Category: Scientific debate

Papaya and the Use of Genetic Viral Protection

    The Papaya plant may seem exotic to most mainlanders, but it is actually a very important fruit grown in the islands of Hawaii. While a large part of agricultural life on the island, Hawaiians faced a growing threat to their livelihood in the form of a devastating virus known as Papaya Ringspot Virus. Gmocompass describes the effects of prv in its article “Papayas” as stunting to the trees, causing them to take on an unhealthy, naked look as they are shorter than regular papaya trees and have less leaves covering their tops (2016).

       The process undertaken to protect the papaya trees is highly reminiscent of the way immunities are developed in humans through vaccinations. The article describes how certain types of viral proteins are inserted into the genes of the papayas which causes the papaya to fight back and develop a more powerful immune response to the viruses of that type. This results in the papaya plants getting total protection from the papaya ringspot virus, as they are better equipped to fight off the affliction with their genes. This development has allowed cultivators in Hawaii to plant the gm papayas in widespread locations and have them thrive even while prv is running rampant around their crops. There are actually pictures of natural and modified papaya trees planted parallel to each other, showing how the prv in the area is devastating the natural trees, while the modified papaya trees are as strong and healthy as if there were no viruses around whatsoever.

     The modified papayas first appeared in 1999 but have over time become the dominant form of papaya grown in Hawaii. The total cultivated space covers 3/4ths the entire papaya crop area with little sign of the adoption rates changing. As far as world acceptance, there is growing research and development into the process used to combat the papaya ringspot virus by other Asian countries who want to alter the crop themselves to combat the viral strains it would face being grown in their local areas. Both the United States and Canada have approved the consumption of GM papaya in their territories and serve as the largest customers of the crop.

      Meanwhile, the European Union has not approved the consumption or import of gm papaya, and because there have been no proposals to the EU for approval, it may be a while before their status gets reviewed. For now, it is illegal to import and market the modified papayas in any of the member states of the EU.

     While many genetic modifications of plants tend to increase resistance to herbicide and pesticide use, and maintain the aesthetic appeal of the crop by eliminating brown spots from bruising and cutting, the modification of papayas presents a unique appeal of modification that cannot as of yet be managed by anything else. There are no pills or medicines that can be given to plants that are already sick, and so genetic modifications of the plant so as to provide it a defense against debilitating pathogens have proved to be one of the best ways to preserve yields and growth of successful fields. However, for many people the dangers of genetic modification still outweighs the benefits of it, and even the rarity of overcoming the problem through other means still doesn’t provide enough of a justification to promote the acceptance and use of gm plants. For the papaya there are hopeful signs with the widespread adoption already seen in North America, but the approval of the EU on using the crop will be integral to seeing a more widespread acceptance of what the technology offers.

Source: Gmocompass. (2016). Papayas. Gmo-compass. 

Production of GMO Roundup Ready Soy plants

    There is a broad range of methods that are employed in the process of producing GMOs. This often involves insertion of a gene of interest into living organisms depending on the species that you are working on. In plants mainly, two most common biotechnology-based techniques include; Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and bombardment of particles. According to the regulations given by FSANZ, it is a requirement that clear description of the method employed in genetically engineering plants is given.

Case study- Roundup Ready soy

    This was produced using the particle bombardment method. This process of biotechnologically engineering soybeans involved; bombardment of the plant cells with microscopic particles of gold coated with DNA that contains the gene of interest. The gene of interest is the EPSPS gene that is derived from Agrobacterium. The aim of this is to introduce the novel gene of interest through the cell wall so that it integrates into the genetic material of the soy plant.

    The new round up soy that is genetically engineered contains a new gene that codes for the EPSPS enzyme. The new plant cell controls the activity of all the genes through the use of regulatory sequences. These regulatory sequences do not code for any protein but rather plays a central role in the regulation of gene activity in the soy plant by either switching the genes on or switching them off. However, in the case of the roundup soy, plant cells often do not recognize the regulatory genes derived from bacterial cells. This means that when the regulatory sequences are introduced from the bacterium into the plant, the regulatory DNA has to be replaced with those that can be recognized by the plant. Thus, the EPSPS gene derived from Agrobacterium works in the soy plant through replacement with those that are recognized by the soy plant.

