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Xiang D, Luo M, Jiang F, Wen Z, Chen X, Wang X, Xu X, Wei W, Xu J. Safety assessment of subchronic feeding of insect-resistant and herbicide-resistant transgenic soybeans to juvenile channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Sci Rep 2023; 13:5445. [PMID: 37012256 PMCID: PMC10070625 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31072-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Transgenic soybean is one of the most planted crops for human food and animal feed. The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is an important aquatic organism cultured worldwide. In this study, the effect of six different soybean diets containing: two transgenic soybeans expressing different types of cp4-epsps, Vip3Aa and pat genes (DBN9004 and DBN8002), their non-transgenic parent JACK, and three conventional soybean varieties (Dongsheng3, Dongsheng7, and Dongsheng9) was investigated in juvenile channel catfish for eight weeks, and a safety assessment was performed. During the experiment, no difference in survival rate was observed in six groups. The hepatosomatic index (HSI) and condition factor (CF) showed no significant difference. Moreover, comparable feed conversion (FC), feeding rate (FR), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were found between transgenic soybean and JACK groups. Assessment of growth performance showed that the weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) of channel catfish were consistent. In addition, there were no changes in enzyme activity indexes (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT)) in channel catfish among treatments. The research provided an experimental basis for the aquaculture feed industry to employ transgenic soybean DBN9004 and DBN8002 for commercial purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Xiang
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China
- Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China
| | - Mingzhong Luo
- Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China
| | - Fukun Jiang
- Beijing DaBeiNong Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zhengrong Wen
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China
- Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China
| | - Xiaoyun Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China
| | - Xiaofu Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China
| | - Xiaoli Xu
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China
| | - Wei Wei
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China.
| | - Junfeng Xu
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China.
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Oliveira-Filho EC, Grisolia CK. The Ecotoxicology of Microbial Insecticides and Their Toxins in Genetically Modified Crops: An Overview. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:16495. [PMID: 36554372 PMCID: PMC9778766 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The use of microbial insecticides and their toxins in biological control and transgenic plants has increased their presence in the environment. Although they are natural products, the main concerns are related to the potential impacts on the environment and human health. Several assays have been performed worldwide to investigate the toxicity or adverse effects of these microbial products or their individual toxins. This overview examines the published data concerning the knowledge obtained about the ecotoxicity and environmental risks of these natural pesticides. The data presented show that many results are difficult to compare due to the diversity of measurement units used in the different research data. Even so, the products and toxins tested present low toxicity and low risk when compared to the concentrations used for pesticide purposes. Complementary studies should be carried out to assess possible effects on human health.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cesar K. Grisolia
- Departamento de Genética e Morfologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília 70910-900, DF, Brazil
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Mullins E, Bresson J, Dalmay T, Dewhurst IC, Epstein MM, George Firbank L, Guerche P, Hejatko J, Naegeli H, Nogué F, Rostoks N, Sánchez Serrano JJ, Savoini G, Veromann E, Veronesi F, Fernandez Dumont A, Moreno FJ. Scientific Opinion on development needs for the allergenicity and protein safety assessment of food and feed products derived from biotechnology. EFSA J 2022; 20:e07044. [PMID: 35106091 PMCID: PMC8787593 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
This Scientific Opinion addresses the formulation of specific development needs, including research requirements for allergenicity assessment and protein safety, in general, which is urgently needed in a world that demands more sustainable food systems. Current allergenicity risk assessment strategies are based on the principles and guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius for the safety assessment of foods derived from 'modern' biotechnology initially published in 2003. The core approach for the safety assessment is based on a 'weight-of-evidence' approach because no single piece of information or experimental method provides sufficient evidence to predict allergenicity. Although the Codex Alimentarius and EFSA guidance documents successfully addressed allergenicity assessments of single/stacked event GM applications, experience gained and new developments in the field call for a modernisation of some key elements of the risk assessment. These should include the consideration of clinical relevance, route of exposure and potential threshold values of food allergens, the update of in silico tools used with more targeted databases and better integration and standardisation of test materials and in vitro/in vivo protocols. Furthermore, more complex future products will likely challenge the overall practical implementation of current guidelines, which were mainly targeted to assess a few newly expressed proteins. Therefore, it is timely to review and clarify the main purpose of the allergenicity risk assessment and the vital role it plays in protecting consumers' health. A roadmap to (re)define the allergenicity safety objectives and risk assessment needs will be required to inform a series of key questions for risk assessors and risk managers such as 'what is the purpose of the allergenicity risk assessment?' or 'what level of confidence is necessary for the predictions?'.
