• Toxicological Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2004

The different social reflections about the benefits and the potential risks of genetically modified (GM) crops have evolved with .different reactions in different countries. Many countries including Korea are working toward setting down new guidelines. Korea requires companies to label all food that contains more than 3% GM ingredients. One of the rapid and convenient detection methods of GM ingredients is amplification of the introduced DNAs by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Many PCR kits for this purpose are commercially available. The objective of this study was to evaluate performance of commercialized GM crop detection kits. The results showed that 6 out of 15 kits tested did not meet the requirements even purposed by the manufacturers themselves in terms of stability, reproducibility, and detection limits, suggesting a potential quality control problem in their design stage or production line. The evaluation also suggests that, although the duplex and triplex detection kits allowed unambiguous detection in a single PCR reaction, the monoplex detection kits were the most sensitive to the detection of GM ingredients. The detection limits also differ between soybean and corn. Results from this study will be useful in the development of sound qualitative tracking systems of GM ingredients for monitoring throughout the cultivation of GM crops, their trans-boundary movement, and food production using GM grains as well as for complying with government guidelines associated with GM crops.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.569-572
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• 2008

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed to simultaneously detect 3 events of genetically modified (GM) maize. The event-specific primers were used to discriminate the following 3 events of GM maize (DAS-59122-7, TC6275, and MIR604) using multiplex PCR method. The zein gene was used as an endogenous maize reference gene in the multiplex PCR detection. The primer pair Zein-FIR producing a 99 bp amplicon was used to amplify the zein gene. The primer JI-Das-F1/R1 for DAS-59122-7, JI-TC6275-F3/R3 for TC6275, and JI-MIR F1/R1 for MIR604 yielded an amplicon of 130, 162, and 197 bp, respectively. The detection limit of multiplex PCR was 1% for DAS-59122-7, TC6275, and MIR604 for one reaction.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.101-113
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the practical problem-based lesson plan for high school home economics class focusing on consumer choice of genetically modified(GM) food. The ADDIE instructional design model was applied. The first analysis step, practical problems were chosen based on the previous studies and the educational goal suggested in the 2007 revised curriculum. The next design and development steps, 4 hours of lesson plans were developed by reconstitution a chapter of Food Safety. Additional learning materials(17 student activity papers, 17 student reading materials, 3 teacher reading materials) were also developed. The implementation step, the lesson plans developed were applied to the S high school students in Bundang, Geyonggi-do. The last evaluation step, the perception change about GM food and the adequacy of teaching method were evaluated. As results, the studens' attitudes and minds towards the GM food were changed. The level of concern on GM food increased, and the ratio of students who would check whether GM food or not was increased. Also students showed high level of satisfaction on teaching method and materials.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.338-344
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• 2009

This study analyzed consumers' willingness to pay for price increases to avoid the purchase of GM foods by the expansion of GMO labeling. The subjects were asked about their knowledge of GM, concerns of potential hazards, and sources of obtained GM information. The logit model was employed and marginal effects were calculated to interpret the results. The results showed that consumers who perceived the safety of GM technology were less likely to pay for price increases, while consumers who had concerns about GM foods were more likely to pay. In addition, the study demonstrated that consumers residing in urban areas and with low levels of education and income were also less likely to pay for price increases.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.274-279
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• 2012

For the quantitative analysis of genetically modified (GM) maize in processed foods, primer sets and probes based on the 35S promoter (p35S), nopaline synthase terminator (tNOS), p35S-hsp70 intron, and zSSIIb gene encoding starch synthase II for intrinsic control were designed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products (80~101 bp) were specifically amplified and the primer sets targeting the smaller regions (80 or 81 bp) were more sensitive than those targeting the larger regions (94 or 101 bp). Particularly, the primer set 35F1-R1 for p35S targeting 81 bp of sequence was even more sensitive than that targeting 101 bp of sequence by a 3-log scale. The target DNA fragments were also specifically amplified from all GM labeled food samples except for one item we tested when 35F1-R1 primer set was applied. A reference plasmid pGMmaize (3 kb) including the smaller PCR products for p35S, tNOS, p35S-hsp70 intron, and the zSSIIb gene was constructed for real-time PCR (RT-PCR). The linearity of standard curves was confirmed by using diluents ranging from $2{\times}10^1{\sim}10^5$ copies of pGMmaize and the $R^2$ values ranged from 0.999~1.000. In the RT-PCR, the detection limit using the novel primer/probe sets was 5 pg of genomic DNA from MON810 line indicating that the primer sets targeting the smaller regions (80 or 81 bp) could be used for highly sensitive detection of foreign DNA fragments from GM maize in processed foods.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.560-566
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• 2016

