MON 809, MON 810, MON 863

MON 809

MON 809 is an Insect Resistant maize under license from Monsanto Company. Small amounts of the introduced proteins, CryIA(b) and CP4 EPSPS are present in leaves, seeds and roots of line MON 809 but, not in the pollen. Hybrids derived from MON 809 are agronomically similar to their non-transgenic counterparts in terms of growth characteristics and resistance to non-Lepidopteran pests and produce similar yields in the absence of ECB. However, under heavy infestations of ECB, MON 809 hybrids out yield their non-transgenic counterparts by 10 – 15%. Hybrids derived from MON 809 are not tolerant to the concentrations of glyphosate herbicide that are typically used for weed control.

MON 810

MON 810 is a variety of genetically modified maize (corn) developed by Monsanto Company sold with the trade name YieldGard. It contains a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that expresses a toxin (Bt toxin) poisonous to some pest insects, such as the European Corn Borer. It was approved for use in the European Union in 1998, but later was banned in most countries.

MON 863

The genetically modified maize MON 863 was generated by transformation of Zea mays cell culture line AT824 (initiated from immature embryos of an inbred maize line AT) with a MluI restriction fragment from plasmid PV-ZMIR13 using particle acceleration technology. The DNA fragment used for transformation carried two expression cassettes; a selectable marker gene nptII encoding neomycin phosphotransferase II and a trait gene encoding a variant Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb1 insecticidal protein.The variant Cry3Bb1 protein expressed in MON 863 maize has seven amino acid differences from wild type Cry3Bb1 and was designed to enhance its expression in plants and insecticidal activity against corn rootworm. This protects the plant from corn rootworm. The major difference with MON 810 is that , MON 810 produces Cry1Ab toxin like Bt11 and Bt 176.