Are GM and Conventionally Bred Wheat Really Different?

It is possible to produce transgenic wheat lines that are substantially equivalent to non-GM wheat at the level of analysis provided by modern ‘‘omics’’ technologies, says researchers at Rothamsted Research in the UK. Their research provides information that will help assure consumers that transgenic crops are not inherently unsafe.

The determination of substantial equivalence requires comparisons of composition and performance of the transgenics with conventionally bred crops, under both field and greenhouse conditions. The group of Peter Shewry has demonstrated that in wheat, transgenic varieties can be substantially equivalent on several levels: functional properties, metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and genomics.

Shewry and colleagues developed several transgenic lines of wheat that have additional genes encoding high molecular weight (HMW) subunits called 1Ax1 and 1Dx5. These HMW are positively correlated with improved grain quality and were those compared with conventional counterparts.

Subscribers to the journal Trends in Food Science and Technology can access the article by visiting http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2006.12.010.