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Problems in monitoring horizontal gene transfer in field trials of transgenic plants

Nature Biotechnology volume 22, pages 1105–1109 (2004)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 01 April 2005

Abstract

Transgenic crops are approved for release in some countries, while many more countries are wrestling with the issue of how to conduct risk assessments. Controls on field trials often include monitoring of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from crops to surrounding soil microorganisms. Our analysis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and of the sensitivity of current techniques for monitoring HGT from transgenic plants to soil microorganisms has two major implications for field trial assessments of transgenic crops: first, HGT from transgenic plants to microbes could still have an environmental impact at a frequency approximately a trillion times lower than the current risk assessment literature estimates the frequency to be; and second, current methods of environmental sampling to capture genes or traits in a recombinant are too insensitive for monitoring evolution by HGT. A model for HGT involving iterative short-patch events explains how HGT can occur at high frequencies but be detected at extremely low frequencies.

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Figure 1: Evolution of mosaic alleles by molecular massage.
Figure 2: Implicit assumptions in HGT monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Amábile-Cuevas, H. Cochrane, D. Bean and R. Mann for critical comments on the manuscript. J.A.H. acknowledges support from the Marsden Fund of New Zealand (M1042) and the Brian Mason Trust.

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  1. New Zealand Institute of Gene Ecology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8020, Private Bag 4800, New Zealand

    Jack A Heinemann

  2. Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, POB 6418, N-9294, Science Park, Tromsø, Norway

    Jack A Heinemann & Terje Traavik

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Correspondence to Jack A Heinemann.

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Heinemann, J., Traavik, T. Problems in monitoring horizontal gene transfer in field trials of transgenic plants. Nat Biotechnol 22, 1105–1109 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1009

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