Source: Ayyadurai, V.A.S. and Deonikar, P. 2015. Do GMOs accumulate formaldehyde and disrupt molecular systems equilibria? Systems biology may provide answers. Agricultural Sciences, 6, 630-662.
The claim is that GM soybean has increased formaldehyde. Others have been quick to interpret that increased formaldehyde contributes to cancer while being toxic to other body organs. The paper concludes that current safety assessment is not adequate, as it did not catch the increased formaldehyde and decreased glutathione.
In this case, the authors developed formulas that they claim can predict the final composition of soybean seeds. However, they have never validated their formulas to see if they are correct. Furthermore, no soybeans were ever checked to see if their predictions were true. This paper exemplifies what happens when computer scientists with no background in biology use a bunch of formulas with unclear relevance to biology, and then fail to validate their results, thus proving the old adage that when it comes to computers, garbage in gives garbage out.
The main reasons why this paper fails:
- Their formulas (which remain secret, so that nobody else can verity if they work) predict that glutathione in this modified soybean will be depleted, so the the seeds will lack glutathione. Yet,the authors failed to notice that soybean normally has almost no glutatione to begin with! That much was reported in:McGonigle B, S-M Lau, LD Jennings, and DP O’Keefe. 1998. Homogluathione selectivity by soybean glutathione S-transferases. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 62: 13-25. Article PB982365.
- Their formulas predict that this particular modification will increase the level of formaldehyde in soybeans. However, they never bothered to test real soybeans to see if their predictions were true. Furthermoe, the final seed composition of soybean is due to the interactions of some 50,000 genes, most of which are of unknown function. As of yet, there are no known formulas that can predict the final seed composition that results from these ~50,000 genes.
- The publisher of this journal, Scientific Research, is on Beall’s list of Potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers.
- What is formaldehyde and where is it found? According to the IPCS INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON CHEMICAL SAFETY: formaldehyde at the predicted levels is very common in nature and in household products:”There is some natural formaldehyde in raw food, levels ranging from 1 to 90 mg/kg.””The formaldehyde concentration in drinking-water is generally about 0.1 mg/litre, resulting in a mean daily intake of 0.2 mg/day. The quantity of formaldehyde ingested in food depends on the composition of the meal and, for an average adult, may range from 1.5 to 14 mg/day.””1% is also used as a preservative in a variety of other consumer goods, such as household cleaning agents, dish-washing liquids, fabric softeners, shoe-care agents, car shampoos and waxes, and carpet-cleaning agents.””Odour-detection thresholds are in the range of 0.1-0.3 mg/m3. Thus, some individuals can smell formaldehyde at very low concentrations.”
Additional expert assessments:
- The European Food Safety Agency conclusions
- A new, bizarre activist scam: formaldehyde in GMO soybeans
About the paper’s author, a self-declared public figure:
Thanks to Prof. Jonathan Gressel for his thoughtful analysis.