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Vieira L, Hissa DC, Souza T, Gonçalves ÍFS, Evaristo JAM, Nogueira FCS, Carvalho AFU, Farias D. Assessing the effects of an acute exposure to worst-case concentration of Cry proteins on zebrafish using the embryotoxicity test and proteomics analysis. CHEMOSPHERE 2021; 264:128538. [PMID: 33038734 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cry1C, Cry1F and Cry1Ab are insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which are expressed in transgenic crops. Given the entry of these proteins into aquatic environments, it is relevant to evaluate their impacts on aquatic organisms. In this work, we sought to evaluate the effects of Cry1C, Cry1F and Cry1Ab on zebrafish embryos and larvae of a predicted worst-case scenario concentration of these proteins (set to 1.1 mg/L). For that, we coupled a traditional toxicity approach (the zebrafish embryotoxicity test and dosage of enzymatic biomarkers) to gel free proteomics analysis. At the concentration tested, these proteins did not cause adverse effects in the zebrafish early life stages, either by verifying phenotypic endpoints of toxicity or alterations in representative enzymatic biomarkers (catalase, glutathione-S-tranferase and lactate-dehydrogenase). At the molecular level, the Cry proteins tested lead to very small changes in the proteome of zebrafish larvae. In a global way, these proteins upregulated the expression of vitellogenins. Besides that, Cry1C e Cry1F deregulated heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (Hnrnpa0l and Hnrnpaba, respectively), implicated in mRNA processing and gene regulation. Overall, these data lead to the conclusion that Cry1C, Cry1F and Cry1Ab proteins, even at a very high concentration, have limited effects in the early stages of zebrafish life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Vieira
- Post-Graduation Program in Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Building 907, Campus Pici, Federal University of Ceara, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Denise Cavalcante Hissa
- Department of Biology, Building 909, Campus Pici, Federal University of Ceara, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Terezinha Souza
- Department of Toxicogenomics, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Oncology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Íris Flávia Sousa Gonçalves
- Post-Graduation Program in Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Building 907, Campus Pici, Federal University of Ceara, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Brazil; Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Novel Technologies, Department of Molecular Biology, Federal University of Paraiba, 58051-900, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Joseph Alberto Medeiros Evaristo
- Laboratory of Proteomics, LADETEC, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Fábio César Sousa Nogueira
- Laboratory of Proteomics, LADETEC, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Proteomics Unit, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ana Fontenele Urano Carvalho
- Post-Graduation Program in Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Building 907, Campus Pici, Federal University of Ceara, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Brazil; Department of Biology, Building 909, Campus Pici, Federal University of Ceara, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Davi Farias
- Post-Graduation Program in Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Building 907, Campus Pici, Federal University of Ceara, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Brazil; Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Novel Technologies, Department of Molecular Biology, Federal University of Paraiba, 58051-900, João Pessoa, Brazil.
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Optimizing the Use of Zebrafish Feeding Trials for the Safety Evaluation of Genetically Modified Crops. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20061472. [PMID: 30909578 PMCID: PMC6471220 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20061472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 02/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In Europe, the toxicological safety of genetically modified (GM) crops is routinely evaluated using rodent feeding trials, originally designed for testing oral toxicity of chemical compounds. We aimed to develop and optimize methods for advancing the use of zebrafish feeding trials for the safety evaluation of GM crops, using maize as a case study. In a first step, we evaluated the effect of different maize substitution levels. Our results demonstrate the need for preliminary testing to assess potential feed component-related effects on the overall nutritional balance. Next, since a potential effect of a GM crop should ideally be interpreted relative to the natural response variation (i.e., the range of biological values that is considered normal for a particular endpoint) in order to assess the toxicological relevance, we established natural response variation datasets for various zebrafish endpoints. We applied equivalence testing to calculate threshold equivalence limits (ELs) based on the natural response variation as a method for quantifying the range within which a GM crop and its control are considered equivalent. Finally, our results illustrate that the use of commercial control diets (CCDs) and null segregant (NS) controls (helpful for assessing potential effects of the transformation process) would be valuable additions to GM safety assessment strategies.
