EVALUATING RISKS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FEED IN WISTAR ALBINO RATS: CYTOGENETIC AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDIES

Genetically modified (GM) technology is the fastest adopted crop technology to produce higher agronomic productivity of more nutritious food. The use of GM crops may also involve potential risks for human health and development, since many genes used in the production of GMOs have not been in the food supply before.
This work was planned to evaluate the potential impact of feeding rats with GM-based diets for 90 days starting from weaning. Histopathological and histochemical investigations for the stomach, intestine and spleen were performed. Genotoxicity of the GM-based diet was evaluated in bone marrow and blood cells.
The presence of GM components in the investigated diets fed to different groups of rats for 90 days was evaluated using a pair of primers specific for Nopaline synthase gene terminator (NOS3′). Results of all parameters evaluated in our investigation were consistent and confirm that the GM-based diet fed to rats for 30, 60 or 90 days has deleterious histopathological, and histochemical changes in gastric and intestinal mucosa as well as spleen tissues. Genotoxicity of the GM-diet was demonstrated as increased incidence of micronuclei formation and increased numbers of cells with chromosomal aberrations in somatic cells. The extent of DNA migration increased among damaged blood cells as measured by the comet assay. In conclusion genetically modified feed caused significant hazards to rats; suggesting that it may have potential risks for human.