    The figure above demonstrates the manner in which gene regulation takes place in the roundup soy. At the front of the bacterial EPSPS gene in the roundup, soy is the regulatory sequence that directs the plant to switch genes on or off. This is the CaMV 35S promoter sequence is derived from cauliflower mosaic virus. At the end of the EPSPS gene is another regulatory gene that directs the gene of interest to end. This is referred to as NOS 3’’ and is derived from nopaline synthase gene in bacteria but can function in plants. 

    Another regulatory sequence that is introduced into the soy plant is the chloroplast transit peptide gene that is derived from a petunia. The role of this gene is to direct the soy plant cell to transport the bacterial EPSPS gene into the chloroplast of the plant cell. This is because for the soy plant to demonstrate tolerance to roundup herbicides, the EPSPS enzyme has to be present in the chloroplast. This is because this is the location where the amino acids that make up the protein are produced. Once the EPSPS enzyme is in the chloroplast, the chloroplast transit peptide is eliminated for the gene of interest to function.

    With this GMO soy plant, standard molecular biotechnological methods were employed in demonstrating that a single complete copy of the bacterial EPSPS gene was present and flanked by two DNA sequences found in the genome of the roundup ready soy plant. This is an indication that the right size and correct sequence of the gene of interest were genetically engineered into the soy plant to confer resistance to herbicides.

    Additionally, the novel gene introduced into the roundup ready soy was assessed in the third and the sixth generation of soy plants using biotechnological approaches. This indicated that the new gene of interest was stable and had integrated itself well into the Soy genome. Again, the roundup ready feature of the soy plant was examined across a wide range of generations thus indicating its ability to be passed on from the parents to the offspring in a rational and predictable manner following the laws of heredity.

    The issues that arise from the discovery and production of the GM roundup ready soy are mostly relevant to the potential transfer of the gene that confers antibiotic resistance from the GM soy foods to the gut of the bacteria. However, it is important to note that roundup ready GM soy does not contain the antibiotic resistance gene, but the only gene that could potentially be transferred to the human digestive system is the bacterial EPSPS gene. This gene does not have any impact on the people’s health since EPSPS gene in the GM soy plant functions in a similar manner as the one predominantly found in the bacterial gut. There is also no evidence that points at the ability of the new gene in GM soy having a potential to integrate into the DNA genome of humans and thus poses no known health hazard. Additionally, there is no sequence similarity to the gene to allergens and thus has no ability to cause allergenic reactions.

    The genetically engineered soy is similar in structure as well as function to the naturally occurring soy plants while the EPSPS gene in plants and bacteria are also similar regarding the roles they play. However, the difference between the two soy varieties is based on the fact that the GM soy is more tolerant to herbicides as compared to the other naturally occurring type. According to scientific publications of GM soy, there is a single amino acid alteration in the EPSPS enzyme that confers its tolerance to glyphosate. On the other hand, the bacterial EPSPS enzyme is made up of over 400 amino acids. Additionally, bacterial EPSPS levels present in fresh edible soy constitutes less than 0.1 % of the total protein levels. According to research, the enzyme of interest in the GM soy has not been demonstrated to have any activity when eaten. This is because the enzyme is inactivated upon exposure to heat during food processing.

Genetically modified plants

    The aspect of genetic engineering is not something new. For a century now, farmers have depended on selective breeding techniques and cross-fertilization to alter plants and animals to give rise to particular traits that are deemed desirable. This is aimed at improvement of food production as well as human health hence creating a food secure and disease free planet. In this case, the use of biotechnology is central to achieving these goals both in the agricultural and medical system. The use of these biotechnological techniques in agriculture includes bio-fertilization; marker assisted breeding, tissue culture as well as transgenic.

    For instance, scientists have been able to utilise the traditional fermentation methods in the process of transforming grains into bread and beer; and milk to form cheese thereby contributing to food security and alleviation of poverty. Transgenic applications, on the other hand, involve the process of modifying the genetic makeup of one organism by introducing a gene of interest from another organism. This technique has been widely exploited in the modification of a wide range of plants, animals, and micro-organisms. The products of these genetically engineered plants are used as vaccines, drugs, foods, food additives, among other purposes. The biotechnological modification of these plants may be beneficial in molecular diagnostics, drug delivery approaches, and bioinformatics among other techniques beneficial to humans. Additionally, this can be used as a way of bioremediation of the surrounding environment.

GM Crops

Bt Cotton

    Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacterial toxin naturally occurring in the soil. This gene has been isolated for production of the bacterium that in turn is used for genetic modification of cotton and maize. The main reason for this kind of change is to increase their resistance to pests. Since 1997, farmers in South Africa have relied on cotton growing for their upkeep. However, since the introduction of the Bt cotton that showed pest resistance traits, over 70 % of the farmers were growing Bt cotton by the end of 2003. This led to a yield increase of over 20 % while limiting the amount of chemicals used in the control of pests.

