Klaus Pietsch

A practical approach to screen for authorised and unauthorised genetically modified plants

In routine analysis, screening methods based on real-time PCR are most commonly used for the detection of genetically modified (GM) plant material in food and feed. In this paper, it is shown that the combination of five DNA target sequences can be used as a universal screening approach for at least 81 GM plant events authorised or unauthorised for placing on the market and described in publicly available databases. Except for maize event LY038, soybean events DP-305423 and BPS-CV127-9 and cotton event 281-24-236 × 3006-210-23, at least one of the five genetic elements has been inserted in these GM plants and is targeted by this screening approach. For the detection of these sequences, fully validated real-time PCR methods have been selected. A screening table is presented that describes the presence or absence of the target sequences for most of the listed GM plants. These data have been verified either theoretically according to available databases or experimentally using available reference materials. The screening table will be updated regularly by a network of German enforcement laboratories.

Quantification of Genetically Modified Soybeans in Food with the LightCycler System

Worldwide, the use of genetically modified plants is increasingly important. The European Community (EC) has already approved herbicide tolerant soybeans (Roundup Ready Soybeans, RRS, Monsanto) and insect tolerant corn (Bt-corn, Novartis), and further approvals of genetically modified plants for food production (tomatoes, radicchio, rapeseed, soybeans and corn) are pending.

Ring Trial Validation of a Method for the Extraction of DNA from Soy Lecithins

Abstract:In this work an approach for ring trial validation of a DNA extraction method for further GMO analysis is described. Practical LOD was used as a key tool for assessing the suitability of the extraction method. In ring trial with soy lecithins, satisfactory results with practical LODs below 0.9 % were achieved in 4 out of 5 samples. In-house tests showed that this protocol – in a slightly extended version – can also be used to extract DNA from native rapeseed oils.Zusammenfassung:In dem vorliegenden Beitrag wird ein Ringversuch zur Validierung einer DNA-Extraktionsmethode im Rahmen der Analyse von GMO beschrieben.