A soja tolerante ao herbicida glifosato é o vegetal geneticamente modificado mais cultivado. Entretanto, questões sobre a biossegurança dos alimentos GM são ainda levantadas, como as incertezas sobre a expressão das novas proteínas, mutações indesejadas, alterações de perfis nutricionais e aparecimento de compostos tóxicos. Apesar dos comprovados efeitos benéficos à saúde, a soja apresenta naturalmente, entre suas proteínas, fatores antinutricionais, que podem: provocar efeitos fisiológicos adversos; diminuir a biodisponibilidade de nutrientes; e induzir reações de hipersensibilidade. Paralelamente, a soja possui sabor e aroma desagradáveis por ação de enzimas lipoxigenases. Os fatores antinutricionais estão relacionados às aglutininas (lectinas) e aos inibidores de proteases (inibidor de tripsina, tipo Kunitz, e inibidor de tripsina e quimotripsina, tipo Bowman-Brik), enquanto as globulinas da soja respondem pelas reações de hipersensibilidade. Objetivou-se neste trabalho fazer a comparação dos mapas protéicos de soja GM, suas isolinhas convencionais e sojas orgânicas visando a detecção de alterações nos perfis protéicos destes diferentes tipos de cultivo, e também a análise da expressão dos fatores antinutricionais, como os inibidores de proteases e aglutininas, considerando a extensão das variações naturais existentes nas amostras. Para tanto, foram comparadas seis amostras de sementes de variedades comerciais de soja cultivadas em paralelo, sob as mesmas condições ambientais e de solo, compostas por três isolinhas genitoras e suas três correspondentes GMs e duas amostras orgânicas, sendo que uma delas é comercial e a outra ainda esta em campos de pesquisa, fornecidas pela Embrapa Soja. Foram analisados extratos protéicos de todas as amostras, após extração com ácido tricloroacético (TCA) e acetona, através de eletroforese unidimensional (1D) e bidimensional (2D). Nestas foi empregado gradiente de pH de 3-10 e as imagens avaliadas pelo software ImageMaster 2D Platinum. Diversos spots selecionados foram identificados por espectrometria de massas. Nas imagens dos géis 2D, foi possível identificar e quantificar os spots correspondentes às proteínas isoladas e não houve diferença estatística ao nível de significância de 5% entre os diferentes tipos de cultivo. Na verificação da sobreposição dos géis, obtivemos porcentagens de matchings superiores a 70% entre as amostras GMs e não GMs. As amostras orgânicas apresentaram % matchings menores que entre convencionais e GMs. Nos resultados da espectrometria de massas foi possível reconhecer os principais grupos protéicos da soja, como as frações e subunidades de β-conglicinina e de glicinina, bem como os inibidores de proteases, aglutininas e lipoxigenases e não foi possível perceber alterações na expressão dos peptídeos identificados e analisados. Podemos concluir que as variações encontradas entre as três amostras convencionais e entre as amostras dos grupos convencionais e orgânicas foram maiores que a comparação das amostras GMs com suas genitoras correspondentes. / The glyphosate tolerant soybean is the most cultivated GM plant. However, questions about the bio-safety of GM foods are still rising, as there are uncertainty about the expression of new proteins, undesired mutations, changes in nutritional profile and the production of toxic compounds. Despite of the beneficial effects to human health, the soybean has anti-nutritional factors that can cause adverse physiological effects, reduce the bioavailability of nutrients, and induce hypersensitivity reactions. At the same time the soybean develop undesirable flavor due to the action of lipoxygenases. The anti-nutritional factors are related to agglutinins (lectins) and to the proteases inhibitors (Kunitz\'s Trypsin Inhibitor and Bowman-Birk\'s Inhibitor of Trypsin and Chymotrypsin) while the soybean globulins are responsible for hypersensitivity reactions. The objective of this work was to compare proteic maps of GM soybean, conventional isolines and organic soybean aiming to detect changes in protein profiles of the different types of cultivation and also analyze the expression of the anti-nutritional factors, such as protease inhibitors and agglutinins, taking into consideration the natural variation existing in the samples. For this, it was performed the comparisons between six seed samples of commercial varieties of soybeans, grown in parallel under the same environmental conditions and soil, composed of three parental isolines and their three corresponding GM and two organic sample, one of them is commercial and the other is still in search fields. The samples were provided by Embrapa Soja. Protein extracts were analyzed from the samples after extraction with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and acetone using regular monodimensional electrophoresis (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) ones. For 2D were used strips of pH gradient 3-10 and the final images analyzed by ImageMaster 2D Platinum software. Several selected spots were identified by mass spectrometry. In the images of the 2D gels, we could identify and quantify the spots corresponding to proteins isolated and there was no statistical difference at 5% of significance between the different types of cultivation. Checking the overlap of the gels, we obtained matchings above 70% between GM and non GM sample. The organic sample had lower matching index between conventional and GM. It was possible to recognize the major groups of soy protein as a result of mass spectrometry such as¨β-conglycinin fractions and glycinin as well as protease inhibitors, lipoxygenase, and agglutinins. We concluded that the variations found among the tree conventional samples and between samples of conventional and organic groups were higher than the comparison of sample GMs with their corresponding parentals.

