Poster: Biotech risk assessment

Abs # 920: Comparison of the Composition of Grain and Forage from Corn Rootworm Protected Corn to That of Conventional Corn (Zea mays L.)

Presenter:	George, Cherian , cherian.george@monsanto.com
Authors	George, Cherian  (A)   Ridley, William P (A)   Obert, Janet C (A)   Nemeth, Margaret A (A)   Breeze, Matthew L (B)   Astwood, James D (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Monsanto Company (B): Covance Laboratories

Corn rootworm (CRW, Diabrotica) is an economically important insect pest of corn and a leading target for insecticide use in the U.S. Corn Belt. The quantity of conventional insecticides used to control corn rootworm annually exceeds the quantity applied to control any other targeted pest in other crops in the U.S. Corn plants protected from corn rootworm feeding damage were produced by insertion of a modified gene encoding a variant of the Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) Cry3Bb1 protein into the corn genome. Corn hybrids containing the variant Bt Cry3Bb1 protein are commercially known as YieldGard Rootworm^TM corn. The purpose of this study was to compare the composition of YieldGard Rootworm corn with that of conventional corn. Compositional analyses were conducted to measure proximates, fiber, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, Vitamin E, anti-nutrients and certain secondary metabolites in grain and proximates and fiber content in forage collected from a total of eight field sites in the U.S. and Argentina. Compositional analyses demonstrated that the grain and forage of YieldGard Rootworm corn are comparable in their nutritional content to the control corn hybrid and conventional corn. These comparisons, together with the history of the safe use of corn as a common component of animal feed and human food, support the conclusion that YieldGard Rootworm corn is compositionally equivalent to, and as safe and nutritious as, conventional corn hybrids grown commercially today.