Genotypic and Environmental Impact on Natural Variation of Nutrient Composition in 50 Non Genetically Modified Commercial Maize Hybrids in North America

Rodent and broiler feeding studies with maize containing genetically modified event DP-915635-4 show no adverse effects on health or performance

Several regulatory agencies continue to require animal feeding studies to approve new genetically modified crops despite such studies providing little value in the safety assessment. Feeding studies with maize grain containing event DP-915635-4 (DP915635), a new corn rootworm management trait, were conducted to fulfill that requirement. Diets fed to Crl:CD®(SD) rats for 90 days contained up to 50% ground maize grain from DP915635, non-transgenic control, or non-transgenic reference hybrids (P1197, 6158, and 6365). Ross 708 broilers received phase diets containing up to 67% maize grain from each source for 42 days. Growth performance was compared between animals fed DP915635 and control diets; rats were further evaluated for clinical and neurobehavioral measures, ophthalmology, clinical pathology, organ weights, and gross and microscopic pathology, whereas carcass parts and select organ yields were determined for broilers. Reference group inclusion assisted in determining natural variation influence on observed significant differences between DP915635 and control groups. DP915635 maize grain diet consumption did not affect any measure evaluated in either feeding study. Results demonstrated DP-915635-4 maize grain safety and nutritional equivalency when fed in nutritionally adequate diets, adding to the existing literature confirming the lack of significant effects of feeding grain from genetically modified plants.

Genetically modified DP915635 maize is agronomically and compositionally comparable to non-genetically modified maize

DP915635 maize was genetically modified (GM) to express the IPD079Ea protein for corn rootworm (Diabrotica spp.) control. DP915635 maize also expresses the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) protein for tolerance to glufosinate herbicide and the phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) protein that was used as a selectable marker. A field study was conducted at ten sites in the United States and Canada during the 2019 growing season. Of the 11 agronomic endpoints that were evaluated, two of them (early stand count and days to flowering) were statistically significant compared with the control maize based on unadjusted p-values; however, these differences were not significant after FDR-adjustment of p-values. Composition analytes from DP915635 maize grain and forage (proximates, fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, anti-nutrients, and secondary metabolites) were compared to non-GM near-isoline control maize (control maize) and non-GM commercial maize (reference maize). Statistically significant differences were observed for 7 of the 79 compositional analytes (16:1 palmitoleic acid, 18:0 stearic acid, 18:1 oleic acid, 18:2 linoleic acid, 24:0 lignoceric acid, methionine, and α-tocopherol); however, these differences were not significant after FDR-adjustment. Additionally, all of the values for composition analytes fell within the range of natural variation established from the in-study reference range, literature range, and/or tolerance interval. These results demonstrate that DP915635 is agronomically and compositionally comparable to non-GM maize represented by non-GM near-isoline control maize and non-GM commercial maize.

Assessment of the Effects of Genotype, Location, and Planting Season on the Nutritional Composition and the Metabolizable Energy of Advanced Twenty-Five Maize Hybrids

This study investigated the effects of genotype, location, and planting season on the proximate composition and metabolizable energy of advanced maize hybrids. Twenty-five hybrid maize and a local variety as control were harvested from five locations 100 days after planting for two seasons. The maize samples were sorted, cleaned, and pulverized using a laboratory mill and were analyzed for nutritional composition and metabolizable energy (ME) using standard laboratory methods. Moisture content, ash, fat, and protein had mean ± SD of 8.97 ± 0.40%, 1.48 ± 0.05%, 4.31 ± 0.19, and 8.88 ± 0.18%, respectively. ME had a mean ± SD of 379.77 ± 2.17 kJ, and total carbohydrates had values ranging from 74.68 and 77.20%, with an average of 76.68%. Results showed that most of the variations expressed in the proximate compositions of the maize hybrids were not significantly (p > 0.05) dependent on the genotypes. In contrast, locations significantly affected the maize hybrids’ proximate composition and metabolizable energy (p < 0.001). In addition, there was no significant effect (p > 0.05) of location by genotype interaction on the proximate composition and ME of the maize samples. The planting season also exhibited a significant (p < 0.001) difference for all the proximate parameters. Fourteen out of the twenty-five maize hybrids were similar to the local variety in terms of proximate composition and metabolizable energy. Therefore, they could be recommended for advancement in the breeding stages for release for household and industrial uses.