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar e comparar custos de produção para a soja, visando as análises comparativas de custos incorridos entre a cultura trasngênica e convencional e entre os custos contidos nas planilhas disponibilizadas pelos órgãos públicos no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos. Para tanto foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo, no estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, para levantamento, através de entrevistas a produtores, de dados primários referentes a safra 2004/05 que compuseram o banco de dados necessário para a formação das planilhas de custo de produção. O comparativo entre as duas modalidades de cultivo, viabilizado através de revisão bibliográfica dos conceitos envolvidos em uma planilha típica de custo de produção, revelou que o custo da soja transgênica foi aproximadamente 14,8 % menor do que o da soja convencional. A análise mostrou que os produtores que adotaram a nova tecnologia tiveram um custo inferior com herbicida e mão-de-obra quando comparado ao custo da convencional. Para o comparativo entre as planilhas obtidas a luz das metodologias dos órgãos públicos, coube a revisão bibliográfica das metodologias utilizadas pela Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (CONAB) para o Brasil e pelo Departamento de Agricultura (USDA) para os Estados Unidos. A partir de dados comuns, uma planilha representativa de cada órgão, adaptada à realidade brasileira, foi obtida, permitindo decidir sobre a possibilidade de comparação destes custos de produção, considerando suas disparidades metodológicas. Foi observado que a diferença que se inicia a partir da forma de obtenção das informações permeia toda a planilha. Diferença ora sutis, percebidas durante os cálculos, alternam-se com diferenças evidentes, estas percebidas através da simples observação das planilhas, não sendo, portanto custos comparáveis. / The current work has as the main objective to determine and to compare costs of soybean production system, in order to visualize comparative analysis regarding to all costs incurred between two systems of production: crops based on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and those one on conventional seeds. The costs published in spreadsheets by public agencies in Brazil and in United States were analyzed as well. A field research was carried out in South Mato Grosso State, in terms of survey, by interviewing some producers (farmers) about their corresponding primary data of harvest regarding to 2004/2005, intending to collect the necessary database for the composition of production costs spreadsheets. The comparison between the two mentioned modalities of agricultural systems, which was possible due to bibliographical revision about related concepts in terms of typical cost of production spreadsheet, has shown that the cost of GMO system was approximately 14,8% less than that of conventional one. The analysis has shown that the producers that had adopted the new technology had reduced their costs with herbicide and man power when compared with the costs of the conventional system. Regarding to comparison between obtained spreadsheets based on methodologies of the public agencies, it was done the bibliographical revision of the methodologies used by the Brazilian National Supply Company (CONAB) and by the United States Agriculture Department (USDA). Consequently, from a common database, it was generated a representative spreadsheet of each agency, adapted to Brazilian reality, which allowed deciding about the possibility of comparison of these costs of production, considering its methodological disparity. It was observed that the differences which started with the form of acquiring information are maintained along the spreadsheets. Such subtle differences, perceived throughout the computation of data, were alternated with evident differences, these one perceived through spreadsheets, not being comparable costs, thus.

