GMO statistics Part 4: Data mining risks identified - oversimplify at your peril

An article "GM corn health risks identified" appearing at Stock and Land 16 Dec 2009 features a new statistical study by French scientist de Vendomois and his colleagues. What wasn't mentioned in Stock and Land is that de Vendomois uses a risky statistical approach called "data mining" to trawl through nearly 500 tests of GM corn safety in rats to find a small minority of test results that might have safety significance.

Data mining as used by this French group suffers a very real risk of giving false findings, as more fully documented in previous GMO statistics posts.

The Stock and Land article also quotes the opinion of anti-GM group Genethics' that studies questioning GM safety are being ignored by the Australian food safety agency FSANZ . In fact, FSANZ and other food safety agencies frequently make detailed responses to such concerns, and contrary to Genethics assertions, the new French study illustrates that safety agencies have done substantial science while dealing with the very issues raised by the French investigators.

In a June 2007 report, the European food safety organisation EFSA made a detailed criticism of the same French group's statistical methods, and convincingly demonstrate that de Vendomois had previously made false claims about GM safety using data dredging.

This 2007 EFSA report showed (in Appendix 5) that when there is correlation between results of different tests (which EFSA showed does occur in practice ), or when there are small real differences between groups being compared (as there are in feeding trials where animals are allowed to freely take as much food as they like, and random differences in rat appetite caused groups to differ in average weight) the numbers of positive results appearing by chance can be greater than expected from an ideal simplified model.

de Vendomois and others (2009) do not take these realistic complications into account, nor, rather oddly, do they even mention the telling 2007 EFSA critique of their approach, although it is obvious from the prominence of formal interviews of group member Gilles-Eric Seralini with the EFSA documented in it that they must know of its existence.

Genetics do not mention this crucial omission by de Vendomois.

As the latest French report does not properly correct the mistakes pointed out by EFSA, it is quite possible that it also has dredged out false results. We should all be careful about misusing or abusing statistics when it comes to understanding food safety. It's not easy though :-).

See

GMO statistics Part 3. Trawling through lots of comparisons with tests designed for a singular decision is a recipe for trouble that starts with t.

Lies, damn lies and all that.

Il y a 3 mesonges...

Joel Spiroux de Vendomois and other (2009). A comparison of the effects of three GM corn varieties on mammalian health. Int. J Biological Sciences 2009 5(7):706-726.

 

Post script.

Statistics, of course, is not the be all and end all of the issue. A statistically meaningful difference is not necessarily a toxic effect, nor is it an abnormality if it falls within the range of common variation seen in rat populations in closely similar circumstances.

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Lest we forget the past, passion is often the problem, not skepticism

Letter to The Economist magazine December 2009

Against the prevailing wind

SIR – Passion is the root problem in what you term "the modern argument over climate change" ("A heated debate", November 28th). You state, for instance,that the "majority of the world's climate scientists have convinced themselves"that human activity is the cause of climate change. I know of no poll that confirms this, but your choice of words is telling. In science, our interpretations of nature are based on observation, experiment and evidence, not self-conviction.

Those of us who are dismissed, often derided, as sceptics have waited a long time for the chicanery behind the global-warming movement to come to light. But we should not blame scientists—however unprincipled—nor UN organisations, nor national governments. The true culprits are the latter-day Nostradamuses who, under their icons of cuddly pandas and polar bears, have misused science to stoke fear, guilt and a craving for atonement in the minds of the public. Governments have been browbeaten to respond to these catastrophists, and some scientists, dependent on public money, have fashioned their behaviour accordingly.

Nikolay Semyonov, a Soviet scientist and Nobel prize winner in chemistry, wrote that:
"There is nothing more dangerous than blind passion in science.This is a direct path to unjustified self-confidence, to loss of self-criticalness, to scientific fanaticism, to false science. Given support from someone in power, it can lead to suppression of true science and, since science is now a matter of state importance, to inflicting great injury on the country."

