GMO Research
Abstract: There are many new developments in biotechnology, and among them are transgenic glufosinate-tolerant rice cultivars, which appear to provide a solution to the question of controlling red rice in cultivated rice. However, outcrossing between red rice and cultivated rice has been documented since 1961, and this is an issue that should be addressed first. …
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The possibility of gene flow from transgenic crops to wild relatives may be affected by reproductive capacity between them. The potential gene flow from two transgenic rice lines containing the bar gene to five accessions of weedy rice (WR1–WR5) was determined through examination of reproductive compatibility under controlled pollination. RESULTS: The pollen grain …
Abstract: Red rice has long been a troublesome, conspecific weed of cultivated rice. Rice varieties carrying certain herbicide-resistant traits acquired through genetic modification (herbicide-resistant varieties) now offer new options for red rice control. In concert with this innovation is the risk of gene flow, which can result in the transfer of that specific herbicide resistance …
Abstract: Understanding evolutionary interactions among crops and weeds can facilitate effective weed management. For example, gene flow from crops to their wild or weedy relatives can lead to rapid evolution in recipient populations. In rice (Oryza sativa), transgenic herbicide resistance is expected to spread to conspecific weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) via hybridization. Here, …
Abstract: Unintended compositional changes in transgenic rice seeds were studied by near-infrared reflectance, GC-MS, HPLC, and ICP-AES coupled with chemometrics strategies. Three kinds of transgenic rice with resistance to fungal diseases or insect pests were comparatively studied with the nontransgenic counterparts in terms of key nutrients such as protein, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, elements, …
Abstract: Although recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide can alter plant phenological development, these changes have not been quantified in terms of floral outcrossing rates or gene transfer. Could differential phenological development in response to rising CO2 between genetically modified crops and wild, weedy relatives increase the spread of novel genes, potentially altering …
Abstract: Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to investigate response of two rice varieties, Priscilla and Cocodrie, to sub-lethal rates of glyphosate in terms of injury, shikimate accumulation and yield. In the greenhouse, more shikimate accumulated in Cocodrie than Priscilla at comparable glyphosate rates applied to plants at the three-leaf stage. In field studies, glyphosate …
Abstract: Field studies were conducted in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 to determine the effect of glyphosate (isopropyl amine salt) on rice injury and yield when applied postemergence at 0, 70, 140, and 280 g ai/ha to dry-seeded rice in the three- to four-leaf (3- to 4-L), midtiller (MT), panicle initiation (PI), and boot (BT) …
Abstract : This review examines the production systems for cacao, coffee, rice, oil palm, and soyabean, and their corresponding impacts on biodiversity. Keywords: Coffea, Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, Coffea liberica, Elaeis, Elaeis guineensis, Glycine (Fabaceae), Glycine max, Oryza, Oryza glaberrima, Oryza sativa, plants, Theobroma cacao, biodiversity, cocoa, coffee, crop production, environmental impact, fatty oil plants, …
Text: Grunewald & Bury (2014; in this issue of New Phytologist, pp. 367–369) criticize our recent peer‐reviewed paper (Wang et al., 2014; in this issue of New Phytologist, pp. 679–683), stating that we ‘unnecessarily harm the sensitive debate on GM crops.’ We will not focus on this politically charged topic here, but we do want …
Text: Gressel et al. (2014; in this issue of New Phytologist, pp. 360–362) disapprove of media coverage of our recent peer‐reviewed paper (Wang et al., 2014; this issue of New Phytologist, pp. 679–683), and they question whether the paper can be seen as ‘deserving publication’. In this study, our main hypothesis was that over‐production of …
Abstract: Samples of rice from Mexican and USA retail stores were analyzed for the presence of transgenic (GM) events using real-time PCR. In screening for the CaMV35S promoter sequence (35SP), positive results were found in 49 and 35% of the Mexican and American samples, respectively. In further investigations in Mexican samples, 43% were positive for …
Abstract: The 90-day animal study is the core study for the safety assessment of genetically modified foods in the SAFOTEST project. The model compound tested in the 90-day study was a rice variety expressing the kidney bean Phaseolus vulgaris lectin agglutinin E-form (PHA-E lectin). Female Wistar rats were given a nutritionally balanced purified diet with …
Abstract: The risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops for human nutrition and health has not been systematic. Evaluations for each GM crop or trait have been conducted using different feeding periods, animal models, and parameters. The most common result is that GM and conventional sources induce similar nutritional performance and growth in animals. However, …
Abstract: Our previous studies have demonstrated that stable microRNAs (miRNAs) in mammalian serum and plasma are actively secreted from tissues and cells and can serve as a novel class of biomarkers for diseases, and act as signaling molecules in intercellular communication. Here, we report the surprising finding that exogenous plant miRNAs are present in the …
Abstract: In this essay we present three biases that make it difficult to represent farmer voices in a meaningful way. These biases are information bias, individual bias, and short-term bias. We illustrate these biases through two case studies. One is the case of Golden Rice in the Philippines and the other is the case of …
Abstract: Rice is one of the most important crops in the world. Several transgenic varieties of rice have been developed, and some have recently entered pre‐production trials. One concern with genetically modified (GM) crops is transgene escape, but prior studies suggest this risk is low for rice because it is self‐pollinated and the dispersal of pollen …
Abstract: The objective of this study was to assess the frequency of pollen-mediated gene flow from a transgenic rice line, harbouring the gusA and the bar genes encoding respectively, β-glucuronidase and phosphinothricin acetyl transferase as markers, to the red rice weed and conventional rice in the Spanish japonica cultivar Senia. A circular field trial design …
Abstract: Agronomic management of plants is a powerful evolutionary force acting on their populations. The management of cultivated plants is carried out by the traditional process of human selection or plant breeding and, more recently, by the technologies used in genetic engineering (GE). Even though crop modification through GE is aimed at specific traits, it …