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar e comparar custos de produção para a soja, visando as análises comparativas de custos incorridos entre a cultura trasngênica e convencional e entre os custos contidos nas planilhas disponibilizadas pelos órgãos públicos no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos. Para tanto foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo, no estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, para levantamento, através de entrevistas a produtores, de dados primários referentes a safra 2004/05 que compuseram o banco de dados necessário para a formação das planilhas de custo de produção. O comparativo entre as duas modalidades de cultivo, viabilizado através de revisão bibliográfica dos conceitos envolvidos em uma planilha típica de custo de produção, revelou que o custo da soja transgênica foi aproximadamente 14,8 % menor do que o da soja convencional. A análise mostrou que os produtores que adotaram a nova tecnologia tiveram um custo inferior com herbicida e mão-de-obra quando comparado ao custo da convencional. Para o comparativo entre as planilhas obtidas a luz das metodologias dos órgãos públicos, coube a revisão bibliográfica das metodologias utilizadas pela Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (CONAB) para o Brasil e pelo Departamento de Agricultura (USDA) para os Estados Unidos. A partir de dados comuns, uma planilha representativa de cada órgão, adaptada à realidade brasileira, foi obtida, permitindo decidir sobre a possibilidade de comparação destes custos de produção, considerando suas disparidades metodológicas. Foi observado que a diferença que se inicia a partir da forma de obtenção das informações permeia toda a planilha. Diferença ora sutis, percebidas durante os cálculos, alternam-se com diferenças evidentes, estas percebidas através da simples observação das planilhas, não sendo, portanto custos comparáveis. / The current work has as the main objective to determine and to compare costs of soybean production system, in order to visualize comparative analysis regarding to all costs incurred between two systems of production: crops based on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and those one on conventional seeds. The costs published in spreadsheets by public agencies in Brazil and in United States were analyzed as well. A field research was carried out in South Mato Grosso State, in terms of survey, by interviewing some producers (farmers) about their corresponding primary data of harvest regarding to 2004/2005, intending to collect the necessary database for the composition of production costs spreadsheets. The comparison between the two mentioned modalities of agricultural systems, which was possible due to bibliographical revision about related concepts in terms of typical cost of production spreadsheet, has shown that the cost of GMO system was approximately 14,8% less than that of conventional one. The analysis has shown that the producers that had adopted the new technology had reduced their costs with herbicide and man power when compared with the costs of the conventional system. Regarding to comparison between obtained spreadsheets based on methodologies of the public agencies, it was done the bibliographical revision of the methodologies used by the Brazilian National Supply Company (CONAB) and by the United States Agriculture Department (USDA). Consequently, from a common database, it was generated a representative spreadsheet of each agency, adapted to Brazilian reality, which allowed deciding about the possibility of comparison of these costs of production, considering its methodological disparity. It was observed that the differences which started with the form of acquiring information are maintained along the spreadsheets. Such subtle differences, perceived throughout the computation of data, were alternated with evident differences, these one perceived through spreadsheets, not being comparable costs, thus.

A soja tolerante ao herbicida glifosato é o vegetal geneticamente modificado mais cultivado. Entretanto, questões sobre a biossegurança dos alimentos GM são ainda levantadas, como as incertezas sobre a expressão das novas proteínas, mutações indesejadas, alterações de perfis nutricionais e aparecimento de compostos tóxicos. Apesar dos comprovados efeitos benéficos à saúde, a soja apresenta naturalmente, entre suas proteínas, fatores antinutricionais, que podem: provocar efeitos fisiológicos adversos; diminuir a biodisponibilidade de nutrientes; e induzir reações de hipersensibilidade. Paralelamente, a soja possui sabor e aroma desagradáveis por ação de enzimas lipoxigenases. Os fatores antinutricionais estão relacionados às aglutininas (lectinas) e aos inibidores de proteases (inibidor de tripsina, tipo Kunitz, e inibidor de tripsina e quimotripsina, tipo Bowman-Brik), enquanto as globulinas da soja respondem pelas reações de