How Monsanto and Friends Put the Frankenstein in Frankenfoods

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http://www.opednews.com/articles/How-Monsanto-and-Friends-P-by-John-Moffett-Corn_Food_Genetically-Modified-Food-GMO_Glyphosate-131031-344.html



How Monsanto and Friends Put the Frankenstein in Frankenfoods
Sci Tech 10/31/2013 at 19:10:08
By John Moffett

Frankenfoods sounds like a catchy way to cast doubts on the safety of genetically modified foods, but does the analogy with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein really apply? Let's take a look, and start with a report from 2012 where researchers at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) disclosed that unintentionally introduced viral genes were found in genetically modified plant varieties. The scientific reasons behind why unintended viral genes were introduced into genetically modified plants lend support to the concerns voiced by many around the world that this technology is not being used wisely, or for the benefit of consumers.

Genetically modified organisms (GMO), also known as transgenic organisms, are generated in the lab by introducing genes from unrelated organisms (for example bacteria or viruses) into a plant or animal in order to add a trait not normally found in that plant or animal. This new trait is conferred on the transgenic organism because genes provide the code required to synthesize a specific protein that when present, gives the organism that specific new trait. GMO technology allows humans to bypass the species barrier to transferring genes from one organism to another. However, scientists can't just put a foreign gene into a plant or animal and have it work because that new gene will not be activated or "turned on." The gene would just sit there, doing nothing. In order to mark the gene as one that should be active, the gene must be associated with a so-called promoter gene sequence that is placed at the front of the gene that is going to be inserted (known as a "transgene&quot . Think of the promoter gene as a "go" signal for making the new protein encoded by the transgene.

So the basic idea is that you can't just stick a gene, let's say a bacterial gene that provides plants with the ability to resist being killed by the herbicide Roundup, into a plant and have it work. First you need to find a powerful promoter gene sequence that will mark your transgene as very active, thus leading the plant to make many copies the bacterial protein. When you insert the gene promoter plus the transgene into your plant species you will get a plant variety that produces lots of the foreign protein and, in the case of "Roundup ready" plants, confer Roundup resistance on that new transgenic plant.

This is where the story about many GMO crop varieties gets a bit Frankenfood-ish. What the European Food Safety Authority researchers found was that Monsanto and other GMO companies have been using several versions of a virus gene promoter to get their transgenes to work in plants. The viral gene promoter comes from the cauliflower mosaic virus, a virus that infects plants such as broccoli and cauliflower. The promoter is known in the industry as P35S (the 35S gene promoter). P35S is the viral gene promoter used in 54 out of 86 transgenic plant varieties authorized in the US. The actual promoter region of the gene is relatively small, but all of the versions used in transgenic plant production in the US are larger than the required promoter region. This means that unwanted portions of the viral genome have been introduced into the plants, along with the viral promoter and transgene. The unintended portion of the gene that was inserted along with the 35S promoter is known as "Gene VI," which codes for a viral protein known as P6, and virtually all plant varieties created with this promoter could potentially contain some portions of the P6 viral protein.