GM Potatoes Producing Biopolymer as a Renewable Resource

An interview by GMO Safety with Inge Broer of the University of Rostock reveals the results of the biosafety research conducted on potatoes with increased cyanophycin. The potatoes were made to contain the gene from cyanobacteria that allows the production of polyacrylates that are used in concrete or in diapers to absorb moisture, and as a substitute for phosphate in detergents.

The researchers conducted a three-year environmental research assessment of the GM potato and found that, "the potatoes in relation to earthworms, bacteria and fungi behaved similarly as the controls… the rotting rate correlates with the amount of cyanophycin, ie, when the potatoes produce a lot of this biopolymer, they rot faster than if they produce little or nothing of it. These potatoes survive so well in a field less than the non-GM potatoes. The probability that one finds it in the next year as a volunteer is therefore extremely low."

For details, view the video in German at http://www.biosicherheit.de/