hipersensibilidade. Objetivou-se neste trabalho fazer a comparação dos mapas protéicos de soja GM, suas isolinhas convencionais e sojas orgânicas visando a detecção de alterações nos perfis protéicos destes diferentes tipos de cultivo, e também a análise da expressão dos fatores antinutricionais, como os inibidores de proteases e aglutininas, considerando a extensão das variações naturais existentes nas amostras. Para tanto, foram comparadas seis amostras de sementes de variedades comerciais de soja cultivadas em paralelo, sob as mesmas condições ambientais e de solo, compostas por três isolinhas genitoras e suas três correspondentes GMs e duas amostras orgânicas, sendo que uma delas é comercial e a outra ainda esta em campos de pesquisa, fornecidas pela Embrapa Soja. Foram analisados extratos protéicos de todas as amostras, após extração com ácido tricloroacético (TCA) e acetona, através de eletroforese unidimensional (1D) e bidimensional (2D). Nestas foi empregado gradiente de pH de 3-10 e as imagens avaliadas pelo software ImageMaster 2D Platinum. Diversos spots selecionados foram identificados por espectrometria de massas. Nas imagens dos géis 2D, foi possível identificar e quantificar os spots correspondentes às proteínas isoladas e não houve diferença estatística ao nível de significância de 5% entre os diferentes tipos de cultivo. Na verificação da sobreposição dos géis, obtivemos porcentagens de matchings superiores a 70% entre as amostras GMs e não GMs. As amostras orgânicas apresentaram % matchings menores que entre convencionais e GMs. Nos resultados da espectrometria de massas foi possível reconhecer os principais grupos protéicos da soja, como as frações e subunidades de β-conglicinina e de glicinina, bem como os inibidores de proteases, aglutininas e lipoxigenases e não foi possível perceber alterações na expressão dos peptídeos identificados e analisados. Podemos concluir que as variações encontradas entre as três amostras convencionais e entre as amostras dos grupos convencionais e orgânicas foram maiores que a comparação das amostras GMs com suas genitoras correspondentes. / The glyphosate tolerant soybean is the most cultivated GM plant. However, questions about the bio-safety of GM foods are still rising, as there are uncertainty about the expression of new proteins, undesired mutations, changes in nutritional profile and the production of toxic compounds. Despite of the beneficial effects to human health, the soybean has anti-nutritional factors that can cause adverse physiological effects, reduce the bioavailability of nutrients, and induce hypersensitivity reactions. At the same time the soybean develop undesirable flavor due to the action of lipoxygenases. The anti-nutritional factors are related to agglutinins (lectins) and to the proteases inhibitors (Kunitz\'s Trypsin Inhibitor and Bowman-Birk\'s Inhibitor of Trypsin and Chymotrypsin) while the soybean globulins are responsible for hypersensitivity reactions. The objective of this work was to compare proteic maps of GM soybean, conventional isolines and organic soybean aiming to detect changes in protein profiles of the different types of cultivation and also analyze the expression of the anti-nutritional factors, such as protease inhibitors and agglutinins, taking into consideration the natural variation existing in the samples. For this, it was performed the comparisons between six seed samples of commercial varieties of soybeans, grown in parallel under the same environmental conditions and soil, composed of three parental isolines and their three corresponding GM and two organic sample, one of them is commercial and the other is still in search fields. The samples were provided by Embrapa Soja. Protein extracts were analyzed from the samples after extraction with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and acetone using regular monodimensional electrophoresis (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) ones. For 2D were used strips of pH gradient 3-10 and the final images analyzed by ImageMaster 2D Platinum software. Several selected spots were identified by mass spectrometry. In the images of the 2D gels, we could identify and quantify the spots corresponding to proteins isolated and there was no statistical difference at 5% of significance between the different types of cultivation. Checking the overlap of the gels, we obtained matchings above 70% between GM and non GM sample. The organic sample had lower matching index between conventional and GM. It was possible to recognize the major groups of soy protein as a result of mass spectrometry such as¨β-conglycinin fractions and glycinin as well as protease inhibitors, lipoxygenase, and agglutinins. We concluded that the variations found among the tree conventional samples and between samples of conventional and organic groups were higher than the comparison of sample GMs with their corresponding parentals.

