MON 89034

MON 89034 is a variety of genetically engineered Bt corn sold by Monsanto. It was initially deregulated in 2008 and sold in the U.S. under the brand name "Genuity® VT Double Pro ®"

MON 89034 is genetically engineered for European Corn Borer resistance. It produces an insecticidal protein that is naturally made by a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), in every cell of the plant. The Bt protein the corn produces kills lepidopteran insects, including the European corn borer. However, by 2011, pests evolved resistance to Bt. Bt corn and genetically modified organisms are controversial around the world.

Deregulation
On October 26, 2006, Monsanto submitted a petition to the USDA seeking to deregulate the genetically engineered corn event MON 89034. The USDA requested more information, and Monsanto responded with an addendum to its petition on January 23, 2007. The USDA conducted an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI). MON 89034 was deregulated on July 24, 2008.

The USDA wrote in the Federal at the time of deregulation:
 * "Corn transformation event MON 89034 has been genetically engineered to express the transgenes cry1A.105 and cry2Ab2, both of which were derived from a well-characterized gene sequence from Bacillus thurigiensis, and encode insect control proteins. The neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) gene was used as a selectable marker, but was eliminated by traditional breeding methods in the later stages of development of MON 89034. Thus, MON 89034 contains only the cry1A.105 and cry2Ab2 expression cassettes. Expression of the transgenes by corn plants renders the corn line resistant to European corn borer, as well as other lepidopteran pests. Regulatory elements for the transgenes were obtained from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. These regulatory sequences are not transcribed and do not encode proteins. The DNA was introduced into corn cells using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methodology with the T-DNA binary transformation vector designated PV ZMIR245."

Commercialization
In 2010, Monsanto commercialized its MON 89034 line of Bt corn, branding it "Genuity™ VT Double PRO™." When sold as Genuity™ VT Double PRO™, the seed also contains the NK603 Roundup Ready trait.

MON 89034 is sold in several "stacked" products (corn seeds with many genetically engineered traits combined into them):
 * Genuity® VT-Triple Pro™: A corn seed that includes MON 89034 and MON 88017
 * Genuity™ SmartStax™: A corn seed jointly created by Monsanto and Dow combining the lines MON 88017, MON 89034, TC1507, and DAS 59122-7 into one genetically engineered corn. Monsanto sold it as Genuity™ SmartStax™ and Dow Agrosciences sold it as SmartStax™.
 * Seminis Performance Series Sweet Corn: A sweet corn seed that combines MON 89034 and MON 88017.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * GE Corn
 * Biotechnology
 * GMO Policies by Country
 * Herbicide Tolerant Crops
 * Bacillus thuringiensis
 * Bt-Resistant Insects
 * Genetically Modified Organisms
 * Monsanto
 * MON 810
 * MON 809

External resources

 * Know Before You Grow, National Corn Growers Association
 * A Compendium of Biotech Corn Traits, Purdue University.
 * 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

 * G. Chandrashekhar, "Monsanto hopes India will clear Bt corn in 3 years," The Hindu, September 10, 2011.
 * Stephanie Bodoni, "French ban of modified maize dealt blow in court: Monsanto, 10 other companies, challenged action," STLToday.com, September 10, 2011.
 * Jack Kaskey, "Monsanto Corn Falls to Illinois Bugs as Investigation Widens," Bloomberg, September 2, 2011.
 * Clay Dillow, "Pests Are Developing Resistance to Monsanto's Engineered Supercorn," Popular Science, August 30, 2011.
 * Associated Press, "Monsanto shares slip on bug-resistant corn woes," Forbes, August 29, 2011.
 * Scott Kilman, "Monsanto Corn Plant Losing Bug Resistance," Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2011.
 * Dan Piller, "Beetle resistance reported to Monsanto BT corn," Des Moines Register, August 28, 2011.
 * Mike Gray, "Severe root damage to Bt corn confirmed in northwestern Illinois," Aces News, August 24, 2011.