Semyonov was referring to the ruthless manipulation of Soviet science by Trofim Lysenko and other opportunists. In a similar vein, it is time we recognise that we are becoming prey to a new fanaticism, a religious fervour that runs contrary to rational society.

Paul Reiter
Paris

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Natural GMOs part 59: Gene multiplication yields much more herbicide target in a weed.

Gene amplification confers glyphosate resistance in Amaranthus palmeri
　
The herbicide glyphosate became widely used in the United States and other parts of the world after the commercialization of glyphosate-resistant crops. These crops have constitutive overexpression of a glyphosate-insensitive form of the herbicide target site gene,
5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS).

Increased use of glyphosate over multiple years imposes selective genetic pressure on weed populations. We investigated recently discovered glyphosate- resistant Amaranthus palmeri populations from Georgia, in comparison with normally sensitive populations. EPSPS enzyme activity from resistant and susceptible plants was equally inhibited by glyphosate, which led us to use quantitative PCR to measure relative copy numbers of the EPSPS gene. Genomes of resistant plants contained from5-fold to more than160-foldmore copies of the EPSPS gene than did genomes of susceptible plants.

Quantitative RT-PCR on cDNA revealed that EPSPS expression was positively correlated with genomic EPSPS relative copy number. Immunoblot analyses showed that increasedEPSPS proteinlevel also correlated with EPSPS genomic copy number. EPSPS gene amplification was heritable, correlated with resistance in pseudo-F2 populations, and is proposed to be the molecular basis of glyphosate resistance. FISH revealed that EPSPS genes were present on every chromosome and, therefore, gene amplification was likely not caused by unequal chromosome crossing over. This occurrence of gene amplification as an herbicide resistance
mechanism in a naturally occurring weed population is particularly significant because it could threaten the sustainable use of glyphosate-resistant crop technology.


Todd A. Gaines, Wenli Zhang, Dafu Wang, Bekir Bukun, Stephen T. Chisholm, Dale L. Shaner, Scott J. Nissen,William L. Patzoldt, Patrick J. Tranel, A. Stanley Culpepper, Timothy L. Grey, Theodore M. Webster,William K. Vencill, R. Douglas Sammons, Jiming Jiang, Christopher Preston, Jan E. Leach, and Philip Westra,



Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 2009

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0906649107

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Seed company marketing and competition scrutiny continues

AP INVESTIGATION: Monsanto seed biz role revealed
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD (AP) – The Olympian
In this item from ST. LOUIS, competition in the seed maket is put under scrutiny. It says that confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found...

The item reports that Monsanto's business strategies and licensing agreements are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and at least two state attorneys general, who are trying to determine if the practices violate U.S. antitrust laws. The practices also are at the heart of civil antitrust suits filed against Monsanto by its competitors, including a 2004 suit filed by Syngenta AG that was settled with an agreement and ongoing litigation filed this summer by DuPont in response to a Monsanto lawsuit.

The suburban St. Louis-based agricultural giant said it's done nothing wrong.
"We do not believe there is any merit to allegations about our licensing agreement or the terms within," said Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles. He said he couldn't comment on many specific provisions of the agreements because they are confidential and the subject of ongoing litigation...

Follow up:


The Monsanto Company have this response
　

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BASF and MONSANTO link again to deliver new technology -- with improved animal nutrition

BASF PLANT SCIENCE, MONSANTO ENTER INTO DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION AGREEMENT FOR NUTRIDENSE®

Press Release
Nutritionally-Enhanced Corn Hybrids To Benefit Animal Producers And Corn Growers; Genuity™ VT Triple PRO™ and Roundup Ready® Expected To Launch in 2010; Genuity™ SmartStax™ Hybrids in 2011

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, and ST. LOUIS, (Dec. 09, 2009) –BASF Plant Science and Monsanto today announced the signing of an agreement to develop and commercialize new corn hybrids with better nutrition for animal feed.

The new hybrids will contain BASF’s NutriDense® traits that are designed to enhance animal feed performance. NutriDense corn has higher levels of essential amino acids and energy, greater phosphorous availability and is more digestible.