Soil is an important ecosystem that supports a wide variety of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, arthropods and nematodes. This sensitive ecosystem may be influenced by various factors, including agricultural management practices. With the introduction of genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant (RoundUp ® Ready: RR) crops, herbicides such as glyphosate have been increasingly used. However, little is known about the effect of glyphosate on the biological communities in these herbicide-sprayed soils. With the intimate proximity that microorganisms and nematodes have with the roots of plants, these organisms can be used to assess changes that may occur in the soil surrounding roots of RR crops. The aim of this study was to determine microbial community structure and nematode diversity, with emphasis on that of non-parasitic nematodes, in soil samples from conventional soybean (CS) - and RR- soybean fields compared to that in adjacent natural veld (NV) areas. Samples were collected from twenty three sites at six localities that are situated within the soybean-production areas of South Africa. These sites represented fields where RR and CS soybean grew, as well as surrounding NV. All RR fields have been treated with glyphosate for no less than five years. Microbial community structures of the twenty three sites in the RR, CS and NV ecosystems were determined by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses. Nematode diversity was determined by extracting the nematodes from soil samples and conducting a faunal analysis. Soil physical and chemical properties were determined by an independent laboratory, Eco-Analytica (North West University, Potchefstroom) according to standard procedures. Results from this study indicated differences in microbial community structure between the various localities. However, there were no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in microbial community structures between RR- and CS ecosystems. Soils of both RR- and CS crops were primarily dominated by bacteria. Nematode identification and faunal analysis also indicated no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences between the different non-parasitic/beneficial nematodes that were present in soils of these two ecosystems during the time of sampling. Non-parasitic nematode communities were primarily dominated by bacterivores. A faunal analysis indicated that most of the sites contained enriched, but unstructured soil food-webs. However, four of the sites showed enriched and structured food webs due to the presence of non-parasitic nematodes with high coloniser-persister (cp) values. Relationships between non-parasitic nematode – and microbial communities showed that there was a positive relationship between nematode functional groups and their corresponding microbial prey. From the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the community structures of both non-parasitic nematodes and microorganisms shared similarities. These community structures showed no long-term detrimental effects of glyphosate application in the soils surrounding roots of RR soybean crops. Relationships existed between non-parasitic nematode and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of soybean crops and natural veld. For example, bacterivore nematodes had a strong positive relationship with gram-negative bacteria. Similar but weaker relationships also existed between carnivores, omnivores, plantparasitic nematodes and gram-negative bacteria. A positive relationship also existed between fungivores and fungal fatty acids. This emphasises the value of these organisms as indicators of soil health and also the impact that agricultural practices can have on soils. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Soil is an important ecosystem that supports a wide variety of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, arthropods and nematodes. This sensitive ecosystem may be influenced by various factors, including agricultural management practices. With the introduction of genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant (RoundUp ® Ready: RR) crops, herbicides such as glyphosate have been increasingly used. However, little is known about the effect of glyphosate on the biological communities in these herbicide-sprayed soils. With the intimate proximity that microorganisms and nematodes have with the roots of plants, these organisms can be used to assess changes that may occur in the soil surrounding roots of RR crops. The aim of this study was to determine microbial community structure and nematode diversity, with emphasis on that of non-parasitic nematodes, in soil samples from conventional soybean (CS) - and RR- soybean fields compared to that in adjacent natural veld (NV) areas. Samples were collected from twenty three sites at six localities that are situated within the soybean-production areas of South Africa. These sites represented fields where RR and CS soybean grew, as well as surrounding NV. All RR fields have been treated with glyphosate for no less than five years. Microbial community structures of the twenty three sites in the RR, CS and NV ecosystems were determined by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses. Nematode diversity was determined by extracting the nematodes from soil samples and conducting a faunal analysis. Soil physical and chemical properties were determined by an independent laboratory, Eco-Analytica (North West University, Potchefstroom) according to standard procedures. Results from this study indicated differences in microbial community structure between the various localities. However, there were no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in microbial community structures between RR- and CS ecosystems. Soils of both RR- and CS crops were primarily dominated by bacteria. Nematode identification and faunal analysis also indicated no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences between the different non-parasitic/beneficial nematodes that were present in soils of these two ecosystems during the time of sampling. Non-parasitic nematode communities were primarily dominated by bacterivores. A faunal analysis indicated that most of the sites contained enriched, but unstructured soil food-webs. However, four of the sites showed enriched and structured food webs due to the presence of non-parasitic nematodes with high coloniser-persister (cp) values. Relationships between non-parasitic nematode – and microbial communities showed that there was a positive relationship between nematode functional groups and their corresponding microbial prey. From the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the community structures of both non-parasitic nematodes and microorganisms shared similarities. These community structures showed no long-term detrimental effects of glyphosate application in the soils surrounding roots of RR soybean crops. Relationships existed between non-parasitic nematode and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of soybean crops and natural veld. For example, bacterivore nematodes had a strong positive relationship with gram-negative bacteria. Similar but weaker relationships also existed between carnivores, omnivores, plantparasitic nematodes and gram-negative bacteria. A positive relationship also existed between fungivores and fungal fatty acids. This emphasises the value of these organisms as indicators of soil health and also the impact that agricultural practices can have on soils. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014