The potential of genetically modified (GM) crops to transfer
foreign genes through pollen to related plant species has been cited as an
environmental concern. Until more is known concerning the environmental impact
of novel genes on indigenous crops and weeds, practical and regulatory
considerations will likely require the adoption of gene-containment approaches
for future generations of GM crops. Most molecular approaches with potential
for controlling gene flow among crops and weeds have thus far focused on
maternal inheritance, male sterility, and seed sterility. Several other
containment strategies may also prove useful in restricting gene flow,
including apomixis (vegetative propagation and asexual seed formation),
cleistogamy (self-fertilization without opening of the flower), genome
incompatibility, chemical induction/deletion of transgenes, fruit-specific
excision of transgenes, and transgenic mitigation (transgenes that compromise
fitness in the hybrid). As yet, however, no strategy has proved broadly
applicable to all crop species, and a combination of approaches may prove most
effective for engineering the next generation of GM crops.
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated
