Plenish Genetically Engineered Soybeans

Plenish Genetically Engineered Soybeans are a variety of Genetically Engineered High Oleic Acid Soybeans created by Pioneer Hi-Bred (DuPont) and deregulated in Canada in 2009 and in the U.S. in 2010. They have been genetically engineered to have higher levels of oleic acid (omega 9 fatty acid), and lower levels of linoleic (omega 6 fatty acid) and linolenic acids in the soybean oil."This makes them "more stable at high frying temperatures" and extends their shelflife. Plenish soybeans are identified in scientific and government documents as "Soybean Event 305423."

Plenish soybeans are marketed as "a soybean with a healthier oil profile" because they have "zero trans fat." However, all soybeans are naturally free of trans fat. Soybean oil only has trans-fat if it is partially hydrogenated.

Altered Oil Profile
A typical soybean's fat content breaks down as follows:
 * Palmitic Acid: 16%
 * Stearic Acid: 4%
 * Oleic Acid (omega-9): 23%
 * Linoleic Acid (omega-6): 54%
 * Linolenic Acid (omega-3): 8%

The Plenish soybean's oil profile is altered to be as follows:
 * Palmitic Acid: 6-7%
 * Stearic Acid: 4%
 * Oleic Acid (omega-9): >75%
 * Linoleic Acid (omega-6): <10%
 * Linolenic Acid (omega-3): <3%

Deregulation in the U.S. and Canada
Canada deregulated Plenish soybeans on May 6, 2009. The U.S. deregulated it on June 8, 2010. Prior to deregulation, the USDA performed an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act and concluded a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI).

At the time of deregulation, Health Canada characterized the GE soybean as follows:
 * "Soybean event 305423 was genetically modified using biolistic co-transformation of soybean embryo tissue with two linear DNA fragments: PHP 19340A containing the gm-fad2-1 cassette and PHP17752A containing the gm-hra gene cassette. The gm-fad2-1 cassette is composed of the promoter sequence of the soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor gene 3 (P-KTi3), a partial fragment of the soybean microsomal omega-6 desaturase gene (gm-fad2-1), and the terminator sequence of the soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor gene 3 (T-KTi3). The gm-hra gene expression cassette is composed of the promoter sequence of soybean S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase (P-SAMS), the 5' untranslated region of the soybean SAMS gene (5'UTR-SAMS) flanking an intron (I-SAMS), a modified version of the acetolactate synthase gene from soybean (gm-hra), and the terminator region of the acetolactate synthase gene from soybean (T-als).


 * "Insertion of the partial gm-fad2-1 gene from soybean acts to silence the endogenous gm-fad2-1 gene encoding the GM-FAD2-1 protein. Introduction of the gm-hra gene encodes for the GM-HRA protein, a modified version of a soybean acetolate synthase conferring tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicides. Successfully transformed soybean embryo tissues were selected on media containing sulfonylurea herbicides and a high oleic acid phenotype was detected using a gas chromatography assay."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * DuPont
 * Pioneer Hi-Bred
 * Genetically Modified Organisms
 * Genetically Engineered Biofortified Crops
 * GMO Policies by Country
 * Using Hunger to Promote Genetic Engineering

External resources

 * Plenish
 * GM Crop Database, Center for Environmental Risk Assessment
 * Overview of GMO Events Commercially Available and Regulatory Status
 * Novel Food Decisions - Approved Products, Health Canada.
 * Charles Benbrook, "Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years" and Supplemental Tables, The Organic Center, 2009.
 * "Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops," Union of Concerned Scientists, 2009.

External articles

 * Simopoulos AP, The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 2002 Oct;56(8):365-79.