MIR604 maize produces a Bt toxin against Coleptera with root worm as the target organism.
It has cultivation approval in the USA, Canada and Japan and food/feed approvals mainly in Asian countries and Mexico, but otherwise (as of July 2009) in no South American country. After soy shipments from the US were found to be contaminated with MON88107 and MIR604 maize in Spain and Germany in August 2009, the shipments were rejected and EU buyers voluntarily stopped the import of US soy.
MON863 maize is a product of the Monsanto company. The maize line was produced by particle acceleration (biolistic) transformation and contains the following two foreign genes:
- a cry3Bb1 gene from Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. kumamotoensis. The cry3Bb1 gene encodes a Coleopteran-specific insecticidal protein.
- a nptII gene. NptII is an antibiotic resistance marker gene encoding the enzyme neomycin phosphotransferase II
MON88017 maize was developed by Monsanto and is glyphosate herbicide tolerant and resistant to corn root worm (Coleoptera, Diabrotica sp.).
Currently MON88017 is approved for cultivation in the USA, Canada and Japan. In 2009 commercial cultivation took place in Canada and the USA. Approval for food and feed uses have been granted in several countries, including the EU.