MON 863 is a
genetically engineered variety of maize produced by
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...
. It is genetically altered to express a modified version of
Cry3Bb1, a delta endotoxin which originates from ''
Bacillus thuringiensis''.
This protects the plant from
corn rootworm.
Unlike
MON 810,
Bt 11, and
Bt 176 which each produce a modified
Cry1Ab, MON 863 instead produces a modified Cry3Bb1 toxin and contains
nptII, a
marker gene for
antibiotic resistance.
History
In 2004, Monsanto sought approval in Europe to introduce MON 863. Approval was granted in 2005 for use in feed and in 2006 for use in food. There was controversy over acceptance by regulatory bodies of industry-funded toxicity studies and over the design of those studies led by Pr
Gilles-Éric Séralini, who was on the committee that reviewed MON863 for the French government.
See
Genetically modified food controversies
Genetically modified food controversies are disputes over the use of foods and other goods derived from genetically modified crops instead of conventional crops, and other uses of genetic engineering in food production. The disputes involve co ...
for details of this controversy, which extended beyond MON 863.
Following legal action by parties including the
Swedish Board of Agriculture and
Greenpeace, a
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
appeals court ruled that Monsanto would be forced to publicly reveal its research data.
Legal status
As of 2015, MON 863 is approved for cultivation in three countries: the United States, Japan, and Canada. The corn is approved for use in
Australia,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
China, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
,
Japan,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
[Staff, ISAAA. Last updated July 27, 201]
Event Name: MON863
See Authorizations tab. Accessed June 2, 2016
See also
*
MON 810
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mon 863
Genetically modified maize
Monsanto