BASF’s NutriDense traits will be combined with Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® Genuity™ VT Triple PRO™ and Genuity™ SmartStax™ corn. The new high quality hybrids are expected to deliver the best feed value and yields equivalent to elite conventional corn. Once launched, seed companies will market the new hybrids through licensing agreements.
"The addition of higher yielding NutriDense corn hybrids from Monsanto plus increased distribution through Monsanto regional brands and other partners will allow animal operations to contract the planting of the enhanced nutrition corn across a broad geography," said Jonathan Bryant, managing director of BASF Plant Science LP.
Corn growers may benefit from the premium pricing opportunity on the product from animal feed operations.
"We believe this collaboration will produce new and high-value hybrids for farmers by enabling them to deliver a more nutritious source of corn for feed use to their customers," said Cameron Ator, regional brand lead for Monsanto. "This is another example of Monsanto’s efforts to continue to provide innovative products that can help farmers maximize the yield and profit potential on their farms."
Roughly 45 percent of the corn grown in the United States is used as animal feed, with the majority being fed specifically to swine or poultry. A better nutritional composition of the grain fed to the animal reduces costs and waste. This development and commercialization agreement will benefit animal producers by offering a greater number of high yielding, high nutritional quality hybrids specifically designed for the swine, poultry, and dairy segment.
"BASF Plant Science has a strong commitment to the feed industry and our work in corn enhancement and animal nutrition is delivering better corn for better feed," Bryant added. "We are the only company investing in this manner and depth to provide solutions that improve animal performance and help producers increase their profitability."

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com . Follow our business on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed .

About BASF Plant Science
BASF consolidated its plant biotechnology activities in BASF Plant Science in 1998. Today, about 700 employees are working to optimize crops for more efficient agriculture, renewable raw materials and healthier nutrition for humans and animals. Projects include yield increase in staple crops, higher content of Omega-3s in oil crops for preventing cardiovascular diseases, nutritionally-enhanced corn for animal feed and potatoes with optimized starch composition for industrial use. To find out more
About BASF Plant Science, please see our internet web site at: http://www.basf.com/plantscience
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has approximately 97,000 employees and posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com .

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More genetic modification that's not a GMO: or is it?

PRESS RELEASE : Eureka Science

Public release date: 8-Dec-2009
Precision breeding creates super potato

IMAGE: These are potatoes which exclusively contain amylopectin starch.(Source Fraunhofer).

Click here for more information.

The fall of 2009 was a truly special season for the Emsland Group: For the first time in the history of the largest German potato starch manufacturer, it processed Tilling potatoes, which exclusively contain amylopectin starch. Not only can nutritional starches for emulsifying soups and desserts be extracted from it – it can also be used for paste and smooth coating for paper and thread production. "This potato is the first product in Germany developed by Tilling that achieves market readiness," explains Prof. Prüfer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME.

Tilling – an acronym for "Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes" – is a breeding process that researchers want to use to push evolution yet another step forward. In nature, evolution proceeds slowly: Through mutation and selection, plants and animal species adapt and change. Over the course of generations, those species develop that, due to their genetic make-up, are best adapted to the prevailing environmental conditions. Others became extinct. For millennia, humans have been using this evolutionary process for their own purposes, by focusing on highly productive- – and profit yielding – species. Modern breeding processes operate the same way, though the natural mutation rate is accelerated. "With the aid of chemicals, a vast number of mutants can be rapidly obtained," says Jost Muth of IME, who participated in the development of the new potato starch. "We are working here with natural principles. In nature, sunlight triggers changes in the genome. With chemistry, we accomplish the same thing – only faster."

Until now, mutation breeding was an exhaustive process. "Growers had to bring out the mutated seeds to the field, and then wait until they reached the end of their vegetation period in order to determine if one of the genetic modifications achieved the desired result. In addition, the majority of generated mutations could not be determined, since the characteristic is only expressed in a homozygous state," explains Prüfer. His team has succeeded in accelerating the implementation. In the laboratory at IME, the mutated seeds were germinated. As soon as the first leaves appear, it's harvest time: The researchers take a leaf sample, break apart the cellular structure, isolate the genome and analyze it. This way they can find out within a few weeks if a mutation has attained the desired traits.

