Establishment and Application of a Monitoring Strategy for Living Modified Cotton in Natural Environments in South Korea

Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is grown worldwide for its natural hollow fibers and is used as cattle feed. Living modified (LM) cotton is not cultivated in South Korea and must be imported for food, feed, and processing. From 2009 to 2013, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the National Institute of Ecology (NIE) conducted a natural environment monitoring and post-management initiative for living modified organisms (LMOs) in some areas to reduce the likelihood of harmful effects caused by unintentionally discharged LMOs during transportation and use. In this study, we adopted a new strategy to identify unintentionally released LM cotton plants nationwide from 2014 to 2018. A total of 451 suspicious cotton samples were collected from 3921 survey sites. Among them, we identified 255 LM cotton plants, of which approximately 72.2% had transgenic herbicide and insecticide traits. The majority of the samples were collected from the roadside along transportation routes and from stockbreeding farms. This study establishes an LMO safety management system to efficiently maintain conservation efforts in South Korea. Our findings suggest that these efforts may play a key role in safely transporting, using, and managing approved LMOs, as well as in regulating unintentionally released LMOs, in order to preserve the natural ecosystem of South Korea.

Assessing the potential invasiveness of transgenic plants in South Korea: a three-year case study on sunflowers

“…In addition, an accident has led to the recent mass distribution and cultivation of herbicide-resistant LM canola (GT73) and pest-resistant cotton (MON531) in natural areas as well as in agroecosystems (KBCH 2017a; KBCH 2017b). To date, the annually conducted LMO monitoring of natural ecosystems has continuously confirmed reports of such unintentional releases (Lim et al 2021).…”

Effectiveness of a Priority Management Scheme of Living Modified Organism Re-Collection Areas in Natural Environments of South Korea

“…Since 2009, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea has conducted an LMO monitoring and post-management project in natural environments. Based on the LMO monitoring scheme of the MOE, six administrative districts (Gyeonggi-do, Gangwondo, Chungcheong-do, Gyeongsang-do, Jeolla-do, and Jeju-do) were surveyed [49]. The nationwide survey of unintentionally released LMOs was conducted from 2009 to 2013, and the sample collection site was recorded with a handheld GPS device.…”

“…Sample tissue was ground, and extraction buffer (Envirologix Inc., Portland, ME, USA) was added to the sample powder. A lateral flow test, using an immunochemical strip kit based on the antigen-antibody reaction, was performed at the survey sites [49,51]. After loading, the bands on the strips were monitored to determine whether an event-specific LMO protein was present.…”

“…For instance, LM canola has been found on roadsides near import ports in Japan and Canada [46][47][48]. Since 2009, the MOE has implemented an LMO monitoring project involving nationwide surveys, suspicious plant sampling, LMO detection analysis, and post-management in order to prevent the potential risks posed by LMOs in natural environments [49]. Despite these efforts, LMOs have been re-collected at the same survey sites.…”

Comparison of overwintering potential of seeds in laboratory and field conditions for the risk assessment of transgenic plants: a sunflower case study

“…Korea does not cultivate LM plants; however, LMOs have been imported over the past 14 years for use as food, feed, and processing (KBCH 2022). As a result, LM corn, rapeseed, and cotton volunteers have been found in the natural environment around transportation routes, import ports, feed factories, and festival sites (Kim et al 2020;Lim et al 2021;Park et al 2010). Therefore, evaluation of the overwintering potential of imported LMOs, which includes their ability to survive in low temperatures during winter and leads to reproduction in the following spring, is crucial in Korea's LMO review.…”