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General Information

Document type
  • Peer-reviewed journal article
GE organism
  • pea, chickpea, cowpea
GE trait
  • insect resistance
Country
  • Austria, Australia

Results

Safety for consumption
  • no effect

Genetically modified α-amylase inhibitor peas are not specifically allergenic in mice Open Access

Lee, RY; Reiner, D; Dekan, G; Moore, AE; Higgins, TJ; Epstein, MM
PLOS ONE. 2013 January. 8(1):e52972

Link to full text (open access, freely available)

PMID: 23326368 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052972

Abstract

Weevils can devastate food legumes in developing countries, but genetically modified peas (Pisum sativum), chickpeas and cowpeas expressing the gene for alpha-amylase inhibitor-1 (αAI) from the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) are completely protected from weevil destruction. αAI is seed-specific, accumulated at high levels and undergoes post-translational modification as it traverses the seed endomembrane system. This modification was thought to be responsible for the reported allergenicity in mice of the transgenic pea but not the bean. Here, we observed that transgenic αAI peas, chickpeas and cowpeas as well as non-transgenic beans were all allergenic in BALB/c mice. Even consuming non-transgenic peas lacking αAI led to an anti-αAI response due to a cross-reactive response to pea lectin. Our data demonstrate that αAI transgenic peas are not more allergenic than beans or non-transgenic peas in mice. This study illustrates the importance of repeat experiments in independent laboratories and the potential for unexpected cross-reactive allergic responses upon consumption of plant products in mice.

Keywords

pea, allergen, bean alpha-amylase inhibitor, weevil

Funding

Funding source
  • European Commission
Funding country
  • EU
Funding type
  • government

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Cite this study

MLA

Lee, RY, D Reiner, G Dekan, AE Moore, TJ Higgins, MM Epstein. "Genetically modified α-amylase inhibitor peas are not specifically allergenic in mice." PLOS ONE 8.1 (2013): e52972. Web. 28 Mar. 2024.

APA

Lee, RY., Reiner, D., Dekan, G., Moore, AE., Higgins, TJ., & Epstein, MM. (2013). Genetically modified α-amylase inhibitor peas are not specifically allergenic in mice. PLOS ONE, 8(1), e52972. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052972

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