Establishment and Application of a Monitoring Strategy for Living Modified Cotton in Natural Environments in South Korea

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is grown worldwide for its natural hollow fibers and is used as cattle feed. Living modified (LM) cotton is not cultivated in South Korea and must be imported for food, feed, and processing. From 2009 to 2013, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the National Institute of Ecology (NIE) conducted a natural environment monitoring and post-management initiative for living modified organisms (LMOs) in some areas to reduce the likelihood of harmful effects caused by unintentionally discharged LMOs during transportation and use. In this study, we adopted a new strategy to identify unintentionally released LM cotton plants nationwide from 2014 to 2018. A total of 451 suspicious cotton samples were collected from 3921 survey sites. Among them, we identified 255 LM cotton plants, of which approximately 72.2% had transgenic herbicide and insecticide traits. The majority of the samples were collected from the roadside along transportation routes and from stockbreeding farms. This study establishes an LMO safety management system to efficiently maintain conservation efforts in South Korea. Our findings suggest that these efforts may play a key role in safely transporting, using, and managing approved LMOs, as well as in regulating unintentionally released LMOs, in order to preserve the natural ecosystem of South Korea.

Monitoring Living Modified Canola Using an Efficient Multiplex PCR Assay in Natural Environments in South Korea

Canola (Brassica napus L.) is cultivated worldwide and utilized as a vegetable oil, biodiesel, and livestock feed. It is also a major living modified (LM) crop alongside corn, soybean, and cotton. Many canola events have been authorized for food, feed, and processing use in South Korea. Concerns about the unintentional release of LM canola into the natural environment have increased environmental monitoring and post-management of living modified organisms (LMOs) is on the rise. The Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the National Institute of Ecology (NIE) conducted an environmental LMO monitoring and post-management project for LM canola from 2014 to 2017. The number of suspicious LM samples gradually increased each year. In this study, a multiplex PCR method was established to detect seven single LM canola events (Topas 19/2, Rf3, Dp-73496-4, Ms8, GT73, Mon88032, and T45) to cover 14 approved LM canola events. This method was utilized to detect 22 LMs out of 260 suspicious canola samples. Thus, this new method is more efficient in terms of time and cost than conventional PCR methods for the identification and monitoring of LMOs.

Development of a Multiplex PCR Assay to Monitor Living Modified Cottons in South Korea

Cotton has been cultivated worldwide and is a useful crop for humans. However, all living modified organisms (LMOs), including living modified (LM) cotton, are not cultivated in South Korea and are imported from overseas. LM cotton imports are on the rise and most of the imported cotton is used as livestock feed. In particular, it is commonly used to feed Holstein breeds that produce milk, because cotton improves the quality of milk. However, as the cotton imports increase, the possibility of unintentional outflows in the distribution process also increases. Consequently, there is an increasing concern about unintentional release of LM cotton into the natural environment. Therefore, environmental monitoring and post-management of LMOs are very important steps. Recently, a total of 30 LM crop events were approved for LM cotton import in South Korea. A single detection method has been used to monitor individual events. However, a single method of detection for collected samples requires a large number of PCRs, with obvious disadvantages. Therefore, a simultaneous detection method was developed for 8 representative events (GHB119, GHB614, MON88913, MON15985, LLCOTTON25, MON1445, 281-3006, and MON531) in an effort to monitor 26 of them and facilitate the identification of LM cotton. The results suggest that our new multiplex PCR method may be useful for monitoring and post-management of LM cotton.

Malaysia Biosafety Act 2007 and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: A critical comparative analysis

Advancement of modern biotechnology has wide impact on various industries. Modern biotechnology in the past has gone unregulated but the responsible use of biotechnology is the main focus worldwide. The most important living modified organisms (LMOs) regulatory framework is the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. This Protocol provides guidelines for the national legal framework. This paper aimed to perform comparative studies on Malaysia Biosafety Act 2007 and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The results show that while certain clauses in the Protocol are highly similar, and some proviso in the Biosafety Act 2007 are broader in scope, and conversely, certain clauses of the Protocol are well reflected in the Biosafety Act 2007. It is submitted that in overall perspective, Biosafety Act 2007 is consistent with the Protocol. It is concluded that Malaysia biosafety regulation system satisfies this international requirement. However, with regards to enforcement of this Act, it remains unanswered, as no precedent has been reported. Interestingly, non-compliance of some proviso in the Biosafety Act 2007 will result in criminal penalty, and its impacts on the research and development in the biotechnology industry, commercial investment from abroad and domestic markets, and international trading of LMOs as food and feed, remain to be seen.

Malaysia Biosafety Act 2007 and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: A critical comparative analysis

Advancement of modern biotechnology has wide impact on various industries. Modern biotechnology in the past has gone unregulated but the responsible use of biotechnology is the main focus worldwide. The most important living modified organisms (LMOs) regulatory framework is the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. This Protocol provides guidelines for the national legal framework. This paper aimed to perform comparative studies on Malaysia Biosafety Act 2007 and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The results show that while certain clauses in the Protocol are highly similar, and some proviso in the Biosafety Act 2007 are broader in scope, and conversely, certain clauses of the Protocol are well reflected in the Biosafety Act 2007. It is submitted that in overall perspective, Biosafety Act 2007 is consistent with the Protocol. It is concluded that Malaysia biosafety regulation system satisfies this international requirement. However, with regards to enforcement of this Act, it remains unanswered, as no precedent has been reported. Interestingly, non-compliance of some proviso in the Biosafety Act 2007 will result in criminal penalty, and its impacts on the research and development in the biotechnology industry, commercial investment from abroad and domestic markets, and international trading of LMOs as food and feed, remain to be seen.