GM Monitor – GM Crop Approvals July 2024

JULY 24, 2024

AgbioInvestor’s free-to-access service AgbioInvestor GM Monitor has identified the following GM trait approvals up to July 2024. Expanded details on these recently approved traits, as well as for approvals dating back as far as 1992, can be found on AgbioInvestor’s GM Monitor website.

MON 87427 x MON 94804 x NK603 maize (MON-87427-7 x MON-94804-4 MON-ØØ6Ø3-6), developed by Monsanto before its acquisition by Bayer, has received cultivation approval in Brazil. MON 87427 x MON 94804 x NK603 maize possesses traits for reduced height (short stature) and glyphosate tolerance. MON 94804 genetic event confers the GA20ox_SUP gene which is responsible for giving the maize its shortened stature. The reduction in plant height is caused by a single insert consisting of one copy GA20ox_SUP suppression cassette, which downregulates the expression of two endogenous gibberellic acid 20 oxidase (GA20ox) genes, GA20ox3 and GA20ox5. The suppression of the two target genes results in a decline in gibberellic acid levels in the maize stalk, which leads to a reduced internode length in the stalk and, as a consequence, to a reduction in plant height. Glyphosate tolerance is conferred through the use of two herbicide tolerance genetic events, MON 87427 and the NK603, that produce a CP4 epsps enzyme. MON 87427 x MON 94804 x NK603 was most likely produced by conventional crossing to combine three single events, which were developed through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The MON 94804 genetic event has received cultivation approval in the USA (2023), Canada (2023), and Brazil (2023), while this latest Brazilian approval combines MON 94804 with herbicide tolerance.