GMOSeek

Context

The GMOseek project challenges the increasing number of EU- approved and unauthorized GM events (UGMs) needed to be detected, and the need for better time- and cost-efficiency of analytical approaches. GMOseek will deliver new screening methods and strategies in order to improve GMO detection and render it more cost-effective. The project will also challenge the detection of UGM that are not authorized or safety assessed in the EU and therefore pose a potential risk for consumers. A minimum set of well chosen screening tests can be sufficient to detect a maximum number of GMOs in a sample. However, few efforts have been done until now to improve this screening phase of GMO detection while identification/quantification of authorized GMOs is very effective in the EU. The number of EU-approved GMOs is expected to increase in the coming years and laboratories will have to distinguish between material derived from authorized and non-authorized GMOs in order i) to address the consumer’s right to choose between GMO-containing and GMO-free products, ii) to prevent products without authorization or safety assessment from entering the EU market.

Objectives

New bioinformatics tools to be developed will help the enforcement laboratories in designing a more efficient screening strategy for detection of authorized and also unauthorized GMOs at the same time. Several new screening methods targeting one or several genetic elements characterizing GMOs will be developed and tested in a second laboratory for its usability. These screening methods will be ready for validation.

Contribution

In this perspective, CRA-W participates in the project under several different aspects.
- Bioinformatics
A GMO matrix collecting all information about the genes, promoters and terminators used in GM constructions was necessary to determine which screening methods should be developed within this project. CRA-W fed the matrix with the information in his possession and participates to the theoretical and practical checking of the information. CRA-W also develops simple tools to facilitate the research of information in the matrix.
- Development of new screening methods
CRA-W develops new screening methods based on Real Time PCR using TaqMan probes. Two methods targeting the promoter Ubiquitin of maize (pUbi) and the terminator E9 of pea (tE9) were developed and are ready for evaluation in a second lab. In order to avoid false positive results with the tE9 target due to the presence of pea in a food product, a specific target for pea detection is also in development. A cry1Ab screening target is also under evaluation. CRA-W will also asses the methods that will be developed by the LGL laboratory.
- Production of reference material
CRA-W will produce plasmid reference material for the methods that it develops within the project.

Partners

This project involves 6 partners : Department Biosafety and Biotechnology of the Institute of Public Health (IPH) in Brussels, the Unit Technology and Food of the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research in Merelbeke, the Department Valorisation of agricultural products, Unit 16 traceability and authentication of the Walloon Agricultural Research Center (CRA-W), in Gembloux, the Section Molecular Biology of the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL) in Oberschleißheim (Germany), the Molecular Biology and Genomics Unit of the Joint Research Centre - Institute of Health and Consumer Protection (JRC-IHCP) in Ispra (Italy) and the National Institute of Biology (NIB), in Ljubljana (Slovenia), coordinator of the project