Imports of genetically modified (GM) soybeans (Glycine max) for food or feed consumption in Korea have been increasing. Although the cultivation of GM soybeans has not yet been allowed in Korea, the number of field tests for GM soybeans has also been rising. This study was conducted to investigate whether herbicide tolerant GM soybean can survive and persist in uncultivated environments when they escape from transportation routes or from isolated fields. Seeds of GM and non-GM soybeans and wild soybeans (Glycine soja) were buried in 2 and 15 cm soil depths and their viability was examined after 1, 2, 6, and 10 months. GM and non-GM soybean seeds completely lost their viability within six months of burial, whereas seeds of wild soybean maintained their viability during the study period. Seeds of soybean and wild soybeans that were sown on the soil surface germinated and grew to vegetative cotyledon stage. Seedlings of GM and non-GM soybean did not compete well with weeds, including Cerastium glomeratum, Alopecurus aequalis var. amurensis, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Conyza canadensis, Stellaria aquatica, and Erigeron annuus. Also, GM soybean did not survive through winter. However, wild soybeans competed well with the weeds and became dominant in August. Herbicide tolerant GM soybean is unlikely to persist under uncultivated environments and to become weeds.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2011

Since the first commercial GM plant, the FlavrSavr tomato, authorized in 1994, more than 140 GM plants were authorized for marketing globally. For the authorization and labelling of GM plants, the detection methods for genes introduced and proteins expressed in GM plants were developed qualitatively and quantitatively. This review presented the detection methods, conventional PCR, multiplex PCR and real-time PCR, for soybean, maize, canola and cotton as the dominant GM plants. Also, microarray assay and nanotechnology as new approaches for detection methods for GM plants were investigated.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.179-201
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• 2018

Food labelling rules reflect the interaction of a number of factors such as industry needs for marketing flexibility and minimal regulations, consumer's rights to know what is in the product and public health concerns. However, food labelling rules could apply to international trade as non-tariff barriers so it is necessary to make multilateral harmonization of food labelling rules. For this, GATT XX, SPS, and TBT of the WTO can serve as jurisprudence in agreements. Lgnoring the safety problems of GM food, which is currently a worldwide issue, it is a situation that needs international harmonization of GM food labelling methods, harmonization of technical terms which are used in Korean law, and clear interpretation criteria for GM food labelling methods and contents are vital for sustainable trade in agricultural products. Therefore, this study proposes interpretation criteria through major trade countries' GM food labelling methods and an examination of Korean law. Furthermore, this study proposes international harmonization guidelines for GM food in the future.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.924-939
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• 2016

The great economic losses caused by Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) infection of peppers has led to the development of genetically modified (GM) CMV-resistant peppers. We developed virus-resistant pepper plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation. The expressed recombinant protein was purified using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid resin and immunoaffinity chromatography, and purity was assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Immunoblot analysis revealed the purified CMV coat protein (CMV-CP) had a molecular mass of 25 kDa. After in-gel digestion and desalting, the internal peptide fragments of CMV-CP were sequenced by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight. Most GM pepper and Escherichia coli BL21 internal peptides had identical peptide sequences and contained 137 of 183 whole peptides in CMV-CP. A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to detect CMV-resistant GM peppers. We also provide basic information about the expressed protein in GM peppers for further safety assessment. The contents of soluble protein and CMV-CP were measured in GM and control peppers cultivated in three different areas of Korea. Statistical significance in terms of cultivation areas, harvest times, generations, and plant tissue origin were determined based on a P value of 0.05. The highest amount of CMV-CP was detected at the seedling stage from plant grown in each region. T3 and T5 showed significantly different levels of CMV-CP from T4 in leaves in the whorl stage. No statistical differences were observed among GM peppers at different stages of maturity in any cultivation area. The results from this study contribute to the safety evaluation of newly designed CMV-resistant GM peppers and provide a standard against which to compare other virus-resistant GM peppers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.87-94
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• 2006

Genetically modified (CM) crops with agricultural traits including herbicide resistance and insect tolerance have been commercialized. The safety testing strategies conducted for food and feed ingredients from GM crops differ from those applied to food ingredients in that they are conducted to demonstrate similarity between the CM food and the appropriate non-CM comparator rather than for quantitative risk assessment. However, there are similarities in the design and conduct of the safety assessment studies between these types of studies that should be readily recognized by toxicologists. The current presentation reviews some of the basic principles of safety assessment of typical dietary ingredients and compares and contrasts them with the testing strategies applied to CM foods and products obtained from them.