transgenic locus. In this work, we examined the segregation of T1, T2 and T3 transgenic tobacco progenies. Since transfer DNA (T-DNA) contains the NptII selectable marker gene that confers resistance to kanamycin, we used this characteristic in developing a method to estimate the number of functional inserts integrated into the genome. This approach was based on calculation of the theoretical segregation ratios in successive generations. Mendelian ratios of 3:1, 15:1 and 63:1 were confirmed for five transformation events whereas six transformation events yielded non-segregating progenies, a finding that raised questions about causal factors. A second approach based on a maximum likelihood method was performed to estimate recombination frequencies between linked inserts. Recombination estimates varied among transformation events and over generations. Some transgenic loci were unstable and evolved continuously to segregate independently in the T3 generation. Recombination and amplification of the transgene and filler DNA yielded additional transformed genotypes.

Biofortification for combating 'hidden hunger' for iron

Micronutrient deficiencies are responsible for so-called 'hidden undernutrition'. In particular, iron (Fe) deficiency adversely affects growth, immune function and can cause anaemia. However, supplementation of iron can exacerbate infectious diseases and current policies of iron therapy carefully evaluate the risks and benefits of these interventions. Here we review the approaches of biofortification of valuable crops for reducing 'hidden undernutrition' of iron in the light of the latest nutritional and medical advances. The increase of iron and prebiotics in edible parts of plants is expected to improve health, whereas the reduction of phytic acid concentration, in crops valuable for human diet, might be less beneficial for the developed countries, or for the developing countries exposed to endemic infections.

Endogenous allergen upregulation: transgenic vs. traditionally bred crops

The safety assessment for transgenic food crops currently includes an evaluation of the endogenous allergy potential (via serum IgE screening) when the non-transgenic counterpart is a commonly allergenic food. The value of this analysis in the safety assessment of transgenic crops, especially with reference to recent requests to quantify individual allergen concentrations in raw commodities, is examined. We conclude that the likelihood of upregulating an endogenous allergen due to transgenesis is no greater than from traditional breeding which has a history of safety and is largely unregulated. The potential consequences of upregulating an endogenous allergen are also unclear.

Bioinformatics and the allergy assessment of agricultural biotechnology products: industry practices and recommendations

Bioinformatic tools are being increasingly utilized to evaluate the degree of similarity between a novel protein and known allergens within the context of a larger allergy safety assessment process. Importantly, bioinformatics is not a predictive analysis that can determine if a novel protein will ''become" an allergen, but rather a tool to assess whether the protein is a known allergen or is potentially cross-reactive with an existing allergen. Bioinformatic tools are key components of the 2009 CodexAlimentarius Commission's weight-of-evidence approach, which encompasses a variety of experimental approaches for an overall assessment of the allergenic potential of a novel protein. Bioinformatic search comparisons between novel protein sequences, as well as potential novel fusion sequences derived from the genome and transgene, and known allergens are required by all regulatory agencies that assess the safety of genetically modified (GM) products. The objective of this paper is to identify opportunities for consensus in the methods of applying bioinformatics and to outline differences that impact a consistent and reliable allergy safety assessment. The bioinformatic comparison process has some critical features, which are outlined in this paper. One of them is a curated, publicly available and well-managed database with known allergenic sequences. In this paper, the best practices, scientific value, and food safety implications of bioinformatic analyses, as they are applied to GM food crops are discussed. Recommendations for conducting bioinformatic analysis on novel food proteins for potential cross-reactivity to known allergens are also put forth.

Trade and commerce in improved crops and food: an essay on food security

Agricultural trade between nations is a significant proportion of total international trade. Agricultural trade in transgenic crops faces extra complications due to the existence of domestic and international regimes that focus specifically on agricultural biotechnology. These specialized regimes create legal and commercial challenges for trade in transgenic crops that have significant implications for the food security of the nations of the world. By food security, one should understand not just the available supply of food, but also the quality of the food and the environmental impact of agricultural production systems. These specialized regimes for transgenic crops can either encourage or hinder the adoption of agricultural biotechnology as a sustainable intensive agriculture. Sustainable intensive agriculture offers hope for agronomic improvements for agricultural production, socio-economic betterment for farmers and environmental benefits for societies. Sustainable intensive agriculture offers particular hope for the poorest farmers of the world because agricultural biotechnology is a technology in the seed.