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THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE 08 August 2005 Monsanto’s Roundup Ready (RR)
soya, which has been grown commercially in countries such as the When RR soya was granted market
approval in the EU and However, in 2000, it came to light that there were additional fragments of the foreign DNA in the RR soya. Furthermore, in 2001, independent scientists reported a totally unrecognizable segment of DNA in addition to an unintended additional fragment. Monsanto declared in reaction to these reports that the additional DNA segments are not functional, meaning that they are not transcribed to RNA, not translated into proteins and therefore, have no effects whatsoever on the soybean. Inconsistent with Monsanto’s statement, a new report published in December 2004 found RNA variants in RR soya, arising from read-through of the nos terminator in RR soya. There was at least partial transcription of the unintentionally inserted segment of DNA (a 250-bp fragment of the epsps gene). The read-through product was further processed (post-transcriptionally), resulting in four different RNA variants. The RNA variants may result in the production of (as yet unknown) proteins, which could be potentially harmful to the plant or even to the consumer. The scientists also raised the possibility that the mechanisms responsible for producing the RNA variants are related to the nos terminator. This matter is of particular interest as the nos terminator is commonly used in the production of many genetically modified organisms. Thus, RNA variants could be also expressed in these GMOs. Furthermore, there is evidence that some small RNA molecules, best known for their role in causing gene silencing, may have effects that can be systemically spread throughout an organism, can affect more than the primary target gene (and there is no way at present to predict what these genes will be) and can be transmissible through food, causing lasting and sometimes heritable effects. It is imperative that further research is carried out on RR soya as to whether harmful proteins have been produced. Furthermore, all GMOs containing the nos terminator should be evaluated for variant RNA species, and all novel RNA species in GMOs must be reported in order to enable proper safety assessment. We attach below the abstract of the paper.
Lim Li Ching and Maria von
Weizsäcker REF: Doc.TWN/Biosafety/2005/C Eur Food Res Technol (2005) 220:438-443 DOI 10.1007/s00217-004-1064-5 Andreas Rang · Bettina Linke · Baerbel Jansen Detection of RNA variants transcribed from the transgene in Roundup Ready soybean Received: 13 August 2004 / Revised: 29 September 2004 / Published online: 2 December 2004 Springer-Verlag 2004 Abstract The acreage for genetically modified crops (GMOs)--particularly soybean-- has steadily increased since 1996, when the first crop of Roundup Ready soybean (intended for food production) was grown. The Roundup Ready soybean varieties derive from a soybean line into which a glyphosate- resistant enolpyruvylshikimate- 3-phosphate-synthase (EPSPS) gene was introduced. The inserted and the flanking regions in Roundup Ready soybean have recently been characterized. It was shown that a further 250-bp fragment of the epsps gene is localized downstream of the introduced nos terminator of transcription, derived from the nopaline synthase gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We examined whether this 250-bp fragment could be of functional importance. Our data demonstrate that at least 150 bp of this DNA region are transcribed in Roundup Ready soybean. Transcription of the fragment depends on whether readthrough events ignore the nos terminator signal located upstream. Our data also indicate that the read-through product is further processed, resulting in four different RNA variants from which the transcribed region of the nos terminator is completely deleted. Deletion results in the generation of open reading frames which might code for (as yet unknown) EPSPS fusion proteins. The nos terminator is used as a regulatory element in several other GMOs used for food production. This implies that read through products and transcription of RNA variants might be a common feature in these GMOs.
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