A sub-chronic feeding study of dual toxin insect-resistant transgenic maize (CEMB-413) on Wistar rats

PLoS One. 2023 Aug 9;18(8):e0285090. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285090. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Genetically modified (GM) crops expressing insecticidal crystal proteins are widely accepted worldwide, but their commercial utilization demands comprehensive risk assessment studies. A 90-day risk assessment study was conducted on Wistar rats fed with GM maize (CEMB-413) expressing binary insect-resistant genes (cry1Ac and cry2Ab) at low (30%) and high (50%) dose along with a control diet group. The study used fifty Wistar rats randomly distributed in five treatment groups. Our study revealed that compared to controls, GM diet had no adverse effects on animal's health, including body weight, food consumption, clinical pathological parameters, serum hormone levels and histological parameters of testes and ovaries of rats. Differences were observed in transcripts levels of fertility related genes, but these were independent of treatment with GM diet.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Bacterial Proteins* / genetics
  • Endotoxins / genetics
  • Hemolysin Proteins / genetics
  • Insecta / genetics
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / genetics
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Zea mays* / adverse effects
  • Zea mays* / genetics

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Endotoxins
  • Hemolysin Proteins

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.