Results of a 16-week Safety Assurance Study with Rats Fed Genetically Modified Bt Maize: Effect on Growth and Health Parameters

A 90-day feeding study of genetically modified maize LP007-1 in wistar han RCC rats

LP007-1 is a variety of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant maize containing the modified cry1Ab, cry2Ab, vip3Aa and cp4-epsps genes. The food safety assessment of the maize LP007-1 was conducted in Wistar Han RCC rats by a 90-days feeding study. Maize grains from both LP007-1 or its corresponding non-genetically modified control maize AX808 were incorporated into rodent diets at 25% and 50% concentrations by mass and administered to rats (n = 10/sex/group) for 90 days. A commercialized rodent diet was fed to an additional group as the basal-diet group. The diets of all groups were nutritionally balanced. No biologically relevant differences were observed in rats fed with maize LP007-1 compared to rats fed with AX808 and the basal-diet with respect to body weight/gain, food consumption/utilization, clinical signs, mortality, ophthalmology, clinical pathology (hematology, prothrombin time, activation of partial thrombin time, serum chemistry, urinalysis), organ weights, and gross and microscopic pathology. Considering the circumstances of this study, the results provided evidence that LP007-1 maize did not exhibit toxicity in the 90-day feeding study.

Genetically engineered crops for sustainably enhanced food production systems

Genetic modification of crops has substantially focused on improving traits for desirable outcomes. It has resulted in the development of crops with enhanced yields, quality, and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. With the advent of introducing favorable traits into crops, biotechnology has created a path for the involvement of genetically modified (GM) crops into sustainable food production systems. Although these plants heralded a new era of crop production, their widespread adoption faces diverse challenges due to concerns about the environment, human health, and moral issues. Mitigating these concerns with scientific investigations is vital. Hence, the purpose of the present review is to discuss the deployment of GM crops and their effects on sustainable food production systems. It provides a comprehensive overview of the cultivation of GM crops and the issues preventing their widespread adoption, with appropriate strategies to overcome them. This review also presents recent tools for genome editing, with a special focus on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. An outline of the role of crops developed through CRSIPR/Cas9 in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 is discussed in detail. Some perspectives on the approval of GM crops are also laid out for the new age of sustainability. The advancement in molecular tools through plant genome editing addresses many of the GM crop issues and facilitates their development without incorporating transgenic modifications. It will allow for a higher acceptance rate of GM crops in sustainable agriculture with rapid approval for commercialization. The current genetic modification of crops forecasts to increase productivity and prosperity in sustainable agricultural practices. The right use of GM crops has the potential to offer more benefit than harm, with its ability to alleviate food crises around the world.

Effects of transgenic Bacillus Thuringiensis maize (2A-7) on the growth and development in rats

This study aimed to determine the effects of genetically modified insect-resistant maize (2A-7) on the growth and development in developing rats. Rats were fed a diet formulated with 2A-7 maize and were compared with rats fed a diet formulated with non-transgenic maize (CK group) and rats fed AIN-93G diet (BC group). 2A-7 maize was formulated into diets at ratios of 82.4% (H group) and 20.6% (L group); non-transgenic maize was formulated into diets at a ratio of 82.4%. From the first day of pregnancy, adult rats were divided into four groups and fed with the above four diets, respectively. Weaning on postnatal day 21, the diets of offspring were consistent with their parents. The results showed that body weight, hematology, serum biochemistry, organ weight, organ coefficients and allergenicity of offspring fed with 2A-7 maize were comparable with those in the CK and BC groups. In physiological and behavioral development experiments, there was no statistically significant difference among groups. Although mCry1Ab proteins were detected in organs and serum, no histopathological changes were observed among groups. In conclusion, A-7 maize cause no treatment-related adverse effects on offspring, indicating that 2A-7 maize is safe for developing rats.

Expression profiling of key pathways in rat liver after a one-year feeding trial with transgenic maize MON810

In a recent one-year feeding study, we observed no adverse effects on tissue level in organs of rats fed with the genetically-modified maize MON810. Here, we assessed RNA expression levels of 86 key genes of the apoptosis-, NF-кB-, DNA-damage response (DDR)-, and unfolded-protein response (UPR) pathways by RT-qPCR in the rat liver. Male and female rats were fed either with 33% MON810 (GMO), isogenic- (ISO), or conventional maize (CONV) and RNAs were quantified from eight rats from each of the six feeding groups. Only Birc2 transcript showed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) consistent difference of ≥1.5-fold between the GMO and ISO groups in both sexes. Unsupervised cluster analysis showed a strong separation of male and female rats, but no clustering of the feeding groups. Individual analysis of the pathways did not show any clustering of the male or female feeding groups either, though transcript levels of UPR pathway-associated genes caused some clustering of the male GMO and CONV feeding group samples. These differences were not seen between the GMO and ISO control or within the female cohort. Our data therefore does not support an adverse effect on rat liver RNA expression through the long-term feeding of MON810 compared to isogenic control maize.