Techniques for detecting genetically modified crops and products

Abstract

The cultivation of genetically modified crops is becoming increasingly important; more traits are emerging
and more acres than ever before are being planted with GM varieties. The release of GM crops and products
in the markets worldwide has increased the regulatory need to monitor and verify the presence and the
amount of GM varieties in crops and products. Labeling legislation and trade requirements differ from one
country to another, leading to the necessity for the development of reliable and sensitive analytical methods
for detection, identification and quantification of GM varieties in crops and their products. GM crops and their
products can be identified by detecting either the inserted genetic material at DNA level, the resulting protein
or phenotype. Several analytical methods such as methods based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for
detecting the inserted DNA, immunological assays for detecting the resulting protein, or using bioassays to
detect the resultant phenotype have been developed. So far only PCR has found broad application in GMO
detection as a generally accepted method for regulatory purposes. Presently, real-time PCR can be
considered as the most powerful tool for the detection and quantification of GM crops and products.