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Gao YJ, Zhu HJ, Chen Y, Li YH, Peng YF, Chen XP. Safety Assessment of Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Proteins Cry1C and Cry2A with a Zebrafish Embryotoxicity Test. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2018; 66:4336-4344. [PMID: 29653490 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b01070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
As a result of the large-scale planting of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops, fish would be exposed to freely soluble Bt insecticidal protein(s) that are released from Bt crop tissues into adjacent bodies of water or by way of direct feeding on deposited plant material. To assess the safety of two Bt proteins Cry1C and Cry2A to fish, we used zebrafish as a representative species and exposed their embryos to 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/L of the two Cry proteins until 132 h post-fertilization and then several developmental, biochemical, and molecular parameters were evaluated. Chlorpyrifos (CPF), a known toxicant to aquatic organisms, was used as a positive control. Although CPF exposure resulted in significant developmental, biochemical, and molecular changes in the zebrafish embryos, there were almost no significant differences after Cry1C or Cry2A exposure. Thus, we conclude that zebrafish embryos are not sensitive to Cry1C and Cry2A insecticidal proteins at test concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Jie Gao
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road , Haidian District, Beijing 100193 , People's Republic of China
| | - Hao-Jun Zhu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road , Haidian District, Beijing 100193 , People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center , Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences , Wuxi , Jiangsu 214081 , People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road , Haidian District, Beijing 100193 , People's Republic of China
- Research Division Agroecology and Environment , Agroscope , 8046 Zurich , Switzerland
| | - Yun-He Li
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road , Haidian District, Beijing 100193 , People's Republic of China
| | - Yu-Fa Peng
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road , Haidian District, Beijing 100193 , People's Republic of China
| | - Xiu-Ping Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection , Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 2 West Yuanmingyuan Road , Haidian District, Beijing 100193 , People's Republic of China
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Li R, Yan Z, Wang J, Song Q, Wang Z. De novo characterization of venom apparatus transcriptome of Pardosa pseudoannulata and analysis of its gene expression in response to Bt protein. BMC Biotechnol 2017; 17:73. [PMID: 29115956 PMCID: PMC5678584 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-017-0392-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pardosa pseudoannulata is a prevailing spider species, and has been regarded as an important bio-control agent of insect pests in farmland of China. However, the available genomic and transcriptomic databases of P. pseudoannulata and their venom are limited, which severely hampers functional genomic analysis of P. pseudoannulata. Recently high-throughput sequencing technology has been proved to be an efficient tool for profiling the transcriptome of relevant non-target organisms exposed to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protein through food webs. Results In this study, the transcriptome of the venom apparatus was analyzed. A total of 113,358 non-redundant unigenes were yielded, among which 34,041 unigenes with complete or various length encoding regions were assigned biological function annotations and annotated with gene ontology and karyotic orthologous group terms. In addition, 3726 unigenes involved in response to stimulus and 720 unigenes associated with immune-response pathways were identified. Furthermore, we investigated transcriptomic changes in the venom apparatus using tag-based DGE technique. A total of 1724 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, while 75 and 372 DEGs were functionally annotated with KEGG pathways and GO terms, respectively. qPCR analyses were performed to verify the DEGs directly or indirectly related to immune and stress responses, including genes encoding heat shock protein, toll-like receptor, GST and NADH dehydrogenase. Conclusion This is the first study conducted to specifically investigate the venom apparatus of P. pseudoannulata in response to Bt protein exposure through tritrophic chain. A substantial fraction of transcript sequences was generated by high-throughput sequencing of the venom apparatus of P. pseudoannulata. Then a comparative transcriptome analysis showing a large number of candidate genes involved in immune response were identified by the tag-based DGE technology. This transcriptome dataset will provide a comprehensive sequence resource for furture molecular genetic research of the venom apparatus of P. pseudoannulata. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12896-017-0392-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Li
- College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha, 410128, China.,Department of Biosciences, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Changde, 415000, China
| | - Zhenzhen Yan
- College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha, 410128, China
| | - Juan Wang
- College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha, 410128, China
| | - Qisheng Song
- Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Zhi Wang
- College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha, 410128, China.
