Genetically engineered corn

[Guest guest]

I heard on one of the Public Radio shows yesterday that a small

amount of genetically modified corn had been found growing on a

remote hillside in Mexico, even though it is illegal there. No one

knows how it got there. It was discovered by a group from UC

Berkeley that was planning to study the spread of gm corn around the

world. They didn't expect to find any in Mexico for a few more years.

[Guest guest]

Here's some more info on this subject:

 

USA: Scientists find GM material in native Mexican corn

29 Nov 2001

Source: Reuters

 

By Patricia Reaney

 

Scientists in the United States, confirming fears of environmentalists, said

on Wednesday wild maize grown in a remote area of Mexico had been

contaminated by genetically modified corn.

 

Opponents of GM technology have argued that crops genetically modified by

the addition or removal of genes or a change in their genetic structure to

help them resist pests or the weather could threaten the environment.

 

Ignacio Chapela and David Quist of the University of California Berkeley

have found traces of transgenic DNA in native corn, or criollo, from the

remote region of Sierra Norte de Oaxaca in Mexico.

 

Their findings, which were confirmed and announced by Mexican scientists in

October, are reported in detail for the first time in the science journal

Nature.

 

" This is very serious because the regions where our samples were taken are

known for their diverse varieties of native corn, which is something that

absolutely needs to be protected, " said Chapela, assistant professor of

microbiology at the university.

 

Environmentalists called for an immediate global moratorium on growing GM

crops and said the research raised concerns about contamination from GM

crops in other countries.

 

" These findings are deeply disturbing and highlight the huge gamble the

biotech industry is taking with nature, " said Pete Riley of the

environmental group Friends of the Earth.

 

" To my knowledge this is the first time anyone has found transgenic material

in wild plants, " he told Reuters.

 

 

MORE RESEARCH NEEDED

 

But Phil Mullineaux, a scientist at Britain's top plant research laboratory,

the John Innis Institute, was less concerned.

 

" It is a very interesting observation, " he said, adding it raised questions

and more research was needed.

 

The Berkeley scientists found evidence of p-35S, a promotoer for the

cauliflower mosaic virus which is used in nearly all commercial GM crops, in

the criollo.

 

No signs of transgenic DNA were found in Peruvian maize or in samples from

Mexican maize taken before the advent of transgenic crops.

 

" I repeated the tests at least three times to make sure I wasn't getting

false positives, " said Quist. " It was initially hard to believe that corn in

such a remote region would have tested positive. "

 

The scientists are not sure how the plants were contaminated because

agricultural experts believe corn pollen is too heavy to be blown by the

wind.

 

Mexico banned planting transgenic maize in 1998 but it is still imported

from the United States. The closest area with GM corn to the contaminated

crop is 60 miles (100 km) away. The scientists said the contamination could

have occurred before the moratorium.

 

" Whatever the source, it's clear that genes are somehow moving from

bioengineered corn to native corn, " said Chapela.

 

Riley called for a thorough investigation of how the contamination took

place so it can be stopped.

 

 

© Reuters 2001. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of

Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is

expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters

and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the

Reuters group of companies around the world.

 

-

<kmeldrum

 

Thursday, November 29, 2001 12:51 PM

Genetically engineered corn

 

 

> I heard on one of the Public Radio shows yesterday that a small

> amount of genetically modified corn had been found growing on a

> remote hillside in Mexico, even though it is illegal there. No one

> knows how it got there. It was discovered by a group from UC

> Berkeley that was planning to study the spread of gm corn around the

> world. They didn't expect to find any in Mexico for a few more years.

>

>

>

> ----------------------------

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