Apr 23, 2006

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Biosafety research: zeaxanthin potatoes

Oil attack on trial potato field

Another field release of genetically modified potatoes has been destroyed on the Roggenstein estate near Olching in the rural district of Fürstenfeldbruck. During the night of Easter Sunday unknown perpetrators poured mineral oil onto a trial field measuring about fifty square metres. The field was part of a research project to find out what effect the cultivation of GM potatoes has on soil quality. The project is part of the biosafety research programme being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Tubers of zeaxanthin potatoes (left) have a darker, deeper yellow colour than the parent variety Baltica (right)

The GM potatoes were developed a few years ago as part of a publicly funded research project. Genetic modification of a metabolic pathway causes the carotenoid zeaxanthin to accumulate in the tubers. The genetically modified potatoes have up to 130 times the zeaxanthin concentration of conventional potatoes.

The zeaxanthin carotenoid is an essential component of the yellow spot (macula) on the retina. It is believed that an increased intake of zeaxanthin can prevent age-related macula degeneration. This condition quite often leads to blindness. Carotenoids are phytochemicals and occur in many types of vegetable. They are said to have a protective effect against degenerative diseases.

The genetically modified zeaxanthin potatoes were planted on the trial field on the Roggenstein estate in previous years. To investigate how they affect the soil quality and the following crops, the plan was to grow conventional wheat on the potato field this year. Now the soil contaminated with fuel oil will have to be removed down to a depth of thirty centimetres and evaluation will no longer be possible.

Prof. Gerhard Wenzel of the Technische Universität Munich, who leads the research project, has announced that he intends to continue with the experiments in the coming years. Release applications have been filed, but not yet approved. The project is a joint project between the Universities of Munich, Hohenheim and Graz, the Federal Biological Research Centre and the GSF National Research Centre for Environment and Health.

The trial field with zeaxanthin potatoes has already been destroyed once in 2003. At that time, the aim of the experiment was to carry out nutritional physiology studies on the harvested tubers. Later the municipality of Olching and Bund Naturschutz lodged a complaint against the experiment, but the courts allowed the experiment to continue with additional security requirements.

A few days after the trial field was destroyed for the second time, a class action with 4000 signatures was filed against the experiment being continued in 2006/07.