November 30, 2001 -- Despite Mexico's three-year-old moratorium on the use of genetically modified corn, scientists have detected bioengineered DNA in native corn, or criollo, from the remote region of Sierra Norte de
Oaxaca in Mexico.

University of California, Berkeley, scientists Dr. Ignacio H. Chapela and Dr. David Quist sampled several varieties of maize native to Oaxaca to see whether they contained material from two strains
of genetically modified corn used in the United States. Five of the seven types of maize they sampled tested positive for genetically modified material, Chapela and Quist reported in the November 29
issue of the journal Nature. Their findings have been confirmed by Mexican scientists.

It is uncertain how the wild corn cross-pollinated with transgenic corn, but Chapela and Quist maintain their research shows the exchange of genetic material is a highly probably occurrence. "The
intentional release of large amounts of commercial transgenic seed into the environment since the mid-1990s represents a unique opportunity to trace the flow of genetic material over biogeographical
regions, as well as a major influence on the future genetics of the global food system," they wrote in Nature, noting that the impact of genetically modified crops on natural biodiversity has
been cause for concern.

"This is a good piece of research, but there is no real surprise that gene flow has occurred," says Dr. Guy Poppy, senior lecturer in ecology at Southampton University in the United Kingdom and
an advisor on a European Union project to study the interaction between transgenic plants and insects. "This is how plants have evolved over millions of years. Some dispersal of pollen on the wind
and by insects is inevitable. Nothing can be isolated totally from the rest of the world. It's better to acknowledge that a minimum of cross-pollination cannot be avoided and not to panic: after all,
nowhere in the world has a GM product been found to be unhealthy, and no adverse environmental effect has ever been substantiated.

"While it's worthwhile understanding how frequently gene flow occurs, it's also important to understand the impact or consequence that such events have. This is something which further studies will
need to evaluate and emphasises the need for case-by-case analysis," Dr. Poppy says.