Oils derived from genetically modified plants

7 Oils derived from genetically modified plants 

There is much controversy, at least in Europe, concerning genetic modification of plants. The three major crops affected so far are maize, soyabean and rapeseed. All of these, in addition to their other uses, are sources of oil. The reasons for modification in all these cases are related to herbicide tolerance and resistance to insects. For the varieties generally available at present, there is no known difference from non-modified strains with respect to fatty acid composition, oil yield, tocopherol level, or the level of any other minor oil constituent. 

However, other varieties are in development where the composition of the oil will be deliberately affected, and in some cases these are ready for general application. Versions of soyabean aimed at increasing the levels of oleic acid, and versions of rapeseed high in lauric acid, are in development. Whether or 

With non-refined oils it is sometimes possible to extract intact DNA from them, apply PCR amplification, and then examine the product by gel electrophoresis. If any GM component is present, this would then be detectable. However, oils that are sold non-refined are not generally the oils that are being produced in GM forms. It is possible that in future there may GM olive, hazelnut, walnut or other non-refined oils, and it is likely that these could be tested in this way. One other oil product that can be tested is lecithin. Where there has been severe heat damage, it is not always possible to extract suitable DNA from the product, but, with samples that have been only mildly treated, it is often possible to achieve accurate results by PCR. Each case has to be evaluated separately depending on the condition of the sample, and the quality of the methods used. 

When products arrive on the market that deliberately have different oil compositions, the above strictures will still apply. Unless there are traces of DNA in fully refined oils below the present level of detection, and a procedure is developed which enables DNA to be detected at these low levels, then it does not appear that it will be possible to detect highly refined GM oils by detection of foreign DNA or its first generation product, i.e. protein. There remains the possibility that lipid component changes in the plant may be detected. This would not apply to many simpler changes that have been obtained. The decrease 

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The advantage for the farmer is that he needs only one product, instead of several different selective (and more expensive) herbicides. Roundup ready soybeans were launched in 1996 and today 50 percent of the soybean crop in the United States is derived from roundup ready seeds. Other glyphosate-resistant transgenic crops introduced by Monsanto are maize and oil seed rape. Competing companies also developed herbicide-resistant plants or plants genetically modified to be protected against certain pests, but none has achieved a commercial breakthrough, mainly because of political reasons. 

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