Potatoes

    Many poor communities in developing countries cannot afford vaccines and even the local clinics in remote areas do not have the infrastructure for the appropriate storage of the vaccines. This poses a significant challenge to safeguarding the health of millions of children and adults across the globe. Scientists have exploited potatoes for the development of edible cholera vaccines against the deadly cholera disease causing severe diarrhea in patients. Part of the cholera bacterium can be recognized by the human immune system and thus could be used for development of vaccines. This gene was transferred from the bacterium and engineered into potatoes so that it is consumed as a vaccine.

    However, the primary challenge is the fact that people do not consume raw potatoes. The hope thus has been that even in cooked potatoes, the vaccine is still active and thus upon consumption, the vaccine triggered the immune system to produce antibodies against them and thus offering protection against cholera infections. This is cost effective, less labor involved and the fact that the delivery system of the vaccine into the body is not invasive.

Rice

    Research has been done in the creation of genetically modified rice with high levels of beta-carotene. This was an inspiration from the bright yellow daffodil and the mechanism it employs in the production of beta-carotene. There was evidence that rice has the molecules that are required for manufacture of bête-carotene but does not have the enzyme that rearranges in the kernels. Can rice be engineered with this gene to make it work? Researchers managed to insert the genes into two Agro-bacteriums. The bacteria were then infected on the rice, and soon Golden rice was produced carrying the three genes. Selection of the golden rice was quite easy because the rice kernels had a golden glow thus providing sufficient Vitamin A for a human health.

    Another rice project focused on improving the efficiency of CO2 to boost its productivity. This involved relying on the photosynthetic pathway of rice. The gene derived from corn was transferred into rice for the CO2 pump protein synthesis. This led to the faster growth rate of rice and over 35 % lusher grain production due to efficient utilization of CO2. This technique can also be used in the future on such plants as potatoes, wheat, and oats among other cereals that have poor CO2 efficiency.

Maize

    Years ago, farmers discovered the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) infected and killed the caterpillars that often destroyed their crops. This bacterium produces a protein that is not harmful until it transforms in the stomach of the caterpillars due to protein lock action. Scientists, therefore, came up with a way of inserting the gene that codes for the BT protein into crops such as maize to prevent destruction by caterpillars. The gene codes for the protein in the leaves of the plant and hen the caterpillars feed on the leaves, they die. This is a pesticide-resistance strategy thus protecting crops from pest destruction. This approach gave rise to GM maize resistant to parasites and thus ensuring food security in different parts of the world.

    Many people believe that GM plants are quite unnatural and thus the reason for the heated disputes and debates across the media houses around the globe. However, there are some that believe that the most promising approach is through sustainable organic farming rather than the gene revolution technological approaches. The aspect of genetic engineering of plants has paved the way for improved nutrition content of foods, improved resistance to pests by crops as well as drought resistance, It is, therefore, important that we all stop debating and tap into the DNA language of genes. This is by only learning the most beneficial ways of practicing plant genomics to catalog all genes that possess desirable traits while eliminating harmful genes. The results of which is promising in leading to the production of safe foods for human consumption, food security and poverty eradication.

GMO plants and the impact on the environment

    Agricultural activities have in the past and even presently attributed to causing some effects on the environment. This can only mean that the genetically modified plants derived from biotechnological processes and research have the potential impact on the environment too. The effects of these GM plants can either be beneficial or destructive. This is by either accelerating the damaging effect of agriculture on the environment or improving the sustainability of agricultural practices for better environmental conservation. The evaluation of the environmental impact of GMO plants and the application of the novel technologies on the environment can only be done through comparison to those effects brought about by present practices.

    However, it is important to note that these GMO plants have adverse environmental effects because of the large scale growth and as a result, the human health is also jeopardized. The following are concerns that arise concerning the impact of GM plants on the environment;

    GM plants may have the ability to sexually hybridize with the non-GM plants through the transfer of their pollen grains. Additionally, GM plants may have the potential of becoming invasive weeds. Finally, the condition that is required for the growth of GM plants may pose a significant threat to the local wildlife population.