Nontargeted 1 H NMR fingerprinting and multivariate statistical analysis for traceability of Greek PDO Vostizza currants

In this study, non-targeted ¹ H NMR fingerprinting was used in combination with multivariate statistical analyses for the classification of Greek currants based on their geographical origins (Aeghion, Nemea, Kalamata, Zante, and Amaliada). As classification techniques, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) were carried out. To elucidate different components according to PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), products from Aeghion (Vostizza) were statistically compared with each one of the four other regions. PLS-DA plots ensure that currants from Kalamata, Nemea, Zante, and Amaliada are well classified with respect to the PDO currants, according to differences observed in metabolites. Results suggest that composition differences in carbohydrates, amino, and organic acids of currants are sufficient to discriminate them in correlation to their geographical origin. In conclusion, currants metabolites which mostly contribute to classification performance of such discriminant analysis model present a suitable alternative technique for currants traceability. The study results contribute information to the currants' metabolite fingerprinting by NMR spectroscopy and their geographical origin. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study presents an analytical approach for a high nutritional value Greek PDO product, Vostizza currant. A further research and implementation of this method in food industry, can be the key to food fraud incidents. Thus, application of this work opens up posibilities to "farm to table" mission.

Performance of Daphnia magna on flour, leaves, and pollen from different maize lines: Implications for risk assessment of genetically engineered crops

Non-target effects of genetically engineered (GE) plants on aquatic Daphnia magna have been studied by feeding the species with different maize materials containing insecticidal Cry proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The results of those studies were often difficult to interpret, because only one GE plant was compared to one related non-GE control. In such a setting, effects of the Cry proteins cannot be distinguished from plant background effects, in particular when the test species is nutritionally stressed. In the present study, we tested the suitability of three different maize materials, i.e., flour, leaves and pollen, from five diverse non-GE maize lines (including EXP 258, a breeding line that is closely related to a SmartStax Bt maize) as exclusive food sources for D. magna. The parameters recorded included survival, sublethal endpoints such as body size, number of moltings to first offspring, time to first offspring, number of individuals in first clutch, total number of clutches, total number of offspring, average number of offspring per clutch, and population measures such as net reproductive rate R₀, generation time T and intrinsic rate of increase r_m. The results showed that D. magna can survive, grow and reproduce when fed only maize materials, although the performance was poorer than when fed algae, which indicates nutritional stress. Large differences in life table and population parameters of D. magna were observed among the different maize lines. Our results suggest that confounding effects caused by nutritional stress and plant background might explain some of the conflicting results previously published on the effects of Bt crops on D. magna. Using 95% confidence intervals for the means of the five maize lines for all measured parameters of D. magna performance in our study, we captured the natural range of variation. This information is useful for the interpretation of observed differences in D. magna performance between a GE plant and its non-GE comparator as it helps judging whether observed effects are of biological relevance. If differences between a GE and comparator line are observed and their biological relevance needs to be assessed in future risk assessments of GE maize, 1) the data on natural variation of the different parameters generated by previous studies can be informative (e.g. data from our study for maize fed D. magna); 2) for additional experiments the inclusion of multiple unrelated non-GE comparators should be considered; In addition, it should be taken into account that nutritional stress can affect the outcome of the study.

Compositional equivalence assessment of insect-resistant genetically modified rice using multiple statistical analyses

The safety of transgenic Bt rice containing bacteria-derived mCry1Ac gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was assessed by conducting field trials at two locations for two consecutive years in South Korea, using the near-isogenic line comparator rice cultivar ('Ilmi', non-Bt rice) and four commercial cultivars as references. Compositional analyses included measurement of proximates, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and antinutrients. Significant differences between Bt rice and non-Bt rice were detected; however, all differences were within the reference range. The statistical analyses, including analysis of % variability, analysis of similarities (ANOISM), similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis, and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) were performed to study factors contributing to compositional variability. The multivariate analyses revealed that environmental factors more influenced rice components' variability than by genetic factors. This approach was shown to be a powerful method to provide meaningful evaluations between Bt rice and its comparators. In this study, Bt rice was proved to be compositionally equivalent to conventional rice varieties through multiple statistical methods.

Evaluation of the safety and nutritional equivalency of maize grain with genetically modified event DP-Ø23211-2

Feeding studies were conducted with rats and broiler chickens to assess the safety and nutrition of maize grain containing event DP-Ø23211-2 (DP23211), a newly developed trait-pyramid product for corn rootworm management. Diets containing 50% ground maize grain from DP23211, non-transgenic control, or non-transgenic reference hybrids (P0928, P0993, and P1105) were fed to Crl:CD®(SD) rats for 90 days. Ross 708 broilers were fed phase diets containing up to 67% maize grain from each source for 42 days. Body weight, gain, and feed conversion were determined for comparisons between animals fed DP23211 and control diets in each study. Additional measures included clinical and neurobehavioral evaluations, ophthalmology, clinical pathology, organ weights, and gross and microscopic pathology for rats, and carcass parts and select organ yields for broilers. Reference groups were included to determine if any observed significant differences between DP23211 and control groups were likely due to natural variation. No diet-related effects on mortality or evaluation measures were observed between animal fed diets produced with DP23211 maize grain and animal fed diets produced with control maize grain. These studies show that maize grain containing event DP-Ø23211-2 is as safe and nutritious as non-transgenic maize grains when fed in nutritionally adequate diets. The results are consistent with previously published studies, providing further demonstration of the absence of hazards from edible-fraction consumption of genetically modified plants.

