Oilseed rape is known to persist in arable fields because of its ability to develop secondary seed dormancy in certain agronomic and environmental conditions. If conditions change, rapeseeds are able to germinate up to 10 years later to build volunteers in ensuing crops. Extrapolations of experimental data acted on the assumption of persistence periods for more than 20 years after last harvest of rapeseed. Genetically-modified oilseed rape—cultivated widely in Northern America since 1996—is assumed not to differ from its conventional form in this property. Here, experimental data are reported from official monitoring activities that verify these assumptions. At two former field trial sites in Saxony-Anhalt genetically-modified herbicide-resistant oilseed rape volunteers are found up to fifteen years after harvest. Nevertheless, spatial dispersion or establishment of GM plants outside of the field sites was not observed within this period.

This study presents a novel approach to detect genetically modified (GM) plant events that are not covered by common GMO screening methods. It is based on a simplified multiplex assay which merges the event-specific real-time PCR methods for the detection of six GM soybean lines (MON 87701, MON 87708, MON 87769, DP-305423, CV-127 and DAS-68416). The use of two different fluorescent dyes facilitates the subsequent analysis for identification of the GM event. The multiplex PCR method was validated in a collaborative study trial with 16 participating laboratories. Each laboratory received eight samples containing low levels (0.1% or 0.03% m/m) of one or two GM soybean lines and four GMnegative samples. Data of 720 PCR analyses were evaluated and a false-positive rate of 0.3% and a falsenegative rate of 3.9% was observed, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD 95%) were calculated based on modelling the probability of detection (POD) and show satisfactory sensitivity and reproducibility for the assay. Furthermore, we discuss the modularity and applicability of event-specific multiplex PCR systems for the detection of GM events that are not covered by screenings.

Petunia plants with unusual orange flowers were noticed on the European market and confirmed to be genetically modified (GM) by the Finnish authorities in spring 2017. Later in 2017, inspections and controls performed by several official laboratories of national competent authorities in the European Union detected several GM petunia varieties with orange flowers, but also another group of unusually colored flowers. In the latter group, a so far undetected gene coding for a flavonoid 3’5’ hydroxylase (F3’5’H) responsible for the purple color was identified by German and Dutch authorities, suggesting that the petunias found on the markets contain different genetic constructs. Here, a strategy is described for the identification of GM petunia varieties. It is based on an initial GMO screening for known elements using (real-time) PCR and subsequent identification of the insertion sites by a gene walking-like approach called ALF (amplification of linearly-enriched fragments) in combination with Sanger and MinION sequencing. The results indicate that the positively identified GM petunias can be traced back to two dissimilar GM events used for breeding of the different varieties. The test results also confirm that the transgenic petunia event RL01-17 used in the first German field trial in 1991 is not the origin of the GM petunias sold on the market. On basis of the obtained sequence data, event-specific real-time PCR confirmatory methods were developed and validated. These methods are applicable for the rapid detection and identification of GM petunias in routine analysis. In addition, a decision support system was developed for revealing the most likely origin of the GM petunia.

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