Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

In order to confirm the safety of a genetically modified organism (GMO), we assess its potential toxicity on non-target insects and spiders. In this study, the effects of GM soybean, a type of vitamin-A-enhanced transgenic soybean with tolerance to the herbicide glufosinate, were assessed under a field condition. The study compared this vitamin-A-enhanced transgenic soybean and a non-GM soybean (Gwangan) in a living modified organism (LMO) isolated field of Kyungpook National University (Gunwi) and the National Institute Agricultural Sciences (Jeonju) in the Republic of Korea in 2019 - 2020. In total, 207,760 individual insects and arachnids, representing 81 families and 13 orders, were collected during the study. From the two types of soybean fields, corresponding totals of 105,765 and 101,995 individuals from the vitamin-A-enhanced transgenic soybean and Gwangan samples areas were collected. An analysis of variance indicated no significant differences (p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis showed that the dominance and richness outcomes of plant-dwelling insects were similar. The data on insect species population densities were subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA) and an orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), which did not distinguish between the two varieties, i.e., the vitamin-A-enhanced transgenic soybean and the non-GM soybean in any cultivated field. However, the results of the PCA analysis could be divided overall into four groups based on the yearly survey areas. Therefore, there was no evidence for the different impact of vitamin A-enhanced transgenic soybean on the above-ground insects and spiders compared to non-GM soybean.