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Venter HJ, Bøhn T. Interactions between Bt crops and aquatic ecosystems: A review. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2016; 35:2891-2902. [PMID: 27530353 DOI: 10.1002/etc.3583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2016] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The term Bt crops collectively refers to crops that have been genetically modified to include a gene (or genes) sourced from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria. These genes confer the ability to produce proteins toxic to certain insect pests. The interaction between Bt crops and adjacent aquatic ecosystems has received limited attention in research and risk assessment, despite the fact that some Bt crops have been in commercial use for 20 yr. Reports of effects on aquatic organisms such as Daphnia magna, Elliptio complanata, and Chironomus dilutus suggest that some aquatic species may be negatively affected, whereas other reports suggest that the decreased use of insecticides precipitated by Bt crops may benefit aquatic communities. The present study reviews the literature regarding entry routes and exposure pathways by which aquatic organisms may be exposed to Bt crop material, as well as feeding trials and field surveys that have investigated the effects of Bt-expressing plant material on such organisms. The present review also discusses how Bt crop development has moved past single-gene events, toward multigene stacked varieties that often contain herbicide resistance genes in addition to multiple Bt genes, and how their use (in conjunction with co-technology such as glyphosate/Roundup) may impact and interact with aquatic ecosystems. Lastly, suggestions for further research in this field are provided. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2891-2902. © 2016 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermoine J Venter
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University Potchefstroom Campus, North West Province, South Africa
| | - Thomas Bøhn
- GenØk-Center for Biosafety, Tromsø, Troms, Norway
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Gu J, Bakke AM, Valen EC, Lein I, Krogdahl Å. Bt-maize (MON810) and non-GM soybean meal in diets for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) juveniles--impact on survival, growth performance, development, digestive function, and transcriptional expression of intestinal immune and stress responses. PLoS One 2014; 9:e99932. [PMID: 24923786 PMCID: PMC4055707 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 05/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) juveniles (fry) fed diets containing genetically modified maize (Bt-maize, MON810) expressing Cry1Ab protein from first-feeding were investigated during a 99-day feeding trial. Four experimental diets were made; each diet contained ∼20% maize, either Bt-maize or its near-isogenic maternal line (non-GM maize). One pair was fishmeal-based while the other pair included standard (extracted) soybean meal (SBM; 16.7% inclusion level), with the intention of investigating responses to the maize varieties in healthy fish as well as in immunologically challenged fish with SBM-induced distal intestinal inflammation, respectively. Three replicate tanks of fry (0.17±0.01 g; initial mean weight ± SEM) were fed one of the four diets and samples were taken on days 15, 36, 48 and 99. Survival, growth performance, whole body composition, digestive function, morphology of intestine, liver and skeleton, and mRNA expression of some immune and stress response parameters in the distal intestine were evaluated. After 99 days of feeding, survival was enhanced and the intended SBM-induced inflammatory response in the distal intestine of the two groups of SBM-fed fish was absent, indicating that the juvenile salmon were tolerant to SBM. Mortality, growth performance and body composition were similar in fish fed the two maize varieties. The Bt-maize fed fish, however, displayed minor but significantly decreased digestive enzyme activities of leucine aminopeptidase and maltase, as well as decreased concentration of gut bile salts, but significantly increased amylase activity at some sampling points. Histomorphological, radiographic and mRNA expression evaluations did not reveal any biologically relevant effects of Bt-maize in the gastrointestinal tract, liver or skeleton. The results suggest that the Cry1Ab protein or other compositional differences in GM Bt-maize may cause minor alterations in intestinal responses in juvenile salmon, but without affecting overall survival, growth performance, development or health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinni Gu
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, NMBU School of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Oslo, Norway
| | - Anne Marie Bakke
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, NMBU School of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Oslo, Norway
| | - Elin C. Valen
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, NMBU School of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Åshild Krogdahl
- Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, NMBU School of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Oslo, Norway
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