It is not feasible to detect maize Cry1Ab/Ac protein by transgenic test strip to determine whether transgenic or not.

According to a report in Ningxia Daily on June 4, the Pengyang County Bureau of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry carried out the detection of genetically modified components of corn in the field, and the personnel of the seed management station of Pengyang County went deep into the fields. the corn varieties sold by seed enterprises were tested for transgenic components (insect resistance) in 6 townships with large planting area in the county. The specific method was to select a large area of spring sown corn. The new leaves of maize were extracted from the field to detect the Cry1Ab/Ac gene expression protein test strip. Through the test of 24 samples of 12 varieties, the results were all negative, that is, there was no transgenic corn. (Ningxia Daily)

Seeing this report today, there is basically no problem with the content of the report, which is enough for publicizing the work of Pengyang County, but as a news report, it seems to lack a little rigor. Next, let's talk about my own views.

For some people who do not have a solid knowledge of biology, it may not be clear what the Cry1Ab/Ac gene is, but we should be clear about another expression: BT, that is, the insect-resistant gene in genetically modified insect-resistant cotton.

Can we determine whether it is a genetically modified crop by detecting the expression of Cry1Ab/Ac protein? The answer is yes, provided that if the protein can be detected, it can be concluded that the corn is genetically modified corn, but it is not missing and may not be identified as non-genetically modified corn. In the course of transgenic experiments, many genes have been transferred, and insect resistance is by no means the only one currently used, that is to say, if the corn test is negative, it can only show that the corn has not been transferred into the insect resistance gene. It doesn't mean it's non-transgenic.

There seems to be a problem in this report, that is, there is no control in the testing process! This can be said to have made a mistake in principle. From the report, we can also see that all 24 samples showed negative, that is, no insect-resistant protein was detected. I have every reason to doubt whether the GM test strip has expired. Is it effective? The lack of control in any experiment is unconvincing. I don't know if Pengyang County ignored this link when designing the experiment or when it was reported.

However, it may seem a little picky here, but as a provincial news media, it does not seem appropriate for the above coverage. As a news media, the amount of dissemination is very large, and its message directly guides the trend of public opinion, and so far many misunderstandings about GM are also due to the misinformation of the media. even press releases such as transgenic mice sterilization can be passed and published, which is worthy of our reflection on the current media environment.