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Living Modified Organism (LMO)
  |  
Decisions on the LMO Risk Assessments  
published: 05 Jul 2021 last updated: 01 Oct 2021
Living Modified Organism identity
The image below identifies the LMO through its unique identifier, trade name and a link to this page of the BCH. Click on it to download a larger image on your computer. For help on how to use it go to the LMO quick-links page.
Herbicide-tolerant, insect-resistant, drought-tolerant maize
EN
MON87427 × MON87460 × MIR162
Yes
MON-87427-7 × MON-8746Ø-4 × SYN-IR162-4
The modified maize (Zea mays) was produced through the cross breeding of modified parental lines for herbicide tolerance, insect resistance and drought tolerance. For Lepidoptera resistance, the maize expresses Bacillus thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal protein 3Aa20. For herbicide tolerance, the maize expresses Agrobacterium tumefaciens 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase, a variant of an endogenous enzyme that confers for glyphosate tolerance. For drought tolerance, the maize expresses Bacillus subtilis cold shock protein, which binds RNA and maintains cellular functions under water-limited conditions (improvement of natural abiotic stress responses). The maize also contains an Escherichia coli neomycin phosphotransferase II cassette, which allowed for kanamycin selection, and E. coli phoshomannose isomerase, which allowed for mannose selection, during transformation of some of the parental lines.
EN
The term “Recipient organism” refers to an organism (either already modified or non-modified) that was subjected to genetic modification, whereas “Parental organisms” refers to those that were involved in cross breeding or cell fusion.
  • BCH-ORGA-SCBD-246-6 Organism Zea mays (Maize, Corn, MAIZE)
    Crops
  • BCH-LMO-SCBD-104758-3 Living Modified Organism MON-87427-7 - Maize modified for tissue selective glyphosate tolerance
    Monsanto | Resistance to herbicides (Glyphosate)
  • BCH-LMO-SCBD-103066-6 Living Modified Organism MON-8746Ø-4 - Droughtgard™ Maize
    Resistance to antibiotics (Kanamycin, Neomycin), Tolerance to abiotic stress (Cold / Heat, Drought)
  • BCH-LMO-SCBD-100885-13 Living Modified Organism SYN-IR162-4 - Agrisure™ Viptera maize
    Resistance to diseases and pests (Insects, Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths))
EN
Characteristics of the modification process
PV-ZMAP1043; PV-ZMAP595; pNOV1300
EN
  • Cross breeding
Some of these genetic elements may be present as fragments or truncated forms. Please see notes below, where applicable.
DNA insert from MON87427 PV-ZMAP1043
Transcription of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (cp4-epsps) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens commences from the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) enhanced 35S promoter and ends at the A. tumefaciens nopaline synthase (nos) gene terminator. The transcript contains a Zea mays heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) intron, Arabidopsis thaliana N-terminal chloroplast transit peptide sequence, and cp4-epsps.  The CaMV enhanced 35S promoter-hsp70 combination promotes gene expression in female and vegetative tissues, but not in male reproductive tissues (pollen microspores and tapetum).

Note:
- Southern blot analyses indicate that a single copy of the T-DNA was inserted at a single site in the parental maize genome and no plasmid vector backbone sequences were detected to have been integrated. DNA sequencing analyses further indicated that the expected T-DNA sequences were integrated.
-The cp4-epsps coding sequence is the codon optimized coding sequence of the aroA gene from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 encoding CP4 EPSPS.


DNA insert from MON87460 vector PV-ZMAP595
The T-DNA insert contains the following gene cassettes: Bacillius subtillus cold shock protein (cspB) and Escherichia coli neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII). 

Transcription of cspB is under control of the Oryza sativa actin 1 promoter and Agrobacterium tumefaciens transcript 7 gene 3' untranslated region. The transcript initially contains an O. sativa actin 1 intron for enhanced gene expression of cspB. The sequence is removed (spliced) prior to protein translation. Constitutive expression of cspB is expected due to the actin promoter.

Transcription of nptII is under control of the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter and A. tumefaciens nopaline synthase terminator. High levels of transcription are expected due to the CaMV promoter.

Note:
- The coding sequence of cspB has been codon optimized for optimal expression within plant cells.
- Southern blot analysis indicated that no vector backbone sequences were inserted into the parental genome
- Southern blot analysis indicated that the parental genome contains a single insertion
- Sequencing analyses confirm the Southern blot analyses.
- A 22 base pair deletion of genomic DNA at the insert-to-plant DNA junction occurred.
- loxP sites can be found in the parental genome and could potentially allow for the excision of the nptII cassette by CRE recombinase.


DNA insert from MIR162 vector pNOV1300
In the parental MIR162 maize, a variant of the native B. thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal protein 3Aa (vip3Aa20), named vip3Aa19, which has codon changes that result in a single M129I amino acid substitution was inserted into the transformation cassette. During the transformation process an additional DNA mutation resulted in a K284Q amino acid substitution. This final form was designated the name Vip3Aa20. Transcription of vip3Aa20 commences at the Z. mays ubiquitin gene promoter and then transcribes vip3Aa20 followed by intron 9 of Z. mays phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, before terminating at the CaMV 35S terminator. A second expression cassette, containing the E. coli phosphomannose isomerase gene, was also inserted into the parental genome. The gene is under the control of another ubiquitin promoter and transcription terminates at the Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline synthase gene (nos) terminator.

Note:
- Southern blot analyses demonstrated that the T-DNA insert contains: (i) single copies of a vip3Aa20 gene and a pmi gene; (ii) two copies of the maize ubiquitin promoter; (iii) one copy of the nos terminator; and (iv) no backbone sequences from transformation plasmid pNOV1300.


Kindly refer to the parental LMO records for more information.
EN
LMO characteristics
EN
  • Food
  • Feed
Detection method(s)
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Additional Information
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Records referencing this document Show in search
Record type Field Record(s)
Country's Decision or any other Communication LMO identification 2
Risk Assessment generated by a regulatory process Living modified organism(s) 2