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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2023

Abstract

The oilseed rape Ms8xRf3, developed by BASF Agricultural Solutions Seed US LLC, is a fertile hybrid tolerant to glufosinate-ammonium containing herbicides. The hybrid is derived through conventional breeding of the male sterile oilseed rape event Ms8 and the oilseed rape event Rf3, called the fertility restorer. Ms8 and Rf3 were produced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation of cells from a conventional oilseed cultivar. The dominant gene for male sterility in event Ms8 is barnase, and the dominant gene for fertility restoration in event Rf3 is barstar. The bar gene, conferring tolerance to glufosinateammonium, is found in both Ms8 and Rf3. The scientific documentation provided in the renewal application for the genetically modified oilseed rape events Ms8, Rf3 and Ms8 x Rf3 is adequate for risk assessment, and in accordance with EFSA guidance on risk assessment of genetically modified plants for use in food or feed. The VKM GMO panel does not consider the introduced modifications in events Ms8, Rf3 and Ms8 x Rf3 to imply potential specific health or environmental risks in Norway, compared to EU-countries.

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Abstract

Event MON 87701 is a genetically modified soybean developed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation. MON 87701 plants contain the transgene cry1Ac which encodes the protein Cry1Ac. The protein Cry1Ac provides resistance against specific lepidopteran pests. The scientific documentation provided in the renewal application (EFSA-GMO-RX-021) for soybean MON 87701 is adequate for risk assessment, and in accordance with EFSA guidance on risk assessment of genetically modified plants for use in food or feed. The VKM GMO panel does not consider the introduced modifications in soybean MON 87701 to imply potential specific health or environmental risks in Norway, compared to EU-countries. The EFSA opinion is adequate also for Norwegian considerations. Therefore, a full risk assessment of event MON 87701 was not performed by the VKM GMO Panel.

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Abstract

The Norwegian Scientific Committee for food an Environment (VKM) has assessed an application for authorisation of refined oilseed rape oil (Aquaterra®) derived from genetically modified oilseed rape line NS-B50027-4 for exclusive use as an ingredient in fish feed in Norway. NS-B50027-4 is also named DHA-canola. This report uses the term oilseed rape. NS-B50027-4 produces omega-3 long-chain (≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 LC-PUFAs) in its seeds, with a high level of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and a small amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). Aquaterra® also contains a significant level of alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA). Whereas ALA can be derived from plants, the primary producers of EPA and DHA are mainly marine microalgae. EPA and DHA are concentrated in the food chain to fish in the oceans and are often referred to as marine omega-3 fatty acids. NS-B50027-4 was developed as an alternative land-based source of marine fatty acids, mainly DHA. NS-B50027-4 was genetically modified to express seven transgenes derived from yeasts and marine microalgae that encode the enzymes necessary for the biosynthesis of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, an eighth gene, pat, was inserted as a marker for selection purposes during development. The pat gene encodes the enzyme phosphinothricin N-acetyltransferase (PAT) conferring tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium herbicides. Equally to conventional refined oilseed rape oils any residues levels of proteins, including the introduced enzymes, will be negligible in the Aquaterra® oil. The risk assessment of Aquaterra® was conducted in accordance with the guidance for risk assessment of derived food and feed from genetically modified plants as described by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2011a). The risk assessment is based primarily on scientific documentation provided in the application EFSA-GMO-NL-2019-160, which seeks approval for NS-B50027-4 for all applicable food and feed uses in the European Union (EU). VKM concludes that the provided scientific documentation fulfills the criteria of the EFSA guidance and is adequate for risk assessment. VKM concludes that the molecular characterisation, comparative, nutritional, toxicological and allergenicity assessments of NS-B50027-4 do not indicate increased risks to animal or human health compared to its conventional counterpart (comparator) or commercial reference varieties. Based on this together with specific analyses of the seed oil fraction and studies, e.g., in fish, VKM therefore concludes that the refined oil Aquaterra®, is equal to conventional oils from oilseed rape except for the altered composition in fatty acids. VKM concludes there is no increased health risk to fish fed Aquaterra® in feed compared to conventional feeds with oils from other sources, nor is there an indication of increased risk to the environment. Since Aquaterra® is equal to conventional oils from oilseed rape except for the marine omega-3 fatty acids already present in fish feeds, VKM concludes there is no greater need for health or environmental monitoring of feeds containing Aquaterra® than conventional feeds.

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Abstract

Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate.