A Transgenic Soybean Meal Does Not Affect Layer Performance

An experiment using 336 Hy-Line W-36 Single Comb White Leghorn hens was conducted to evaluate transgenic soybeans containing the gm-fad2-1 gene fragment and the gm-hra gene. Transcription of the gm-fad2-1 gene fragment results in an increased level of oleic acid (18:1) in the seed, and expression of the soybean acetolactate synthase protein (GM-HRA) encoded by the modified gm-hra gene, is used as a selectable marker during transformation. Pullets (20 wk of age) were placed in cage lots (7 hens/cage, 2 cages/lot) and were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 corn-soybean meal dietary treatments (6 lots/treatment) formulated with the following soybean meals: 1) Nontransgenic near-isoline control (control), 2) Nontransgenic commercial reference soybean meal A, 3) Nontransgenic commercial reference soybean meal B, or 4) Transgenic soybean meal produced from soybeans containing event DP-3Ø5423-1. Weeks 20 to 24 were a preconditioning period, and the four experimental diets were then fed from 25 to 36 weeks of age.

Differences between the transgenic soybean meal and the control soybean meal's means were evaluated, with statistical significance at P < 0.05. Body weight, hen-day egg production, egg mass, feed consumption, and feed efficiency for hens fed the transgenic soybean meal were not significantly different from the respective values for hens fed diets formulated with the near-isoline soybean meal. Likewise, egg component weights, Haugh unit measures, and egg weights were similar regardless of the soybean meal source. This research indicates that performance of hens fed diets containing transgenic soybean meal, as measured by egg production and egg quality, was similar to that of hens fed diets formulated with the near-isoline control and commercial soybean meals.

Mejia, L., and co-workers. 2010. Evaluation of the nutritional equivalency of soybean meal with the genetically modified trait DP-3Ø5423-1 when fed to laying hens. Poultry Sci: 89:2634-2639.