In a project sponsored by the "Nachwachsende Rohstoffe" agency, researchers at IME, in collaboration with the Bioplant and Emslandstärke companies, found the super potato germ. They had to examine 2,748 seedlings until just the right one was identified that exclusively produces the starch component amylopectin. From this germ, experts were able to generate the first generation of super potatoes. There are genes active in their genome responsible for the formation of amylopectin, whereas genes that trigger the formation of amylose are shut off. "Until now, potatoes always contained both starch types. Industry had to separate the amylopectin from the amylose – an energy and cost-intensive process," explains Prüfer. "With the Tilling potatoes, which only contain amylopectin, this process stage is superfluous. In Germany alone the paper and adhesives industry require 500,000 tonnes of highly purified amylopectin each year. Then there is the textile industry too, which uses the starch to glaze threats prior to weaving. The food industry is also relevant.

This fall, 100 tonnes of the new super potato that exclusively produces amylopectin were harvested. "They can be processed as usual in the production lines," reports Muth. "Special measures aren't necessary, because the Tilling potatoes are totally normal breeds that contain no genetically modified material." The example shows that conventional or modern breeding methods will lead to success if the gene responsible for the expression of a specific trait is a natural part of the plant, and is known to scientists. The gene for the production of amylose in potatoes is one such gene. "Gene technology-based processes are indispensible and it is prudent to use them, when we want to integrate genetic material into a plant genome – , for example if we develop transgenic tobacco plants producing pharmacological substances," concludes Prüfer. "When it comes to dealing with genes, there is an easy rule: as much modification as needed, but as little as possible."

Contact: Professor Dr. Dirk Pruefer
dirk.pruefer@ime.fraunhofer.de
49-251-832-2302
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Link : Precision breeding creates super potato

 

Pundit warning;

Whether or not something is "natural" is unrelated to whether it is safe. Botox is natural, and so is the plant poison ricin.

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Overregulation has become a real threat for the further development and use of GM crops.

The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops
Matin Qaim
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development,
Georg-August-University of Goettingen, 37073 Goettingen, Germany;
　
Abstract
Genetically modified (GM) crops have been used commercially for more than 10 years. Available impact studies of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant crops show that these technologies are beneficial to farmers and consumers, producing large aggregate welfare gains as well as positive effects for the environment and human health.

The advantages of future applications could even be much bigger.

Given a conducive institutional framework, GM crops can contribute significantly to global food security and poverty reduction.

Nonetheless, widespread public reservations have led to a complex system of regulations. Overregulation has become a real threat for the further development and use of GM crops. The costs in terms of foregone benefits may be large, especially for developing countries. Economics research has an important role to play in designing efficient regulatory mechanisms and agricultural innovation systems.

Key Words

agricultural biotechnology, consumer acceptance, impacts, regulation, technology adoption
Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ. 2009. 1:665–93
First published online as a Review in Advance on June 26, 2009

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Land clearance trap: clearing forest for food crops will cause soil carbon loss on global scale

For compelling economical, geopolitical, and environmental reasons, biofuels are considered an attractive alternative to fossil fuels for meeting future global energy demands. Melillo et al. (SCIENCE p. 1397, published online 22 October), however, suggest that a few serious drawbacks related to land use need to be considered. Based on a combined biogeochemistry and economic model, indirect land use (for example, clearing forested land for food crops to compensate for increased biofuel crop production on current farmlands) is predicted to generate more soil carbon loss than directly harvesting biofuel crops. Furthermore, increased fertilizer use for biofuels will add large amounts of nitrous oxide—a more effective heat-trapping molecule than carbon dioxide—to the atmosphere. Policy decisions regarding land and crop management thus need to consider the long-term implications of increased biofuel production.

