Absence of detectable transgenes in local landraces of maize in Oaxaca, Mexico (2003–2004)

doi:10.1073/pnas.0503356102

Absence of detectable transgenes in local landraces of maize in Oaxaca, Mexico (2003–2004)

^*Instituto Nacional de Ecología, Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Avenue Periférico Sur 5000, Colonia Insurgentes Cuicuilco, Delegación Coyoacán, 04530 México D.F., Mexico; ^‡Genetic ID North America, Inc., Fairfield, IA 52556; ^§Comisión Nacional Para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad en México, Avenida Liga Periférico–Insurgentes Sur 4903, Colonia Parques del Pedregal, Delegación Tlalpan, 14010 México, D.F., México; and ^∥Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210

Edited by Barbara A. Schaal, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, and approved June 21, 2005 (received for review April 22, 2005)

Abstract

In 2000, transgenes were detected in local maize varieties (landraces) in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico [Quist, D. & Chapela, I. H. (2001) Nature 414, 541–543]. This region is part of the Mesoamerican center of origin for maize (Zea mays L.), and the genetic diversity that is maintained in open-pollinated landraces is recognized as an important genetic resource of great cultural value. The presence of transgenes in landraces was significant because transgenic maize has never been approved for cultivation in Mexico. Here we provide a systematic survey of the frequency of transgenes in currently grown landraces. We sampled maize seeds from 870 plants in 125 fields and 18 localities in the state of Oaxaca during 2003 and 2004. We then screened 153,746 sampled seeds for the presence of two transgene elements from the 35S promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus and the nopaline synthase gene (nopaline synthase terminator) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. One or both of these transgene elements are present in all transgenic commercial varieties of maize. No transgenic sequences were detected with highly sensitive PCR-based markers, appropriate positive and negative controls, and duplicate samples for DNA extraction. We conclude that transgenic maize seeds were absent or extremely rare in the sampled fields. This study provides a much-needed preliminary baseline for understanding the biological, socioeconomic, and ethical implications of the inadvertent dispersal of transgenes from the United States and elsewhere to local landraces of maize in Mexico.

Footnotes

↵ ** To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: snow.1{at}osu.edu.
↵ † Present address: Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias, San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101.
↵ ¶ Present address: Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045.
Author contributions: S.O.-G., E.E., B.S., F.A., J.S., and A.A.S. designed research; S.O.-G., B.S., F.A., and A.A.S. performed research; B.S. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; S.O.-G., E.E., B.S., F.A., J.S., and A.A.S. analyzed data; and S.O.-G., E.E., B.S., F.A., J.S., and A.A.S. wrote the paper.
This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
Abbreviations: GM, genetically modified; CaMV, cauliflower mosaic virus; NOS, nopaline synthase.
↵ †† Alvarez-Morales, A., The Seventh International Symposium on the Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms, Beijing, Oct. 10–16, 2002.
Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.