the fight against poison in corn

Increasing the use of corn for food and fuel production is raising a concern about pollution related to aflatoxin deadly toxins in this staple grain. Pollutant is a type of human carcinogen known to originate from mushrooms in corn. It seriously threatens food safety in developing countries and damages the United States hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Dr. Bruce Hammond - the lead scientist of the product safety center in Monsanto - said that aflatoxin is a dangerous liver carcinogen and also a health concern in humans and animals. Hammond said that thanks to FDA's strict regulation, the level of threat of pathogens is controlled for food supplies in the United States. But in Africa and developing countries, still loose regulations have made aflatoxin a remarkable food safety issue.

At the 235th national conference of the American Chemical Society held in New Orleans, Hammond and colleagues presented advances in the production of corn resistant to aflatoxin better. New varieties of corn can contribute to reducing the threat of deadly toxins worldwide, helping to increase food quality in developing countries while increasing food production in the United States.

The environment in Africa is very suitable for Aspergillus flavus - a fungus that causes aflatoxin. Environmental factors such as drought, high temperature, high nitrogen environment and insect damage to plants have promoted the development of this fungus. Fungal spores can invade corn thanks to insect-generated niches, which then germinate and produce mycotoxins - a group of controversial poisons that include aflatoxin.

Increasing the use of corn for food and fuel production is raising a concern about pollution related to aflatoxin deadly toxins in this staple grain.(Photo: Courtesy of Keith Weller, United States Department of Agriculture)

In Africa, both humans and livestock eat corn. People die when exposed to aflatoxin. In 2007, more than 100 people died in Kenya alone. This level of liver carcinogen increases to a particularly dangerous rate in people with hepatitis.

However, it is causing a great threat to children.

Robert L. Brown, a plant pathologist at the United States Agricultural Organization, once studied aflatoxin-resistant gene in corn - said: 'There have been studies that prove a link between development issues. in West African children with ingestion of aflatoxin 'abdomen . He also said that toxins affect the immune function in children. He is in the process of producing six new hybrid maize varieties, the result of a cross between US aflatoxin-resistant corn and Africa's well-tolerant corn. Amerasians will have valuable crop characteristics and resistance to toxins.

Estimates show that 4.5 billion people in developing countries are increasingly exposed to aflatoxin. While health hazards are still lurking in the people here, it is also a threat to agriculture in the United States. 'It is because of the weather that we can see aflatoxin poisoning outbreaks in some parts of the southern United States more this year .' This explosion may increase the price of ethanol if corn products are poisoned.

In the process of research for yield harvests, scientists at Monsanto are targeting harmful insects that reduce corn production and grain quality. The first generation of Bt corn contains a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) - this is a ground-dwelling bacterium that produces a protein that can kill harmful insects in corn plants such as worms. European bore and southwest bore. Bt is found in bactericidal drugs widely used in conventional agricultural systems and organic agricultural systems for nearly 50 years.

Hammond said: 'Bt is very popular in the environment. After transplanting this gene into corn, they will produce insect control proteins in plants that protect plants from harmful species such as the European bore while still not harming insects or other species. The application of this technique also allows farmers to limit the use of other forms of insecticides from which to protect the environment '.

Bt corn has been resistant to the damage caused by the European borer, and also has rootworms and insects that make mycotoxin-producing fungi harmful to corn. Currently, new varieties of Bt corn increase corn production in the United States to 55% to 60% each year.

Later studies also validate a secondary benefit of Bt corn. That is, when corn is less harmed, Bt corn is also less susceptible to fungal infections, so the percentage of some mycotoxins is lower but not aflatoxin. Hammond's group is continuing to work with the goal of reducing the rate of aflatoxin.

Currently Monsanto researchers are aiming to increase insect resistance in the second generation of Bt corn. While waiting to be confirmed, new varieties of maize continue to be transplanted with additional genes to increase resistance to many harmful insects such as fall worms - a special threat in the southern United States. related to aflatoxin.

According to Hammond, the first Bt maize plants were able to reduce the rate of aflatoxin. At other locations in the United States and Argentina also showed lower levels of the impact of other harmful insects on corn. 'These initial results are very encouraging. We would love to do more testing in many environmental conditions to prove that these new varieties of corn can be reproduced. '

In the future, researchers expect to find ways to reduce the effects of environmental agents that promote the growth rate of fungi in plants. " If we can combine protection of plants from insects with drought resistance, plant root protection, herbicides, enhanced nitrogen utilization on the same tree, then we may be able to produce these. The plant system is well tolerated by all influencing factors, and it can also reduce the rate of mycotoxins'.