This Week in SCIENCE Magazine, Volume 326, Issue 5958

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Sensationalism can divert empathy toward wrong causes: cancer and malnutrition being the ones that suffer

But there is a more general impact by information providers in biasing the representation of the world one gets from the delivered information. It is a fact that our brain tends to go for superficial clues when it comes to risk and probability, these clues being largely determined by what emotions they elicit or the ease with which they come to mind.

In addition to such problems with the perception of risk, it is also a scientific fact, and a shocking one, that both risk detection and risk avoidance are not mediated in the "thinking" part of the brain but largely in the emotional one (the "risk as feelings" theory). The consequences are not trivial: It means that rational thinking has little, very little, to do with risk avoidance.

Much of what rational thinking seems to do is rationalize one's actions by fitting some logic to them.
In that sense the description coming from journalism is certainly not just an unrealistic representation of the world but rather the one that can fool you the most by grabbing your attention via your emotional apparatus-the cheapest to deliver sensation.

Take the mad cow "threat" for example: Over a decade of hype, it only killed people (in the highest estimates) in the hundreds as compared to car accidents (several hundred thousands1)-except that the journalistic description of the latter would not be commercially fruitful. (Note that the risk of dying from food poisoning or in a car accident on the way to a restaurant is greater than dying from mad cow disease.)

This sensationalism can divert empathy toward wrong causes: cancer and malnutrition being the ones that suffer the most from the lack of such attention. Malnutrition in Africa and Southeast Asia no longer causes the emotional impact - so it literally dropped out of the picture. In that sense the mental probabilistic map in one's mind is so geared toward the sensational that one would realize informational gains by dispensing with the news.

From

Fooled by Randomness
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Penguin Books/Random House 2007

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Genetically manipulated non-GMO potato

PRESS RELEASE

Cibus Global and NEU Seed to Develop Potato Crop Protection and Performance Enhancement Traits for North America

San Diego, California (December 2, 2009) — Cibus Global, a pioneering plant trait development firm, today announced that it has partnered with Naturally Enhanced United Seed (NEU Seed), a potato grower cooperative based in Idaho, to develop and market improved traits in potato using Cibus’ natural smart breeding tool, Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™). The collaboration will initially focus on enhancing crop protection tolerance and reducing blackspot bruising, with the aim of improving both productivity by reducing pesticide usage and the overall quality of potatoes available to the consumer.

Potato bruising costs the U.S. potato industry nearly $300 million a year* and NEU Seed estimates that 60 percent of this is attributable to blackspot bruise. In addition to yielding significant economic advantages for farmers and consumers through reduced waste, NEU Seed and Cibus have focused on newly developed traits that are expected to reduce usage of pesticides and improve the sustainability of potato production. Eventually the partners intend to collaborate on the development of other important traits to create healthier potato plants with improved quality attributes that will benefit the consumer and potato industry.

RTDS is an environmentally safe, trait development procedure that will use the potato’s natural process of gene repair to effect a precise change in the genetic sequence. By mimicking natural methods in a highly targeted way, RTDS technology avoids the introduction of foreign genetic material into plants. RTDS has been recognized by the USDA as a mutagenesis technique, and is therefore not subject to the regulations applied to transgenic (or GM) crops. Mutagenesis-derived crops and traits are produced around the globe in a number of food categories, including grains (rice, oats, durum wheat), vegetable oil crops (sunflower, canola, flax), beer ingredients (barley, hops, yeast) and seedless fruits (grapes, citrus fruits).

Cibus President Dr. Keith Walker said, “RTDS technology is revolutionary in that it enables the development in plants of valuable traits that enhance overall efficiency and product quality through a natural process. Globally, potato is a very important food crop, and Cibus is proud to work with NEU Seed and the potato industry to enhance production and quality for the benefit of farmers, processers and consumers.”

“Cibus offers the potato industry a naturally accelerated breeding process that will lead to new and innovative technology solutions for the farmer,” said Dirk Parkinson, potato grower and President of NEU Seed, from Saint Anthony, Idaho. “The RTDS technology offers North American farmers the ability to develop valuable traits through a carefully targeted process that mimics what occurs in nature. This directed and efficient approach allows for lower production costs and significantly enhances the overall quality of our product for our customers.”

