Preliminary study on discrimination of transgenic cotton seeds using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Presence of genetically modified (GM) organisms is considered to be controversial by legislation and public. It is very important to develop detection methods for early discriminations. Conventional gene detection methods, including protein detection (PCR, ELISA, and so on) and DNA detection (Southern blot, GC/MS, and so on), have the disadvantages of high costs, time-consuming, complex operations, and destructive of the samples. Terahertz spectroscopy (THz) is a brand-new radiation with many unique advantages. Most biological macromolecules have fingerprint characteristics in THz band from the current recognition. In this study, feasibility of identifying the transgenic cotton seeds from nontransgenic counterparts using THz spectroscopy method was investigated. The transgenic cotton seeds-Lumianyan No.28 and nontransgenic cotton seeds-Xinluzao No.51 were selected and the sample-making methods were studied; then the refractive and absorption curves of samples were got and given a detailed discussion; finally, absorption index of transgenic and nontransgenic DNA was observed and discussed. The results showed there were small fluctuations in THz band, and refractive index of transgenic seeds was lower than nontransgenic ones and had obvious turning point at 1.4-2.0 THz region. There were significant peaks in 1.0-1.2 and 1.3-1.5 THz regions for the transgenic cotton seeds. Transgenic DNA had higher absorption index than nontransgenic DNA, and there were 3-4 peaks corresponding to the cotton seed samples in 1.0-1.6 THz region. These results showed cotton seeds samples can provide important bio-information in THz band, and this study provided a basis for developing potential THz-based gene detection technologies.