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Scientists have been astounded to find that DNA from genetically modified crops has contaminated wild maize growing on remote mountains in Mexico.

The wild maize was growing around 60 miles from the nearest industrially farmed crops.

The BBC reports that Ignacio Chapela and David Quist of the University of California compared wild maize from the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca mountains in Mexico with GM varieties from the Monsanto company in the United States and with samples known to be uncontaminated.

They found that some of the wild samples were contaminated with telltale sections of DNA from GM crops.

"This is very serious because the regions where our samples were taken are known for their diverse varieties of native corn, which is something that absolutely needs to be protected," Dr Chapela told the BBC.

Mexico has had a moratorium on new plantings of GM maize since 1998 but allows the import of GM crops for consumption.

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