Mar 15, 2010 | 8:08 pm

EH92-527-1 Potato

Summary of risk assessment

Opinion of the scientific panel on genetically modified organisms (GMO Panel) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Adopted07/12/2005
ConclusionThe GMO Panel is of the opinion that the potato EH92-527-1 and derived products are no more likely to cause adverse effects on human and animal health and the environment than conventional potato, in the context of the proposed uses.

 

Comparative study
Basis of comparisonFrom field trials, the comparison between the transgenic potato EH92-527-1 and its parental cultivar (isogenic line) revealed no differences.
QualitiesSeveral parameters were compared such as field traits, plant morphology (flowering characteristics), susceptibility to herbicide, late blight fungal disease, and frost. In addition, the GM potato did not show altered susceptibility to insects, bacteria, other fungi, nematodes and plant viruses.
Compositional analysis

The analysed compounds included dry matter, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates, fibre, digestible fibre, fructose, glucose, sucrose, starch, chlorogenic acid, solanine, chaconine, nitrate, vitamin C, and minerals (Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cd).

The analysis showed some differences between the transgenic potato EH92-527-1 and its parental line. The GM potato had increased levels of vitamin C and sucrose. The GMO Panel concludes that the observed differences do not raise safety concerns.

 

Safety of food and feed
New protein
(NPTII)

Many tests conducted with other transgenic plants possessing kanamycin resistance conferred by NPTII have not shown toxicity. 

New Traits (GBSS suppression)Inactivating the gene encoding granule bound starch synthase (GBSS) resulted in potato tubers with modified starch composition: Amylose content was reduced, while amylopectin content was increased.

The gene sequences introduced to supress GBSS activity have no homology with known toxins.

Allergenicity NPTII: no correspondence with known allergens (amino acid sequence comparison).
Assessment for food and feedA 90-day feeding study with rats fed freeze dried EH92-527-1 potato did not reveal any effects that would raise concerns about the safety of the transgenic potato.

An eight-week nutritional animal feeding study with pulp derived from transgenic potato EH92-527-1 and conventional pulp fed to heifers provided evidence of nutritional equivalence and showed no detrimental effects on animal health.

 

Environmental safety
SurvivabilityPotatoes have very limited survivability outside of cultivation. It is possible for tubers to overwinter in fields where winters are mild.

Research has shown that EH92-527-1 potato does not behave differently in the environment than its conventional counterpart.

Horizontal gene transferThe use of nptII as a selection marker does not pose a risk to the environment or to human and animal health. This conclusion was based on the limited use of kanamycin and neomycin in human and veterinary medicine, the already widespread presence of this gene in bacterial populations and the negligible occurence of gene transfer from plants to bacteria.
Out-crossingThe natural exchange of genetic material is only possible with other varieties of potato, Solanum tuberosum. No natural genetic exchange has been detected with the potato’s wild relatives in Europe. The effects of out-crossing are considered negligble.

Potatoes do not have closely related wild relatives in Europe. Cultivated potatoes are only propagated by tubers. For this reason, out-crossing by cross pollination does not result in offspring, and it does not affect the composition of the tubers.

Non-target organismsThe results of field studies suggest neither greater susceptibility nor greater resistance to pests (e.g. aphids, leafhoppers, potato cyst nematodes) and diseases (e.g. late blight Phytophthora infestans, potato early blight Alternaria solani, and Erwinia rots) than non-GM potato lines.
There was no evidence of changes in sensitivity to viruses.
Interaction with the abiotic environmentMicrobial biodegradation of the GM potato does not alter soil composition.
Field trailsField trials were carried out from 1994 to 1998.