Compositions of Forage and Seed from Second-Generation Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybean MON 89788 and Insect-Protected Soybean MON 87701 from Brazil Are Equivalent to Those of Conventional Soybean (Glycine max)

Brazil has become one of the largest soybean producers. Two Monsanto Co. biotechnology-derived soybean products are designed to offer benefits in weed and pest management. These are second-generation glyphosate-tolerant soybean, MON 89788, and insect-protected soybean, MON 87701. The second-generation glyphosate-tolerant soybean product, MON 89788, contains the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase gene derived from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 (cp4 epsps). MON 87701 contains the cry1Ac gene and expression of the Cry1Ac protein providing protection from feeding damage caused by certain lepidopteran insect pests. The purpose of this assessment was to determine whether the compositions of seed and forage of MON 89788 and MON 87701 are comparable to those of conventional soybean grown in two geographically and climatically distinct regions in multiple replicated sites in Brazil during the 2007-2008 growing season. Overall, results demonstrated that the seed and forage of MON 89788 and MON 87701 are compositionally equivalent to those of conventional soybean. Strikingly, the results also showed that differences in mean component values of forage and seed from the two controls grown in the different geographical regions were generally greater than that observed in test and control comparisons. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) of compositional data generated on MON 89788, MON 87701, and their respective region-specific controls provide a graphical illustration of how natural variation contributes more than biotechnology-driven genetic modification to compositional variability in soybean. Levels of isoflavones and fatty acids were particularly variable.