Abstract

Maize is the second major cereal in Nepal; its food biosafety and ecological conservation is an important concern. To address this issue, it is necessary to detect genetically modified (GM) maize and establish a monitoring and regulatory system in Nepal. Currently, Nepal does not have legal regulations or labeling directives for GM maize. Therefore, the authors aimed to survey the current status of GM maize seeds in Nepal. First, they performed multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) to detect 8 GM maize lines in 46 maize seed samples from different locations in Nepal. Suspected samples were then verified by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and screen-specific PCR. Based on current evidence, they can not identify any GM maize in the seed samples. This first report may formulate and implement a baseline for quality regulation and biodiversity conservation of maize seeds in Nepal.

Key words: Genetically modified crops, maize, seeds, Nepal, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, real-time PCR.

Abbreviation

GM, Genetically modified; PCR, polymerase chain reaction;mPCR, multiplex polymerase chain reaction; RT, real-time; FAO, food and agriculture organization; WHO, world health organization; GMOs, genetically modified organisms; GRMs, genomic reference materials; CRMs, certified reference materials; CTAB, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide; BLAST, basic local alignment search tool; MGBNFQ, minor-groove-binding non-fluorescent quencher dye.