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Title: Application of proteomic tools for assessing transgenic soybeans for biosafety studies

Author
item Natarajan, Savithiry - Savi
item XU, CHENPING - UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
item Caperna, Thomas
item Garrett, Wesley
item Cregan, Perry
item Luthria, Devanand - Dave

Submitted to: Brazilian Biosafety Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/18/2007
Publication Date: 10/21/2007
Citation: Natarajan, S.S., Xu, C., Caperna, T.J., Garrett, W.M., Cregan, P.B., Luthria, D.L. 2007. Application of proteomic tools for assessing transgenic soybeans for biosafety studies. Brazilian Biosafety Conference. p. 129.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soybean is an important cash crop in the U.S. with an estimated annual value of over 19 billion dollars. Soybean provides an inexpensive source of protein for humans and animals. Therefore it is imperative to produce high quality soybeans using transgenic technology in order to achieve rapid benefits that are not available through plant breeding. Transgenic soybean produced approximately $1 billion of income through savings in the production costs. There is literature available on genetic and transgenic approaches to eliminate allergens and anti-nutritional proteins. However, there is essentially no information available regarding collateral or unintended effects of these transgenic modifications. Such information might serve to allay consumer concerns about the biosafety of transgenic soybean consumption. Since transgene integration in plants is mostly random, it is possible that soybean metabolism may be altered due to cis or trans acting effects of transgene expression, which may be beneficial or harmful. Therefore, the goals of our risk assessment program at the USDA are to apply suitable proteomic technologies that will be used to quantify any differences between soybean seeds derived from transgenic vs. those from non-transgenic soybean.