Jin Yuan, Goodman Richard E, Tetteh Afua O, Lu Mei, Tripathi Leena
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, 1901 North 21st Street, P.O. Box 886207, Lincoln, NE 68588-6207, USA.
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2017 Nov;109(Pt 1):81-89. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2017.08.024. Epub 2017 Aug 19.
Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease threatens banana production and food security throughout East Africa. Natural resistance is lacking among common cultivars. Genetically modified (GM) bananas resistant to BXW disease were developed by inserting the hypersensitive response-assisting protein (Hrap) or/and the plant ferredoxin-like protein (Pflp) gene(s) from sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum). Several of these GM banana events showed 100% resistance to BXW disease under field conditions in Uganda. The current study evaluated the potential allergenicity and toxicity of the expressed proteins HRAP and PFLP based on evaluation of published information on the history of safe use of the natural source of the proteins as well as established bioinformatics sequence comparison methods to known allergens (www.AllergenOnline.org and NCBI Protein) and toxins (NCBI Protein). The results did not identify potential risks of allergy and toxicity to either HRAP or PFLP proteins expressed in the GM bananas that might suggest potential health risks to humans. We recognize that additional tests including stability of these proteins in pepsin assay, nutrient analysis and possibly an acute rodent toxicity assay may be required by national regulatory authorities.
香蕉黄单胞菌枯萎病（BXW）威胁着整个东非的香蕉生产和粮食安全。常见品种中缺乏天然抗性。通过插入来自甜椒（辣椒）的过敏反应辅助蛋白（Hrap）或/和植物铁氧还蛋白样蛋白（Pflp）基因，培育出了抗BXW病的转基因香蕉。在乌干达的田间条件下，其中一些转基因香蕉事件对BXW病表现出100%的抗性。本研究基于对蛋白质天然来源安全使用历史的公开信息评估，以及与已知过敏原（www.AllergenOnline.org和NCBI蛋白质）和毒素（NCBI蛋白质）建立的生物信息学序列比较方法，评估了表达蛋白HRAP和PFLP的潜在致敏性和毒性。结果未发现转基因香蕉中表达的HRAP或PFLP蛋白存在过敏和毒性的潜在风险，这可能表明对人类存在潜在健康风险。我们认识到，国家监管机构可能需要进行额外的测试，包括这些蛋白质在胃蛋白酶检测中的稳定性、营养分析以及可能的急性啮齿动物毒性检测。
