GMO Research
Abstract: Transgenic or genetically modified plants possess novel genes that impart beneficial characteristics such as herbicide resistance. One of the least understood areas in the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified crops is their impact on soil- and plant-associated microbial communities. The potential for interaction between transgenic plants and plant residues and the soil microbial …
Abstract: Following application, pesticides can be intercepted and absorbed by weeds and/or crops. Plants containing pesticides residues may then reach the soil during the crop cycle or after harvest. However, the fate in soil of pesticides residues in plants is unknown. Two commonly used foliar herbicides, glyphosate and sulcotrione, (14)C-labeled, were applied on leaves of …
Summary: 1. A field study using transgenic plants with associated recombinant micro-organisms was conducted to assess the potential effects of genetically engineered organisms on soil ecosystems. Three genotypes of alfalfa plants (parental, transgenic aamylase-producing and transgenic lignin peroxidase-producing) were planted in an agricultural field plot. Immediately prior to planting, the roots of the alfalfa plants …
Abstract: In this paper, we summarize several microcosm and field studies we have performed using different transgenic plants to evaluate the persistence of their products and their effects on soil and plant microorganisms. These studies used cotton, potato, tobacco, and alfalfa plants that were engineered for the production of pesticidal products (Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxins and …
Abstract: 1. To evaluate the potential effects of genetically engineered (transgenic) plants on soil ecosystems, litterbags containing leaves of non-engineered (parental) and transgenic tobacco plants were buried in field plots. The transgenic tobacco plants were gen- etically engineered to constitutively produce proteinase inhibitor I, a protein with insecticidal activity. 2. The litterbag contents and surrounding …
Abstract: An important aspect of the risk assessment of pesticidal transgenic plants is the potential for detrimental effects on the soil ecosystem from residual plant material following harvesting and tillage. We evaluated this concern by placing leaves of three different lines of cotton genetically engineered to produce the Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (B.t.k.) endotoxin in …
Abstract: Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) – one of glyphosate’s main metabolites – has been classified as persistent in soils, raising concern regarding the widespread use of glyphosate in agriculture and forestry. Glyphosate may have negative or neutral effects on soil biota, but no information is available on the toxicity of AMPA to soil invertebrates. Therefore our …
Abstract: Pyrolysis-gas (Py-GC) chromatography was used to characterize extractable lipids from Bt and non-Bt maize shoots and soils collected at time of harvesting. Py-GC-MS (mass spectrometry) showed that the concentrations of total alkenes identified in non-Bt shoots and soils were 47.9 and 21.3% higher than in Bt maize shoots and soils, respectively. N-alkanes identified were …
Abstract: BACKGROUND. Gene flow between crops and weedy relatives depends on the survivorship and reproduction of early‐generation hybrids in a field environment. The primary aim of this study was to compare the fitness of transgenic crop × wild hybrids with their parental types and a non‐transgenic crop type in the field under enhanced temperature and …
Abstract: Coexistence between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM plants is a field of rapid development and considerable controversy. In crops, it is increasingly important to understand and predict the GM volunteer emergence in subsequent non-GM crops. Theoretical models suggest recruitment from the seedbank over extended periods, but empirical evidence matching these predictions has been scarce. …
Abstract: The occurence of spontaneous hybridization between Brassica napus (oilseed rape) and Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish) was investigated under different density conditions in cages and open‐field experiments. Hybrids with wild radish as the seed parent were identified by screening for herbicide resistance belonging to rape. Small seed size and intermediate morphology were used to screen …
Keywords: weeds, crop protection, BCPC Citation: Darmency, H., Fleury, A., and Lefol, E. (1995). Effect of transgenic release on weed biodiversity: oilseed rape and wild radish. Proceedings – Brighton Crop Protection Conference – Weeds, 2, 433-438.
Abstract: The equilibrium adsorption and binding of the active toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki, toxic to lepidopteran larvae, to humic acids extracted from two forest and two cultivated soils, as well as the insecticidal activity and the biodegradation of the bound toxin, were studied. From 75 to 85% of the toxin added was rapidly …
