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Degradation and half-life of DNA present in biomass from a genetically-modified organism during land application

  • Fermentation, Cell Culture and Bioengineering - Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

White biotechnology has made a positive impact on the chemical industry by providing safer, more efficient chemical manufacturing processes that have reduced the use of toxic chemicals, harsh reaction conditions, and expensive metal catalysts, which has improved alignment with the principles of Green Chemistry. The genetically-modified (GM) biocatalysts that are utilized in these processes are typically separated from high-value products and then recycled, or eliminated. Elimination routes include disposal in sanitary landfills, incineration, use as a fuel, animal feed, or reuse as an agricultural soil amendment or other value-added products. Elimination routes that have the potential to impact the food chain or environment have been more heavily scrutinized for the fate and persistence of biological products. In this study, we developed and optimized a method for monitoring the degradation of strain-specific DNA markers from a genetically-modified organism (GMO) used for the commercial production of 1,3-propanediol. Laboratory and field tests showed that a marker for heterologous DNA in the GM organism was no longer detectable by end-point polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after 14 days. The half-life of heterologous DNA was increased by 17% (from 42.4 to 49.7 h) after sterilization of the soil from a field plot, which indicated that abiotic factors were important in degradation of DNA under field conditions. There was no evidence for horizontal transfer of DNA target sequences from the GMO to viable organisms present in the soil.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the University of Tennessee for assistance in conducting these research field trials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DuPont Tate and Lyle Bio Products, 198 Blair Bend Drive, Loudon, TN, 37774, USA

    Mathew C. Halter & James A. Zahn

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  1. Mathew C. Halter
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  2. James A. Zahn
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Correspondence to James A. Zahn.

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Halter, M.C., Zahn, J.A. Degradation and half-life of DNA present in biomass from a genetically-modified organism during land application. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 44, 213–220 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-016-1876-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-016-1876-x

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