DP-2Ø2216-6 maize does not adversely affect rats in a 90-day feeding study

Maize plants containing event DP-2Ø2216-6 (DP202216), which confers herbicide tolerance through expression of phosphinothricin acetyltransferase and enhanced grain yield potential via temporal modulation of the native ZMM28 protein, were developed for commercialization. To address current regulatory expectations, a mandatory 90-day rodent feeding study was conducted to support the safety assessment. Diets containing 50% by weight of ground maize grain from DP202216, non-transgenic control, and 3 non-transgenic reference varieties, were fully characterized, along with the grain, and diets were fed to Crl:CD®(SD) rats for at least 90 days. As anticipated, no biologically-relevant effects or toxicologically-significant differences were observed on survival, body weight/gain, food consumption/efficiency, clinical and neurobehavioral evaluations, ophthalmology, clinical pathology (hematology, coagulation, clinical chemistry, urinalysis), organ weights, or gross and microscopic pathology parameters in rats fed a diet containing up to 50% DP202216 maize grain when compared with rats fed diets containing control or reference maize grains. The results of this study support the conclusion that maize grain from plants containing event DP-2Ø2216-6 is as safe and nutritious as maize grain not containing the event and add to the significant existing database of rodent subchronic studies demonstrating the absence of hazards from consumption of edible fractions of genetically modified plants.

Agronomic and compositional assessment of genetically modified DP23211 maize for corn rootworm control

DP23211 maize was genetically modified (GM) to express DvSSJ1 double-stranded RNA and the IPD072Aa protein for control of corn rootworm (Diabrotica spp.). DP23211 maize also expresses the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) protein for tolerance to glufosinate herbicide, and the phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) protein that was used as a selectable marker. A multi-location field trial was conducted during the 2018 growing season at 12 sites selected to be representative of the major maize-growing regions of the U.S. and Canada. Standard agronomic endpoints as well as compositional analytes from grain and forage (e.g., proximates, fibers, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, anti-nutrients, secondary metabolites) were evaluated and compared to non-GM near-isoline control maize (control maize) and non-GM commercial maize (reference maize). A small number of agronomic endpoints were statistically significant compared to the control maize, but were not considered to be biologically relevant when adjusted using the false discovery rate method (FDR) or when compared to the range of natural variation established from in-study reference maize. A small number of composition analytes were statistically significant compared to the control maize. These analytes were not statistically significant when adjusted using FDR, and all analyte values fell within the range of natural variation established from in-study reference range, literature range or tolerance interval, indicating that the composition of DP23211 maize grain and forage is substantially equivalent to conventional maize represented by non-GM near-isoline control maize and non-GM commercial maize.

Composition of forage and grain from genetically modified DP202216 maize is equivalent to non-modified conventional maize (Zea mays L.)

DP202216 maize was genetically modified to increase and extend the expression of the zmm28 gene relative to native zmm28 gene expression, resulting in plants with enhanced grain yield potential. Standard nutritional and compositional parameters for maize grain and forage (e.g., proximates, fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, anti-nutrients, secondary metabolites) from DP202216 maize were compared to grain and forage from non-modified near-isoline maize (control). Three amino acids (glycine, methionine, and serine) and two vitamins (vitamin B1 and vitamin B3) were statistically different between DP202216 and control maize grain but were not statistically different when adjusted using the false discovery rate method. These analyte values also fell within the ranges of natural variation of non-modified commercial maize varieties supporting that statistical differences were not biologically relevant. The composition of grain and forage from DP202216 maize is comparable to grain and forage from non-modified maize with a history of safe use.

Stacked Genetically Engineered Trait Products Produced by Conventional Breeding Reflect the Compositional Profiles of Their Component Single Trait Products

An expanding trend for genetically engineered (GE) crops is to cultivate varieties in which two or more single trait products have been combined using conventional breeding to produce a stacked trait product that provides a useful grouping of traits. Here, we report results from compositional analysis of several GE stacked trait products from maize and soybean. The results demonstrate that these products are each compositionally equivalent to a relevant non-GE comparator variety, except for predictable shifts in the fatty acid profile in the case of stacked trait products that contain a trait, MON 87705, that confers a high-oleic-acid phenotype in soybean. In each case, the conclusion on compositional equivalence for the stacked trait product reflects the conclusions obtained for the single trait products. These results provide strong support for conducting a reassessment of those regulatory guidelines that mandate explicit characterization of stacked trait products produced through conventional breeding.

Food metabolomics: from farm to human

Metabolomics, one of the latest components in the suite of systems biology, has been used to understand the metabolism and physiology of living systems, including microorganisms, plants, animals and humans. Food metabolomics can be defined as the application of metabolomics in food systems, including food resources, food processing and diet for humans. The study of food metabolomics has increased gradually in the recent years, because food systems are directly related to nutrition and human health. This review describes the recent trends and applications of metabolomics to food systems, from farm to human, including food resource production, industrial food processing and food intake by humans.