• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.129-138
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• 2021

Living modified organisms (LMOs) are managed by seven government agencies according to their use in South Korea. The Ministry of Environment is responsible for LMOs used for environmental remediation. This study aimed to develop guidelines for assessing potential risks posed by transgenic plants used for remediation to insect ecosystems by investigating arthropod communities in sunflower fields. A total of 2,350 insects and spiders belonging to 134 species of 10 orders and 71 families were collected from sunflower fields over four growth stages ranging from anthesis to seed maturity. At the R3 phase of flower-bud formation, Chironomidae sp. of a decomposer insect guild presented the highest density, while Apis mellifera of a pollinator guild was the most abundant in the R5.8 phase of flowering. During the R7 seed-filling phase and the R9 phase of seed maturity, herbivorous Pochazia shantungensis predominated. During the R9 phase, richness and diversity indices of arthropod communities were distinctly lower whereas their dominance indices were significantly higher than those at other phases. In addition, the composition of arthropod communities was strongly correlated not only with the sampling date, but also with the sampling method depending on the growth stage of sunflowers. Our results suggest that appropriate sampling timing and methods should be considered in advance and that long-term field trials that cover a variety of environmental conditions should be carried out to evaluate potential risks to insect ecosystems.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.275-289
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• 2023

Since the implementation of the Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) Act in 2008, approximately 10 million tons of genetically modified corn, soybean, potato, canola, and other crops have been imported into South Korea. The import approval procedures have been completed for approximately 191 cases that include seven crops. Of these, approximately 90 cases, excluding crossbreeds of approved LMOs, were reviewed via consultation risk evaluation in four areas: human health, crop culture, natural ecology, and marine fishery environment. LMO developers in South Korea, who are major stakeholders in the import of LMO crops produced overseas, have raised concerns regarding procedural inefficiency in consultation reviews and the need of excessive reviews that are unsuitable for food-feed processing purposes. These procedures reflect the perspective of consultation agencies that deviate from the nature of risk assessment and demand specific supplementary data that do not reflect familiarity and substantial equilibrium. Based on frequent instances of unintentional environmental release of LMO crops imported into Korea, the ministries responsible for consultation insist on a review that considers the climate and natural environment of Korea. In addition, the ministries mandate that their reviews reflect the expertise of competent ministries and are based on risk assessment principles and methods in accordance with international guidelines. In this regard, considering that traits introduced into LMO crops involving familiar agricultural crops have been considered safe for more than two decades, we have suggested reasonable alternatives to several risk assessment items for agricultural LMOs. These alternatives can mitigate conflicts of interest among key stakeholders within the scope of the current LMO regulations.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.97-106
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• 2017

Living modified crops are genetically modified living organisms and are widely used in biotechnical research and desired goods. As the reliance on LM products, concerns about safety of LMOs have been continuously increased in South Korea. We established the detection methods for unintentional released LMOs in environmental conditions. To detect six LM event genes of 1 canola, 1 maize and 4 soybeans, PCR conditions were based upon consideration of the Joint Research Centre information. Genomic DNAs were isolated from LM samples and PCR analysis were performed using each event-specific primer pair. Event-specific genes of all events were efficiently recognized by our methods. To investigate the insertion site of LM genes in each genome, we verified PCR product sequence by DNA sequencing. These results suggest that the LM event-specific gene amplification can be efficiently developed. In addition, our detection method is fit for monitoring and post-management of LM crops in the environment.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.196-203
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• 2015

AbstractLiving modified organisms (LMO) are one of the most widespread products of modern biotechnology after DNA discovery. Due to the decline of grain self-sufficiency rate and the increase of reliance on LMO imports in Korea, a series of concerns with regard to safety of living modified(LM) crops has been raised. The aim of this study is to establish the detection methods for unintentional release or growing of LMO plants in environmental conditions. To detect LM crop events, general concepts of specific primer design and PCR conditions were provided by the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The certified reference materials of seven LM events (4 soybean, 2 cotton and 1 corn) were obtained from the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) and the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS). Genomic DNA from seven LM events were purified and PCR amplifications were carried out by using individual event-specific primer sets. LM-specific PCR products of all seven events were efficiently amplified by our methods. The results indicate that the established detection method for LMOs is suitable as a scientific tool to monitor whether the crops found in natural environments are LMOs.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.901-906
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• 2013

We examined the availability of the lacZ gene (${\beta}$-galactosidase gene) as a reporter of foreign gene transfer in the cysts of Artemia franciscana (A. franciscana) to conduct a risk assessment of living genetically modified organisms (LMOs) in the marine ecosystem. The LacZ gene was transferred to decapsulated cysts by particle bombardment, and its insertion and expression were assessed by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and X-gal staining. X-gal staining indicated lacZ expression in all A. franciscana examined (including the control group), which exhibited not only negative but also positive PCR amplification. Endogenous ${\beta}$-galactosidase is highly active in the whole body of A. franciscana during all stages of the life cycle. Thus, the lacZ gene is unsuitable as a reporter for foreign gene transfer in A. franciscana cysts, because it is difficult to discriminate between exogenous and endogenous ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.585-591
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• 2019