* ”Preventing Potato Bruise Damage,” edited by Michael Thornton and William Bohl. College of Agriculture, University of Idaho. 1998.

Cibus
North America
Shawna Seldon
shawna@rosengrouppr.com
212.255.7541

Europe
Jonathan Birt
jonathan.birt@fd.com
+44 (0)20-7269-7205

NEU Seed
Keith Esplin
keith@neuseedpotato.com
208.243.1824

Notes to Editors:

About Cibus Global

Cibus Global (http://www.cibus.com/) develops advantageous crop traits with far-reaching implications in agriculture, alternative energy and product development. Through its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS^TM), Cibus creates traits in a directed way with more precision than traditional breeding techniques and without the introduction of foreign genetic material. RTDS has proven itself in the laboratory with several different applications, as well as in initial field trials of Cibus’ first commercial crop, canola. Cibus’ products will be brought to market through a number of strategic partnerships; in September 2009, Cibus announced an alliance with Israeli-based Makhteshim-Agan to develop five crops for the European marketplace.

About NEU Seed

Naturally Enhanced United Seed (NEU Seed) was formed in November 2008 to develop and market potato cultivars with new innovative traits for growers, processors and consumers. NEU Seed is a cooperative of seed potato growers, based in Rexburg, Idaho, with a membership of growers from both Idaho and Montana. NEU Seed has entered into partnering agreements with Cibus Global and is seeking seed potato grower members from other seed producing areas of North America to join with NEU Seed to bring value added potato traits to market.

Cibus - Cibus Press Releases

See also other GMO Pundit posts on Cibus' RTDS

• New technique
• BASF and CIBUS join forces
• RTDS
  
  

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China finally approves genetically modified rice for commercialisation

Exclusive: Top rice producer China approves GMO strain

Checkbiotech

Friday, November 27, 2009

By Niu Shuping and Tom Miles

In this item from BEIJING - there is news that China has approved its first strain of genetically modified rice for commercial production, according to Reuters two scientists involved in the approval process . This potentially eases the way for other major producers to adopt the controversial technology.

The item indicates that approval of the locally-developed rice, as well as China's first GMO corn, shifts the global balance of power in food trade and could prompt other countries to follow suit.

Exclusive: Top rice producer China approves GMO strain | Checkbiotech

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Company promotional press release an interesting foretaste of a second season of Canola data for Australia

MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 27 November 2009

Roundup Ready® canola Delivers Higher Yields - Again
Melbourne, Australia Friday 27 November 2009

Monsanto has released replicated demonstration trial results from a trial site based at Wallendbeen, NSW. The trial ran during the 2009 canola season and was focused on comparing the leading Roundup Ready, triazine tolerant and Clearfield ® canola varieties.

In the first of many replicated trial sites this year, the results again show Roundup Ready canola having a significant yield increase over triazine tolerant canola as initially demonstrated in 2008 – its first year of commercial release canola,
"Our trials with Roundup Ready canola have shown an 11 percent yield increase above the triazine to which is consistent with our previous findings and with growers’ experience. This proves you don’t need to sacrifice yield for weed control," Dr James Neilsen, Monsanto canola technical specialist said.

The trial also demonstrated that yields from Clearfield varieties were impacted by heavy weed pressure from Group B herbicide resistant weeds.
This trial highlights the importance to growers of the benefits of the Roundup Ready system as it provides an system, alternative to other herbicide control systems.
"This is another tool in the grower’s toolbox and offers real choice to growers. Roundup Ready is a more flexible and environmentally friendly herbicide control system and, as it is a non esidual herbicide, you could say it’s a cleaner non-residual and greener canola," said Dr Neilsen.

More data will be released in the coming months as other trial sites are harvested.

