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Nature Biotechnology 20, 19 (1 January 2002) | doi:10.1038/nbt0102-19a

Transgenes in Mexican maize

Juan Pablo Ricardo Mart|[iacute]|nez-Soriano , Ana Mar|[iacute]|a Bailey , Joel Lara-Reyna & Diana Sara Leal-Klevezas

Genetic flow between transgenic and native maize has apparently occurred in Mexico, resulting in wild strains containing one or more transgenic sequences (most likely encoding Bt toxin). These “transgenic” native maizes not only have every single trait that has been selected and preserved for thousands of years (making them perfectly adapted to specific geographic regions), but now also possess an additional and desirable characteristic—insect resistance, a trait likely to be consciously preferred by Mexican peasant farmers.