Genetically modified crops: success, safety assessment, and public concern

Abstract

With the emergence of transgenic technologies, new ways to improve the agronomic performance of crops for food, feed, and processing applications have been devised. In addition, ability to express foreign genes using transgenic technologies has opened up options for producing large quantities of commercially important industrial or pharmaceutical products in plants. Despite this high adoption rate and future promises, there is a multitude of concerns about the impact of genetically modified (GM) crops on the environment. Potential contamination of the environment and food chains has prompted detailed consideration of how such crops and the molecules that they produce can be effectively isolated and contained. One of the reasonable steps after creating a transgenic plant is to evaluate its potential benefits and risks to the environment and these should be compared to those generated by traditional agricultural practices. The precautionary approach in risk management of GM plants may make it necessary to monitor significant wild and weed populations that might be affected by transgene escape. Effective risk assessment and monitoring mechanisms are the basic prerequisites of any legal framework to adequately address the risks and watch out for new risks. Several agencies in different countries monitor the release of GM organisms or frame guidelines for the appropriate application of recombinant organisms in agro-industries so as to assure the safe use of recombinant organisms and to achieve sound overall development. We feel that it is important to establish an internationally harmonized framework for the safe handling of recombinant DNA organisms within a few years.

The definition, source, manifestation and assessment of unintended effects in genetically modified plants

“…Although the risk of transfer of exogenous genes from GMPs to bacteria is remote, the possibility of rare transfer events involving novel mechanisms cannot be entirely ruled out. 24,40,41,44 Irrespective of whether transgene horizontally transfers to environmental bacteria or gastrointestinal tract bacteria, it may produce adverse effects on edible safety. Owing to the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, new kinds of antibiotic-resistant bacteria may appear.…”

Cisgenesis and Intragenesis: New tools For Improving Crops

“…The regulation of these crops is based on the methods used to insert genetic material instead of an assessment on the potential risk of the modifi ed traits (Bradford et al, 2005). Moreover, most of the risk assessments deal with the potential ecological and human health eff ects upon the release of a GMO to alleviate the arising concerns of the public about the impact on biodiversity and the expression of potential allergens in GMOs (Singh et al, 2006). These constraints clearly establish market barriers to the commercialization of GMOs worldwide.…”

Wet‐milling transgenic maize seed for fraction enrichment of recombinant subunit vaccine

“…[1][2][3][4] The use of maize as a biofactory for producing recombinant proteins has been studied for nearly a decade now [5][6][7] and continues to be of great interest because of the numerous advantages it presents compared to bacterial, yeast, or mammalian counterparts. 5 The infrastructure for producing, harvesting, transporting, storing, and downstream processing of maize is well established.…”