Andre Silvanovich

Bioinformatics and Sequence Analysis Lead, Bayer Crop Science

Company Expert Monsanto Bayer

Expert Bio

I joined Monsanto (now Bayer) in 1999 after completing a Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Minnesota. I am a member of regulatory science organization where I apply my knowledge of bioinformatics, molecular biology and protein chemistry to address questions related to the safety of our biotechnology products.

Studies, Articles and Answers

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Q: I have read that researchers have said that the process of creating a GMO is essentially a shotgun approach, rather than the impossible precise insertion that most people believe, and that, in any case, large numbers of toxic proteins are certain to be pr

Answered By Andre Silvanovich - Mar 18, 2014

A: The short answer is: while the initial transformation process can be described as a “shotgun” or random approach, researchers use numerous tools and techniques to eliminate all of the plants where the insertion occurred in an undesirable location or where the insertion could be disrupting or negatively impacting surrounding genes. Then researchers conduct rigorous safety tests on the remaining plants to make sure the insertion did not produce any new proteins—except for the protein that was specifically desired by the insertion. Following is my longer answer, which I broke down to addres [...]

Answered By Community Manager - Feb 18, 2014

A: Thanks for your question! This is a common question about GMOs and has recently been discussed by Denneal Jamison-McClung, associate director of the UC Davis Biotechnology Program. You might find the excerpt below from her response helpful: “Thanks to the genomics revolution and new molecular tools, such as ‘genome editing,’ very specific genetic changes can be easily made to plant genomes, from single nucleotide changes to the insertion or deletion of whole genes (Cressey, 2013; Li, 2013). Genomic changes or “events” moving forward for potential commercialization are well-characterized, [...]

GMO Basics Health & Safety