Dietary Behavior of Drosophila melanogaster Fed with Genetically-Modified Corn or Roundup®

With the rise in concern about GMOs and pesticides on human health, we have utilized Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for understanding the effects of Roundup-Ready® GMO diets on health. We recorded dietary behavior during and after exposure to a medium containing GMO or non-GMO corn, Roundup® in organic corn medium, and sucrose with or without one of the two Roundup® formulations. No differences in behavior were observed when Drosophila were exposed to a medium containing Roundup-Ready® GMO or non-GMO corn. Drosophila can detect and refrain from eating sucrose containing one Roundup® formulation, Ready-to-Use, which contains pelargonic acid in addition to glyphosate as an active ingredient. Drosophila exhibited dose-dependent increased consumption of sucrose alone after exposure to a medium containing either Roundup® formulation. This may indicate that flies eating a medium with Roundup® eat less and were thus hungrier when then given sucrose solution; that a medium with Roundup® is more difficult to digest; or that a medium with Roundup® is less nutritious, as would be the case if nutritionally important microbes grew on control medium, but not one containing Roundup®.

Development of Multiplex PCR Coupled DNA Chip Technology for Assessment of Endogenous and Exogenous Allergens in GM Soybean

Allergenicity assessment of transgenic plants and foods is important for food safety, labeling regulations, and health protection. The aim of this study was to develop an effective multi-allergen diagnostic approach for transgenic soybean assessment. For this purpose, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with DNA chip technology was employed. The study was focused on the herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready soya (RRS) using a set of certified reference materials consisting of 0, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 10% RRS. Technically, the procedure included design of PCR primers and probes; genomic DNA extraction; development of uniplex and multiplex PCR systems; DNA analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis; microarray development, hybridization, and scanning. The use of the asymmetric multiplex PCR method is shown to be very efficient for DNA hybridization with biochip probes. We demonstrate that newly developed fourplex PCR methods coupled with DNA-biochips enable simultaneous identification of three major endogenous allergens, namely, Gly m Bd 28K, Gly m Bd 30K, and lectin, as well as exogenous 5-enolppyruvyl shikimate-phosphate synthase (epsps) expressed in herbicide-resistant roundup ready GMOs. The approach developed in this study can be used for accurate, cheap, and fast testing of food allergens.

Growth and Yield Losses of Roundup Ready Soybean as Influenced by Micro-rates of 2,4-D

Widespread resistance to glyphosate has made weed control very challenging. In response, new approaches to managing resistant biotypes such as the Enlist E3TM have been developed. This technology allows in-crop use of 2,4-D but there is fear associated with unintentional application of the herbicide (e.g. direct application, tank contamination, or spray drift) to sensitive crops. A study was conducted to evaluate Roundup Ready (RR) soybean growth and yield loss as influenced by 2,4-D [six micro rates of 1/5, 1/10, 1/50, 1/100, 1/500 and 1/1000 of the 1,120 g ae ha-1 label recommended dose, and a check with no herbicide applied] applied at V2, R1 and R2 growth stages. In general, RR soybean was more sensitive to 2,4-D at R1 than V2 and R2. The highest 2,4-D rate, 1/5 of the label recommended rate, caused 51% soybean injury symptom, 13 d canopy closure delay, 41.2% plant height reduction, and 68.9% yield loss at R1. Based on effective dose (ED) estimates, 37.7 g ae ha-1 2,4-D caused 5% yield loss (0.23 Mg ha-1) at R1 compared with a 2.5- and 2.0-fold higher dose at V2 and R2, respectively. With respect to number of days to canopy closure, both reproductive stages (R1 and R2) were equally less sensitive to 2,4-D than the vegetative one (V2) as the plants had already achieved maximum growth recorded. On the other hand, ED estimates for plant height have shown that both V2 and R2 were equally more sensitive to 2,4-D than R1. These results clearly indicated that RR soybean growth and yield loss were significantly influenced by the timing of exposure and amount of 2,4-D.

Herbicides in agronomic performance and chlorophyll indices of Enlist E3 and Roundup Ready soybean

Soybean DAS-44406-6 (Enlist E3) is tolerant to glyphosate, 2,4-D and glufosinate. However, more information is needed on selectivity of 2,4-D choline on Enlist E3 soybean, alone or in mixtures. The aim of this study was to evaluate herbicide effects on agronomic performance and chlorophyll indices of soybean. Glyphosate was applied at different stages of development of Enlist E3 and RR soybean. Furthermore, 2,4-D choline alone and in mixture with glyphosate or glufosinate were also applied on Enlist E3 soybean. Studies were conducted in 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons. Experiment 1 consisted of application of glyphosate. The treatments were arranged in a 2x4 factorial (genotpes x growth stage). For genotypes, Enlist E3 and RR were used. For growth stage, control (without application), V4, V6 and R2 were used. Experiment 2 consisted of application of 2,4-D choline, glyphosate, glufosinate and associations, at V4 of Enlist E3 soybean. Crop injury, chlorophyll indices and agronomic performance were evaluated. The equivalent selectivity of glyphosate for Enlist E3 and RR soybean was verified, regardless of the stage. 2,4-D choline, alone or in mixtures, did not reduce chlorophyll indices and yield of Enlist E3 soybean after application at V4. Enlist E3 soybean was found to be tolerant to 2,4-D choline, glyphosate and glufosinate. The results showed that, in addition to glyphosate, Enlist E3 soybean may be an alternative for glyphosate resistant weeds

Detection of genetically modified organisms in soy feed and food in Romania

The paper describes the diagnostic methods used in Romania to detect the genetically modified organisms in soy feed and food and the results recorded between 2013 and 2019. The retrospective analyses of surveillance and diagnostic methods (qualitative and quantitative PCR techniques) developed for the genetically modified organisms detection in soy feed and food and of the transgenic Roundup Ready soybean line event 40-3-2 in Romania covered a total of 687 tests between 2013 and 2019 and revealed 32/131 GM events in 2013, 25/142 GM events in 2014, 24/117 GM events in 2015, 16/115 GM events in 2016, 6/97 GM events in 2017, 8/53 GM events in 2018, and 2/32 GM events in 2019.