GMO Safety - Sience live - Reports on biological safety research

Bt maize and butterflies and moths

Feeding experiments are being conducted on caterpillars at RWTH Aachen University. Mechthild Schuppener is interested in finding out whether genetically modified Bt maize is harmful to butterflies. A report on hungry caterpillars, pollen traps and a successful butterfly-breeding programme.

Bt maize: Pollen diet for caterpillars
SiFo project: Effects of Bt maize containing three Bt proteins on butterflies and moths, RWTH Aachen University (2008-2011)

Bt-maize: Bee trials

Gauze-covered tents, distributed over the whole maize test area, represent the restricted habitat for the bees during the maize flowering season, each with two bee colonies. This flowering season is the crucial time for the bee trials of Stephan Härtel and his co-workers from the University of Bayreuth, since only then can the bees gather the maize pollen.

"Bioplastic potatoes": modified characteristics?

Genetically modified potatoes which could provide the raw material for a biodegradable plastic are growing on a release site belonging to the University of Rostock. Overwintering trials will be conducted on the potato tubers this winter and their rotting behaviour will be observed.

Cyanophycin potatoes: Will new plant substance lead to changes in potato characteristics?

Research: Gene transfer in plastids

Plastids are small units in the plant cell that have their own DNA. If plastids are genetically modified, the modified genetic information is not found in the pollen and therefore cannot be spread in this way. A report on enslaved bacteria, gene guns and plants that produce vaccines.

Video clip: Harvest in the trial field

October 2008: The maize in the trial field is ready to be harvested. The entire plant will be threshed and ensiled. However, not all investigations are completed at the time of harvest.

Comparing different varieties

New approaches to apple breeding

In Dresden Pillnitz genetic engineering is being used to encourage apple plants to flower earlier. This could speed up the conventional breeding process and the resulting plants and fruit would be‘GM-free’.

"It works just like traditional apple breeding, but it's quicker." Interview with Henryk Flachowsky (JKI)

Video Clip: Trial field of the maize flower

August 2008: Blossoming maize. It is peak season on the field for scientists: floor traps are emptied, sticky traps are exchanged, insects are shaken out of the blossoms and cought in a landing net.

Comparing different varieties

New trial field with Bt maize

A plot design is set up on the field. Once a start has been made, the work quickly becomes routine – measuring and marking, putting in stakes and drawing strings taught. Then the sowing begins.

Made to measure: Preparing the trial field

Does Bt maize contaminate the soil?

Genetically modified Bt maize produces an insecticide substance called Bt toxin. How much of this enters the soil? And could it be harmful to soil-dwelling organisms? GMO Safety spoke to Christoph Tebbe from the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL)

Bt maize and soil: Hot on the trail of transgenic molecules.
Film interview with Christoph Tebbe (FAL) in german language

Field trial with ground beetles

What distances do ground beetles cover in the maize field? To find this out, beetles caught in pit traps are marked with nail polish in accordance with a special system and then released again.

Colour code for beetles

Bt effect or natural variation?

The numbers of certain insects and other small creatures found in the maize field depend on many different factors. How can one differentiate between natural variations and possible effects caused by genetic modification? GMO Safety spoke to Stefan Rauschen of RWTH Aachen University.

"We can clearly show varietal differences" Interview with Stefan Rauschen of RWTH Aachen University

Apple breeding research: Gene silencing

A genetically modified rootstock is supposed to modify the characteristics of grafted apple plants. Whether this works is something being tested by scientists at the Institute of Fruit Breeding in Dresden-Pillnitz.
Film in German language: Genetic transformation with Agrobacteria

Pictures from the maize trial field

Emptying pit traps quickly before the next rainfall and using nets to catch insects in the herbaceous layer and in the flowers. The summer is unsettled and the yield low. But the maize is flourishing.

Grapevine research

Grapevine research requires a lot of patience. A report on the detailed work involved in developing a method. A discussion about the limits of classic breeding and the ‘emotional product’ that is wine.

Migrating larvae

The larvae of the Western corn rootworm eat other plants apart from maize. Could this encourage the development of resistance to Bt maize? A report on migrating larvae, pest quarantine and semi-field conditions in containers.

Summer 2006: Maize in heat stress

Prolonged heat and drought have affected the maize plants. A report on drought stress, stress-induced ripening and varietal differences.

Zeaxanthin potatoes and soil life

In each gram of soil there are around ten thousand different species. Does the species composition and activity change when genetically modified potatoes are cultivated that produce more zeaxanthin (a substance that can protect against age-related blindness) in their tubers?

Fungal resistance in cereals

A newly introduced gene makes cereals better able to fight off fungal infections. But what effect does it have on beneficial fungi? GMO Safety spoke to Karl-Heinz Kogel of the University of Giessen about genetic engineering strategies in cereals and about his project with genetically modified barley.

Sciarid fly larvae and Bt maize

Does Bt maize impair the development of sciarid fly larvae? Researchers at the Federal Biological Research Centre (BBA) have investigated this question. GMO Safety spoke to project leader Wolfgang Büchs.