BiotechTutorial

6- Biosafety to the
Environment

Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza, PhD

Member, National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines
Professor Emeritus, Institute of Plant Breeding, Crop Science Cluster,
College of Agriculture University of the Philippines Los Baños

Copyright EMTecsonMendoza 2004-2013

Introduction to the term
biosafety

Defined as the assessment of the

impact and safety of products of
modern biotechnology and the
development of policies and
procedures to ensure this.
 Issues and concerns
Risks that are inherent to technology
Risk assessment addresses the following:
• Biosafety to environment
– Effect on nontarget organisms
– Possible development of weedy relatives
– Possible development of resistant pests
– Persistence in the environment
– Possible effects on biodiversity
• Food/Feed Safety
– Possible introduction of allergens and anti-
nutritional factors
 Does Bt corn affect nontarget organisms?
“Corn line MON 80100 is not likely to pose a greater
plant pest risk than non-modified corn”
Conclusion based on evaluation of phenotypic characteristics. Safety
of inserted protein and lack of any deleterious environmental effects.

Organism No Effect Level

larvae honey bee ≥ 20 ppm Similar

adult honey bee ≥ 20 ppm
results in
green lacewing larvae ≥ 16.7 ppm
parasitic hymenoptera ≥ 20 ppm the
Ladybird beetle ≥ 20 ppm Philippines
earthworms ≥ 200 mg/kg dry soil
Collembola 50.6 µg/g leaf tissue
Daphnia magna ≥ 100 mg pollen/liter
(From Sanders et al, 1998)
Does Bt corn
affect nontarget
organisms?

Local data show

High specificity of Bt protein to control
ACD

Beneficial arthropods not affected
 Green lacewings, spiders, coccinelid
beetles, wasps
(Fernandez and Logroño, 2000
Other reports, Monsanto Philippines)
•Bt protein in Bt corn is toxic specifically to
Lepidoptera

Dead larva on
Bt corn

spider
Live larva on
sweet corn
Lady bug
 Insect
diversity in Bt
and non Bt
corn fields is
generally the
same
Reyes S, 2004
Reyes S, 2004
Does GM corn kill Monarch
butterflies?

Yes, in the laboratory!

Not much Bt corn pollen falls on the
milkweeds (food of the Monarch
butterflies) in the fields! Many studies
have shown this---

On the contrary, more non-target
insects abound in fields of GM crops
because of non-usage of pesticides
 Can GM plants become
superweeds?
Can GM plants cross with wild relatives and
produce potential weed?
• Need to know if wild relatives abound in area where
transgenics are to be planted
•For crops which have been found to cross with
weedy relatives, additional tests are required
•In general, even if outcrossing occurs, the resulting
weed is not expected to persist in the field
•field tests needed to get answers
 Can Bt corn become a potential
weed?

In the Philippines,
there are no wild
relatives of corn

Corn cannot cross
with its oriental
relative, Coix laychryma, under field
conditions.

Even in the Americas where corn comes from,and
where wild populations exist, interbreeding of corn
with the wild relatives has not posed any
important agricultural problem
Has resistance in insect population been observed?

Bt cotton Dr. Bruce Tabashnik, Univ

of Arizona
•Monitored Bt cotton fields
in Arizona for three years
•cotton is self-pollinated,
spread of Bt gene is of less
concern
•75% decrease in use of
chemical pesticides
•no resistance to Bt in the
pink bollworm population
seen after 3 years
Has resistance in insect population been observed?

Bt corn

Registration renewed for

another 7 years by EPA

Safety to environment and
human/animal similar as nonGM corn

No resistance in corn borer population

Integrated pest management to manage

risks!
 Is the Bt protein in Bt corn persistent?
Degradation in soil
DT50 DT90
Cry1 Ab protein 1.6 days 15
days
(in corn plant tissue)
Cry1 Ab protein similar
(in cotton plant tissue)
microbial Bt products* 4 - 41 days*

DT50, time to 50% reduction of bioactivity

DT90, time to 90% reduction of bioactivity
*depending on soil composition and type of Bt protein
Are GM plants persistent?
• Ten-year study of performance of
GM crops in natural habitats
• four crops (oilseed rape, potato,
maize and sugar beets; herbicide
tolerance and pest resistance )
• no increase in abundance at any site for the
crops, GM or non GM
• survival of GM lines not significantly longer
than conventional
• in no case were the GM plants found to be
more invasive or persistent than their
conventional counterparts
Crawley et al, Nature 409:682-683 (2001)
 Can Bt corn cross pollinate nonGM
corn plants?

Yes, but this can be managed.

Corn has limited pollination period of about 5-
10 days

Pollen viability is at most 60 min and is affected
by weather especially high temperature

Cross pollination declines exponentially with
distance, 1% at 33.3 m from release point and
0.03% at 53.3 m.

Manage by spatial and time difference in

planting
UK Farm Evaluations- compared biodiversity
associated with GMHT crops and their non-GM
equivalents, 3 years, 25 crops per year:
Generalised statements about environmental risks
from GMOs are worthless and have no place in
regulation

The UK experience shows that each crop has

different characteristics and carries different
potential risks

Risks from GM crops are sometimes different from

conventional crops, but not necessarily higher

Case-by-assessments are always necessary, but why

not for all novel crops? B. Johnson, 2005
 Benefits: contributing to food security,
sustainability, environment 1996-
1996-2011

Conserved biodiversity by saving 108.7 million

hectares of land;

Helped alleviate poverty for >15 million small
farmers and their families or about >50 million
people.

ISAAA, 2013
http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/44
/toptenfacts/default.asp
Bt cotton in China, 1990-
1990-2010
36 sites in six provinces of northern China,

marked increase in abundance of three types of
generalist arthropod predators (ladybirds,
lacewings and spiders)

decreased abundance of aphid pests associated
with widespread adoption of Bt cotton and
reduced insecticide sprays in this crop.

evidence that the predators provide additional
biocontrol services spilling over from Bt cotton
fields onto neighboring crops (maize, peanut and
soybean).
Lu et al., Nature 2012
Use of Bt corn in the US

In 2009, Bt maize planted on >22.2 million hectares,
about 63% of the U.S. crop.

Cumulative benefits over 14 years―$3.2 billion for
maize growers in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin,
with more than $2.4 billion of this total accruing to
non-Bt maize growers.

for Iowa and Nebraska ― $3.6 billion in total, with
$1.9 billion for non-Bt maize growers.

Hutchison et al (2010) Areawide Suppression of European Corn Borer with Bt Maize Reaps Savings to
Non-Bt Maize Growers, Science 220 pp 222-225.
For both China and US

Pest population was suppressed

Highlight economic incentives for growers

to maintain non-Bt maize refugia for
sustainable insect resistance management

demonstrates that such Bt crops can

promote biocontrol services in agricultural
landscapes.
Summary of biosafety data for
commercial GM crops:
• No resistance to Bt in the pink bollworm
population seen after 3 years (Arizona)

No resistance in corn borer population; Safety
to environment and human/animal health of
Bt corn similar to non-GM corn

In no case were the GM plants found to be
more invasive or persistent than their
conventional counterparts (Crawley et al, Nature
409:682-683 (2001)