Researches revolving around GM plants and the environment

Gene transfers through seed dispersal

    Based on a study that was revealed to the public in 2001, there was substantial evidence pointing at the transfer of GM genes from GMO maize through cross-pollination with the wild type maize in Mexico thus causing a cross contamination of the local wild type. The validity of this particular study was highly disputed because the research that followed were not able to demonstrate the spread of the transgene and its presence in the wild maize. There are recent reports that GM herbicide-resistant is creeping bentgrass scientifically referred to as Agrostis stolonifera L. around the US region of Oregon was spotted growing outside its designated area. The postulation drawn from this was that its occurrence in other areas is due to effects of dispersal of pollen grains that crossed sexually with the wild plants and thus GM plants seed dispersal.

    Additionally, a study that was published back in 1999 raised the concern after genetically modified maize was found expressing insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. This insecticidal Bt toxin was shown to have harmful effects on the larval stage of the Monarch butterfly. This was postulated that the larval stage of the butterfly depended on milkweed as its staple food, and it dusted itself with pollen from Bt maize. As a result, they ate less, had a slow growth rate and were susceptible to the high rate of mortality. Since then, a wide range of researches and discoveries have focused on the probability of the larval stage of the Monarch butterfly to get exposed to large quantities of Bt maize pollen and thus its ability to elicit a toxigenic response.

Effect of wildlife population

    Based on a four-year program research, there was evidence published concerning the effect of management practices that were associated with GMO herbicide tolerance on the wildlife as compared to conventional methods employed in controlling weeds. According to the study, three out of four of the crops tested led to a significant decline in the level of wildlife in GM fields compared to those in the non-GM field. However, this was quite opposite in the case of GM maize which the researches stated that the variation may have been due to different herbicidal regimes and not because of genetic engineering. This study paved the way for a government-funded platform that evaluates the impacts of GM plants and its hazardous impact on the environment. Despite this evidence, the government of the UK has permitted the commercial planting of GM maize that is resistant to herbicides.

Gene flows in the environment

    A wide range of strategies has been proposed to curb the movement of genes from GM plants to a wide variety of environmental entities. This is because of the particular concern of protein expression designed for utilization in the pharmaceutical industry. This gave rise to the discovery of strategies geared towards preventing the occurrence of this namely; physical isolation and genetic containment. Physical isolation involves breeding of the plant in isolation in isolated areas whether large or small-scale. Containment method involves the growth of the plants in contained greenhouse environmental conditions or other designated areas that are free from weeds and other food crops. Additionally, areas, where the GM plants have been previously grown, is supposed to be allowed to lie fallow to ensure no seed remains can grow in the next planting cycle.

     The employment of the genetic containment method is achieved through biotechnological means. This is through existing sterility and incompatibility strategies that ensure that pollen grains are not transferred. Additionally, this involves the use of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies that are aimed an interfering with seed fertility and seed formation. Another strategy discovery from these GM plants is the transfer of foreign genes into the genome of the chloroplast, and this is based on the fact that chloroplasts are inherited maternally and are not present in pollen grains.

    Another research is that in Canada based on two varieties of GM rapeseed. One is designed to have high levels of erucic acid while the other aims to have low levels of erucic acid. This acid is extracted from the high producing variety for use as a lubricant in industries. However, this variety is particularly harmful for human consumption. The low erucic acid producing variety is typically used in large scale production of canola cooking oil. Because of their differences, farmers in Canada have made it a routine to separate the two during growth and processing.

    In the future, other impacts of the GM plants in the environment may potentially emerge from biotechnological and scientific developments designed to alter plants with complex traits controlled by a large number of genes. This may have the benefit of extending marginal land or otherwise cause destruction to the fragile environment. For instance, drought tolerant maize may increase the supply of water-retention especially in semi-arid regions across the globe. This means that the threats and benefits of GM plants require a case-by-case assessment of the impact it has on the environment across different agro-ecological zones.

Genetically modified plants and its impact on the human health

    Genetically modified plants have attracted a wide range of attention from the media in the past and still continue to do so even today. Despite all the media coverage concerning the GM Plants and their impacts on the human health, very few people know what GM plants are and what contribution biotechnology has to offer on the full range of applications of the plants and their products. Since the introduction of the first GM plant, there has been the emergence of two main areas of interest namely; the risk of the GM plants to the environment and the risk on human health. Despite the fact that there have been campaigns to sensitize the general public on what GM plants are, most of the information that is published are quite unreliable and does not state the real facts and scientific evidence of the GM plants.