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Natural GMOs part 58. Each second of time in the ocean , natural gene movement occurs ten times ten repeated 23 times

Marine viruses — major players in the global ecosystem
Curtis A. Suttle


Abstract of scientific article:

Viruses are by far the most abundant ‘lifeforms’ in the oceans and are the reservoir of most of the genetic diversity in the sea. The estimated 10^30 viruses in the ocean, if stretched end to end, would span farther than the nearest 60 galaxies. Every second, approximately 10^23 viral infections occur in the ocean. These infections are a major source of mortality, and cause disease in a range of organisms, from shrimp to whales. As a result, viruses influence the composition of marine communities and are a major force behind biogeochemical cycles.
Each infection has the potential to introduce new genetic information into an organism or progeny virus, thereby driving the evolution of both host and viral assemblages. Probing this vast reservoir of genetic and biological diversity continues to yield exciting discoveries.




Nature Reviews Microbiology Volume 5 October 2007 pages 801-812

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Stewardship of insect protection --- an update in Journal of Economic Entomology

Insect Resistance to Bt Crops can be Predicted, Monitored, and Managed


Since 1996, crop plants genetically modified to produce bacterial proteins that are toxic to certain insects, yet safe for people, have been planted on more than 200 million hectares worldwide. The popularity of these Bt crops, named after the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, comes from their ability to kill some major pests, allowing farmers to save money and lessen environmental impacts by reducing insecticide sprays.
However, since insects can evolve resistance to toxins, strategies must be implemented to ensure that Bt crops remain effective. A new study published in the December issue of Journal of Economic Entomology entitled “Field-Evolved Insect Resistance to Bt Crops: Definition, Theory, and Data” (http://www.entsoc.org/btcrops.pdf) analyzes insect resistance data from five continents, as reported in 41 studies, and concludes that existing theories and strategies can be used to predict, monitor, and manage insect resistance to Bt crops.

According to lead author Dr. Bruce E. Tabashnik, “Resistance is not something to be afraid of, but something that we expect and can manage if we understand it. Dozens of studies monitoring how pests have responded to Bt crops have created a treasure trove of data showing that resistance has emerged in a few pest populations, but not in most others. By systematically analyzing the extensive data, we can learn what accelerates resistance and what delays it. With this knowledge, we can more effectively predict and thwart pest resistance.”

Among the authors’ conclusions are:
· The refuge strategy (growing non-Bt crops near the Bt crops) can slow the evolution of insect resistance by increasing the chances of resistant insects mating with non-resistant ones, resulting in non-resistant offspring.
· Crops that are “pyramided” to incorporate two or more Bt toxins are more effective at controlling insect resistance when they are used independently from crops that contain only one Bt toxin.
· Resistance monitoring can be especially effective when insects collected from the field include survivors from Bt crops.
· DNA screening can complement traditional methods for monitoring resistance, such as exposing insects to toxins in the lab.
· Despite a few documented cases of field-evolved resistance to the Bt toxins in transgenic crops, most insect pest populations are still susceptible.
With Bt crop acreage increasing worldwide, incorporating enhanced understanding of observed patterns of field-evolved resistance into future resistance management strategies can help to minimize the drawbacks and maximize the benefits of current and future generations of transgenic crops.

The full article is available at http://www.entsoc.org/btcrops.pdf.
Bruce Tabashnik, the lead author can be contacted at brucet@ag.arizona.edu or 520-621-1141.

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Next generation GM maize approved for commercial release in China

Nov 21 2009, 9:00 AM EST GEN Eng NEWS

Origin Agritech Announces Final Approval of World’s First Genetically Modified Phytase Corn

News source: Business Wire

In this item Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ GS: SEED) (“Origin”), supplier of crop seeds and agri-biotech research in China, is reported to have received the Bio-safety Certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture as a final approval for commercial approval of the world’s first genetically modified phytase corn. The item goes on to say Origin’s phytase corn is the first transgenic corn to officially introduce the next generation of corn product to enter the domestic marketplace. See link for details

News: Origin Agritech Announces Final Approval of World’s First Genetically Modified Phytase Corn.

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