Most insect-resistant LMOs have been produced by applying Cry and Vip3Aa proteins. Vip3Aa protein is activated during the vegetative stage of Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) and the inhibitory activity of the Vip3Aa protein against pathogenic attacks from lepidopteran insect species is well known. However, a risk assessment of the Vip3Aa protein compared to the Cry protein has not been conducted in South Korea. This study demonstrates a possible risk assessment method for Vip3Aa protein against honeybees (Apis mellifera). For the risk assessment of the protein, we purified the recombinant Vip3Aa protein in Escherichia coli. The survival rate and symptoms of general intoxication of 4 months honeybees were measured after Vip3Aa exposure. These results indicated that there was no significant difference in the survival rate and the symptom between Vip3Aa and the control buffer. In this study, we established standard methods of Vip3Aa protein purification and oral adult toxicity test using A. mellifera as an LMO risk assessment technique for preserving the natural ecosystem of South Korea.

• Entomological Research
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.533-539
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• 2018

The RNA interference (RNAi) has been considered as an important genetic tool and applied to develop a new living modified (LM) crop trait which is an improvement of nutrient quality or pest management. The RNAi of DvSnf7 has been used for resistance to LM maize and the Western Corn Rootworm which is a major agricultural pest for the US Corn Belt. Most of the environmental risk assessments (ERA) of double strand RNA (dsRNA) have been performed using in vitro transcript products, and not in vivo expressed product. A large amount of dsRNA was required for the acute toxicity assay of water fleas. Therefore development of massive dsRNA purification techniques is critical. Daphnia, a freshwater microcrustacean, is a model organism for studying cellular and molecular mechanism involved in life history traits and ecotoxicology. In this study, we established the massive dsRNA purification method using Escherichia coli and implemented acute toxicity assays to Daphnia magna. As a result, the present RNase A and DNase I, dsRNA was efficiently purified without any special techniques or equipment. Even though purified dsRNA existed during the acute toxicity test, lethality or abnormal behavior were not observed in D. magna. These results indicated that GFP and DvSnf7 dsRNA were not significantly affected to D. magna due to their lack of sequence matching in its genome. The purification method of dsRNA and the acute toxicity assay of water fleas using purified dsRNA would be suitable for the toxicological studies of LMOs to aquatic non-target organisms.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

As the social and economic value of living modified organisms (LMOs) increase, so do the potential risks they pose to humans and the environment. Therefore, all laboratories using LMOs must establish an LMO laboratory in accordance with the standards required by regulations. Recently, in high school, LMO-related experimental programs have been developed for their educational effects. Also, in this case, it is necessary to comply with the regulation for LMO laboratories. However, high schools are still unfamiliar with the LMO laboratory, and it is difficult for teachers to manage an LMO laboratory because its implementation applies the same standards to general research institutes. In this study, we used causal chain analysis to discover the difficulties each teacher faced while setting up an LMO laboratory by examining three cases. The difficulties experienced by teachers are as follows: the first problem is "reluctance to set up an LMO laboratory," because of "administrative tasks for laboratory registration" and "difficulty in persuading colleagues." The second problem is a difficulty for teachers to operate LMO laboratory in blind spots, due to "inflexible installation and closure," "medical waste disposal," and "LMO education that does not fit the school context." Through this study, although the difficulty of running an LMO laboratory is caused by a lack of necessity and insufficient consideration of the school context, the more fundamental cause was a lack of collaborative planning between the educational field and the operating institutions. The teachers who participate in this research suggest that "using shared LAB" and "preparing opportunities for knowledge sharing" can be considered as strategies for operating the school's LMO laboratory. We feel that this study will provide a useful reference for teachers or schools planning to build an LMO laboratory.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.473-478
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• 2016

With the increasing development and commercial use of genetically modified maize, it is essential to develop an appropriate method for detection of individual LMO (Living modified organism) events for monitoring the samples. In South Korea, commercial planting and accidental or unintentional releases of LMOs into the environment were not approved. In this study, to increase the efficiency of LMO detection, we developed simultaneous detection methods for 11 LM maize events. This multiplex PCR detection method is economical, as it saves time, cost and labor. We developed 11 individual LM maize events, and applied 4 multiplex PCR sets to the LM maize samples. These results are confirmed by applying the multiplex analysis of LMO environmental monitoring from 2012 to 2014, which represents the unintentionally released LM maize samples. The data were correlated with event specific PCR results. Our results indicate that the multiplex PCR method developed is suitable for detection of LM maize in LMO monitoring.