Genetically modified DP915635 maize is agronomically and compositionally comparable to non-genetically modified...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Biotechnology
• Genetics

Background:

• Genetically modified (GM) maize DP915635 expresses insecticidal IPD079Ea protein for corn rootworm control.
• It also expresses phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) for glufosinate herbicide tolerance and phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) as a selectable marker.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the agronomic performance and compositional equivalence of DP915635 maize compared to non-GM controls.
• To assess the safety and comparability of GM maize for agricultural and nutritional purposes.

Main Methods:

• Field studies across ten US and Canadian sites during the 2019 growing season.
• Agronomic endpoints (e.g., stand count, flowering time) and detailed compositional analyses (proximate, fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, etc.) were performed.
• Statistical analyses included FDR-adjustment for p-values and comparison against established natural variation ranges.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant agronomic differences were found after FDR-adjustment.
• Minor statistically significant differences in 7 out of 79 compositional analytes were not significant after FDR-adjustment.
• All compositional analyte values fell within the established ranges of natural variation.

Conclusions:

• DP915635 maize is agronomically comparable to non-GM near-isoline and commercial maize.
• Compositional analyses demonstrate that DP915635 maize is equivalent to non-GM maize varieties.
• The study supports the safety and comparability of this GM maize trait.