GMO Research
Abstract: Herbicide drift over horticultural crops is a common problem in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, mainly in areas near rice, soybean and corn fields. The objective of this research was to evaluate glyphosate and clomazone drift effects on beetroot (Beta vulgaris) and carrot (Daucus carota) plants. The herbicides were sprayed at three …
Abstract: The potential impact of transgenic crops on community ecology will depend on the distribution and establishment of the new transgenic traits, on the sexual transfer of their new genes to the environment (Bartsch & Pohl-Orf, 1996) and on the potential ecological impact of the transgenic trait. Flowering and pollen dispersal is important for outcrossing …
Abstract: We simulated the effects of the introduction of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops on weed populations and the consequences for seed-eating birds. We predict that weed populations might be reduced to low levels or practically eradicated, depending on the exact form of management. Consequent effects on the local use of fields by birds might …
Abstract: This study tests the effect of glyphosate application on disease severity in glyphosate‐resistant sugar beet, and examines whether the increase in disease is fungal or plant mediated. In greenhouse studies of glyphosate‐resistant sugar beet, increased disease severity was observed following glyphosate application and inoculation with certain isolates of Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn and Fusarium oxysporum …
Abstract: One of the most discussed environmental effects associated with the use of transgenic plants is the flow of genes to plants in the environment. The flow of genes may occur through pollen since it is the reproductive system that is designed for gene movement. Pollen-mediated gene escape is hard to control in mating plants. Pollen …
Abstract: Transgenes engineered into annual crops could be unintentionally introduced into the genomes of their free-living wild relatives. The fear is that these transgenes might persist in the environment and have negative ecological consequences. Are some crops or transgenic traits of more concern than others? Are there natural genetic barriers to minimize gene escape? Can …
Abstract: The effects of management of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops on adjacent field margins were assessed for 59 maize, 66 beet and 67 spring oilseed rape sites. Fields were split into halves, one being sown with a GMHT crop and the other with the equivalent conventional non-GMHT crop. Margin vegetation was recorded in three …
Abstract: Previous studies had shown that recombinant DNA can be detected for several months in soil after the deposition of litter from transgenic (tg) plants. Here we show by PCR monitoring of field releases of tg sugar beet plants that during the growth of the plants the soil close to the plants and also plant …
Abstract: Field releases of transgenic rizomania‐resistant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) plants were accompanied by a study of the persistence of DNA from transgenic sugar beet litter in soil and of horizontal gene transfer of plant DNA to bacteria. The transgenic sugar beets contained the marker genes nptII and bar under the control of the bidirectional …