    This article will, therefore, examine the manner in which GM plants directly impacts the human health. This is regarding nutrition and advancement of the recombinant medicine production. This form of discovery is exciting in ensuring that the people’s health is advanced through vaccine production, monoclonal antibodies.   

GM plants food applications

    Globally, there is a total of 850 million that are undernourished and a surviving on a small ration of calories per day. This translates to approximately 1.3 million people living below the poverty line of spending $1/day. Most of these people are often rural smallholder farmers that occupy rural regions in developing countries who rely almost entirely on agriculture for upkeep. GM plant technologies are one of the approaches that have been developed to take care of these problems by increasing the yield and the nutritional content of the plants.

Nutritional content

    In developing countries where people often depend on one food as their staple source of energy, the nutritional content is one of the major areas of focus for biotechnological advancement to alleviate some of the issues associated with plant engineering. This is to ensure that the GM plants can express more products to prevent the problem of malnutrition. An excellent discovery example of the GM plants is “The Golden Rice Project”.

    Vitamin A deficiency is a problem that is of global health concern and is estimated to account for over two million deaths in children, especially in developing countries. Additionally, it is this deficiency that is the main reason for blindness among surviving children. Human beings can synthesize Vitamin A from its precursor called β –carotene commonly found in many plants and not cereals. The strategic discovery of the Golden Rice project was based on the targeted introduction of correct steps of metabolism in the endosperm of rice that would permit synthesis of β-carotene. Ye et al. (2000) engineered rice thus giving rise to rice with moderate levels of β-carotene thus paving the way for increased yields of vitamin A. This is estimated that 70 g of dry GM rice produces 50 % of the RDA of Vitamin A for a child aged between 1-3 years.  This serves as a brilliant example of a health solution offered through plant biotechnology.

Increasing food production

    The yield of crops across the globe is often affected by a wide range of factors that includes pathogens, parasites as well as insects. There are two brilliant examples of discoveries of commercial GM plants that are resistant to insects by expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene and GM papaya that is resistant to viruses. The primary cause of plant loss across the globe is abiotic stress, salinity, drought and unfavorable temperatures. Despite the fact that a wide range of abiotic stress tolerant GM plants has been produced, the research is still at the laboratory level. A good example of this is the GM maize that expresses a protein that plays a central role in oxidative signal cascade responsible for tolerating extreme conditions of cold, heat and salinity.

Are GM plants safe for human consumption?

    There is evidence that demonstrates that GM plants are not safe for human consumption because of the potential toxins present in them. In 1999, a study showed that GM potatoes expressing a gene coding lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin were significantly affected in the sense that they caused damage to the gut mucosa. 

    The question that most people ask is whether there is any priori reason to believe that GM plants are harmful to humans upon consumption. Many of the reasons often point at the presence of foreign DNA sequence in the food. However, this does not have any intrinsic impact on the human health. What is of most concern is the possibility that protein produced by the GM plant may be toxic and is absorbed into the human system. Potential Allergenicity of the GM plant on consumption poses a great challenge to people’s health such as soft-fleshed fruits, soy among other foods. This is because there is a possibility of protein-protein interaction between the allergenic gene introduced into the plant and the allergenic protein already existing in the plant thus giving rise to novel allergens or altering the expression of proteins by the plant, thus contributing to the toxicity of the plant. Two examples of this include.

    A project that was geared towards the production of GM peas through the addition of protein derived from beans. This protein conferred resistance to weevils and in addition to this, the consumption of GM peas led to lung allergies among mice. Another project is that of GM soybeans that involved the expression of Brazil nut protein that caused allergies when consumed by humans.

Non-food discovery of GM plants

    The use of GM plants has been a great platform for the production of pharmaceutical products. For instance, GM plants have been used to produce multimeric antibodies. These antibodies have been shown to play a central role in the treatment of topical, mucosal infections. Currently, there is the production of Hepatitis B vaccine using GM yeast.

    Based on the findings discussed in this article, it is evident that GM plants play a central role in contributing positively to the human health through nutrition and drug production. However, the major challenge is the exorbitant cost of the product that makes it less affordable by the poor in developing countries. Additionally, the production of GM plants requires a wide space to increase production to meet the growing demand for the products across the globe.

