2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/26/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | Fate of Environmental Proteins (eProteins) from Genetically Engineered Crops in Streams is Controlled by Water pH and Ecosystem Metabolism | Virtual Platform
Fate of Environmental Proteins (eProteins) from Genetically Engineered Crops in Streams is Controlled by Water pH and Ecosystem Metabolism
Environmental proteins (eProteins), such as Cry-proteins associated with genetically-engineered (GE) organisms, are present in ecosystems worldwide, but only rarely reach concentrations with detectable ecosystem-level impacts. Despite their ubiquity, the degradation and fate of Cry and other eProteins are mostly unknown. Here we report the results of an experiment where we added Cry-proteins leached from GE Bt maize to a suite of 19 recirculating experimental streams. We found that Cry exhibited a biphasic degradation with an initial phase of rapid and variable degradation within one hour, followed by a slow and steady phase of degradation with traces of protein persisting after 48 hours. The initial degradation was correlated with heterotrophic respiration and water column dissolved oxygen, confirming an association with stream metabolism. However, protein degradation persisted even with no biofilm, and was faster at more acidic pH, suggesting that water chemistry is also critical in both degradation and subsequent detection. We suggest that Cry, as well as other eProteins, will have a rapid degradation caused by denaturation of proteins and pH changes, which confirms that the detection of Cry-proteins in natural streams must be the result of steady and consistent leaching.
- Stream
- Contaminants
- Organic matter
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Presenters/Authors
Pedro Brandao Dias F Pinto
(), Rice University, pb21@rice.edu;
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Emma Rosi
(), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, rosie@caryinstitute.org;
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Arial Shogren
(), Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Michigan State University, shogrena@msu.edu;
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Jennifer Tank
(), University of Notre Dame, jtank@nd.edu;
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David Fischer
(), Cary Institute, fischerd@caryinstitute.org;
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Scott Egan
(), scott.p.egan@rice.edu , Rice University;
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