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Contrary to what many scientists thought, genetically modified (GM) corn has
not yet spread to native maize crops in southern Mexico, August 2005 by
Holly Wagner.

After analyzing tens of thousands of seeds from maize crops grown in 2003
and 2004, researchers from Mexico and the United States found no evidence of
transgenes in these indigenous varieties.

The finding surprised the researchers, said Allison Snow, a professor of
evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University . She
helped lead the study that appears online this week in the Early Edition of
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

The study is the first published report to survey the frequency of
transgenes in native varieties of maize.

Four years ago, researchers reported finding four cobs of GM maize in
Oaxaca, the southern Mexican state where Snow and her colleagues conducted
their work. And despite the government's ban on planting the genetically
engineered grain, other unpublished studies confirmed that GM maize had
spread to remote mountain villages in the region.

In a country whose culture and identity revolve heavily around maize, or
corn ? the crop was first developed here thousands of years ago ? the
thought of importing GM varieties that could contaminate native plants
frightens many citizens.

?The genetic diversity of native maize is an important resource with great
cultural significance,? Snow said. ?If farmers think that their highly
revered native plants have been altered by transgenes, they might even stop
planting them.?

?No one knew how common transgenic corn was in this area, we thought it
could be as high as 5 to 10 percent,? Snow said. ?There is great potential
for transgenes to come across the U.S. border, with millions of tons of GM
grain imported each year for processed food and animal feed.?

In 1998, the Mexican government imposed a six-year moratorium on the release
of genetically modified maize in the country. However, farmers in Mexico are
allowed to grow genetically engineered crops such as cotton and soybeans.

Over the two-year study, the researchers gathered more than 153,000 seeds
from 870 maize plants in 125 fields in Oaxaca . They sent these seeds to two
commercial companies in the United States that can test for very low
concentrations of transgenic material in maize seeds.

The researchers were looking for traces of two key transgenes ? one or both
of which are found in all GM maize crops. Test results showed no evidence of
the presence of either transgene from any of the seeds.

?We now know that transgenic maize isn't growing in Oaxaca,? Snow said.
?Mexican farmers who don't want transgenes in their crops will be relieved
to find out that these uninvited genes seem to have disappeared.?

Transgenes that were present in Oaxaca prior to this study simply may not
have survived, Snow said. Modern GM varieties may not be very hardy in
Oaxaca, even if they can mate with local plants and gain a degree of
hardiness that way.

?Indigenous maize grows mainly in the mountains ? the climate and soils can
be pretty harsh there,? she said. ?Also, the influx of transgenic seeds may
have declined if farmers became aware of the issue and took extra
precautions with their seed stocks.?

The Mexican government might approve the cultivation of GM maize at some
point in the future ? meanwhile, transgenic seeds can easily enter Mexico
from the United States, and more cases of wandering transgenes seem likely.

[researchnews.osu.edu]

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