The safety of genetically modified plants produced through use of biotechnology

    The safety of genetically modified plants has been at the forefront of many scientific debates trying to ascertain the safety of the plants and its produce to human and animal health upon consumption. This is where the Society of Toxicology comes into play to ensure that they offer maximum protection and enhancement of the human, animal as well as environmental health. This is achieved through the sound application of biotechnological processes in production. Typically, in this context, biotechnology refers to the processes that involve the transfer of transgenes from organisms to plants hence food production. This may also apply to the expression of individual existing genes s modified permanently by employing genetic engineering techniques. Therefore, it is important for you to realize that it is not the method of modification of plants that is the concern of human and environmental safety but rather the product.

    In this article, the question we will try to answer is whether the product of the transgene is capable of presenting a risk to both the consumers and the handlers of genetically modified plants. This means that the potential toxicity of the transgene plant product has to be considered by case-by-case design. This means that taking into consideration the possibility that the transgene produces toxins that are known such as protein allergens.

Toxin production

    The level of toxins that are produced by the genetically modified plants and the threat it possesses to the producers and the consumers is often the focus of interest of toxicologist. This is through the use of standard toxicological approaches such as the evaluation of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) endotoxins as described by US EPA in 2001. The safety of these plants is therefore determined by their digestibility and absence of intrinsic activity in the mammalian systems. In this case, therefore, in-depth comprehension of the mechanism of action of the Bt toxin and the selective pressure that takes place in their biochemical systems increases the surety of safety assessments. However, each transgenic novel product of plants has to be considered individually. This is based on the levels of exposure, potency in causing toxic effects among other safety paradigms.

Allergen production

    Allergenicity is one of the major safety concerns of consuming foods derived from transgenic plants. In as much as we are raising eyebrows on the safety of GM plants and their products, consumption of conventional foods is not equally safe. This is because the occurrence of allergies has been reported with conventional foods. However, some of the issues that have to be addressed with a high level of stringency are the potential Allergenicity associated with genetically modified plants/crops. Some of these issues include;

    Do the products of the novel gene inserted into plants elicit allergic reactions in humans or animals that are already sensitized to the same protein? Does the transgenic approach employ induce alteration of the level of expression of the proteins that exist in the host crop?  Do the products derived from genetically engineered plants used for food have the ability to induce de novo sensitization among humans or animals that are susceptible?

    Characterization of the potentially allergenic proteins produced by the GM plants produced through biotechnological technique is based on three factors;

    Structural similarity, serological and sequence homology; the principal aim of this is to determine whether and to what level does the protein produced by the genetically modified foods have similarity to other known proteins that have the potential of causing allergies among humans and animals. This is through the determination of the overall structure of the protein of interest and its similarity to allergens that are known. The use of the protein database offers the possibility of determining the similarity of the novel protein of interest with those of allergens that are known on their sequence alignments homology. This could also be compared to discrete motifs and domains in the protein where there is complete sequence similarity with that which is present in known allergens, therefore, indicating possibility of shared protein epitopes. The third approach is the use of serological techniques to determine whether there are specific IgE antibodies present in the serum of sensitized humans or animals capable of recognizing the protein of interest.

    Proteolytic stability: According to research, there is evidence of a correlation between protein resistance to proteolytic digestion and their potential to cause allergic reactions. The theory, in this case, is that relative resistance plays a role in inducing allergic responses on condition that the protein of interest possesses allergenic characteristics. In this case, the approach that is effective is characterizing the susceptibility of the protein of interest to its digestibility by pepsins and other gastric stimulated proteins. However, it is important to note that this approach alone may not be sufficient for the identification of cross-reactive proteins that have the potential of eliciting allergic responses in foods.

    Use of animal models: animal models are the other biotechnological approach that may be used to assess the safety of products derived from GM plants. Currently, there is the absence of adequate animals that can be used as model organisms to simulate the same environment as humans thus facilitating their use in identification of protein allergens. However, there is ongoing research geared towards the development of techniques that are suitable for characterization of allergic responses in rodents and other species that mimic human physiological surrounding.

    The safety of the GM plant and plant products has been lots of concern across the globe. However, it is important to appreciate the fact that despite the safety concerns, it is also playing a significant role in charting the path towards food security. However, a major limitation is predicted to occur in future if the transgenic technology gives rise to more substantial and complexity in the products derived from GM plants. This means that there is a need for improving the methods that are used in plant profiling of their proteins as well as studying their gene expression. This is especially important in detecting any changes that occur unexpectedly in the GM plants to determine their substantial equivalence. Therefore, continuity in the evolution of toxicological methods, as well as regulatory strategies, are necessary to be put in place to ensure that safety of GM plants and products comes first as far as human, animal and environmental factors are concerned.