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-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod3
Sent: 13 June 2002 09:37
To: 'biotech-room3@mailserv.fao.org'
Subject: 43: Transgenes to render pollen infertile
I am rather depressed by the rhetoric of Rainer Krell (message 41, June 12) against the International Potato Center (CIP) statement [referred to in message 35, June 11...Moderator] and all of the polemics instead of science in his arguments. Instead, as a scientist interested in environmental protection he should have demanded to see, and then evaluate, the measures CIP intends to take to prevent gene flow from potatoes to its wild relatives.
With a vegetatively-propagated crop such as potato, it is easy to prevent gene flow. If the genes they insert are in tandem construct with genes that cause infertility (no pollen) then gene flow is a dead issue. This has been suggested in: {Gressel, J. (1999) Tandem constructs; preventing the rise of superweeds. Trends in Biotechnology 17:361-366} and updated and further elaborated in: {Gressel, J., Molecular Biology in Weed Control (2002). Taylor and Francis, London, 520pp}. Many transgenes are known that render pollen infertile. Additionally, they can put the transgenes in potato varieties that never flower. Either strategy would enhance farmer choice, and render gene introgression to other varieties, landraces and wild species nigh impossible.
There are a variety of other strategies described in the above references that would be advantageous to biennial as well as annual crops, and would prevent or mitigate gene movement to their relatives. The use of such strategies should be a requirement prior to release when there is a crop at risk, and they could even be used when the wild species is a harmful weed such as feral red rice, in rice. When the risk is great, they can be stacked, to further lower risk.
Prof. Jonathan Gressel
Plant Sciences
Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot IL76100, Israel
phone:+972-8-934-3481; fax:+972-8-934-4181
email: Jonathan.Gressel (at) weizmann.ac.iL
-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod3
Sent: 13 June 2002 13:33
To: 'biotech-room3@mailserv.fao.org'
Subject: 44: Re: Terminology - organic
In agreement with Dr. Keith Redenbaugh (message 39, June 11) that "almost all crops have been genetically modified using one breeding method or another", I can add that:
"Adventitious presence" or "unintended mixing.": in GM plants, this sounds
like open chance pollination in nature or research.
Pollution, contamination in GMOs: seems to be like uncontrolled
cross-pollination
Effect of gene flow from or to GM plants: sounds like xenia and metaxenia or
paternal and maternal effect on fruit and seed characteristics. [xenia is
the immediate effect of pollen on some characters of the endosperm;
metaxenia is the effect of pollen on maternal tissues of the
fruit...Moderator]
All these were done in nature, so we can add the word GM for trusted products. We can generate a dictionary including old and new terminology to help new researchers.
On the other hand, using chemicals, hormones and some fertilizers can cause mutations that transfer from one generation to another without knowing that it happened one day. This is the most dangerous.
Dr Aisha, A. A. Badr
Tropical Fruit Division
Alexandria Horticultural Research Station
Alexandria
Egypt
momidic (at) hotmail.com
[Regarding Dr. Badr's comments about the need for a dictionary of biotechnology terms to help new researchers, a range of such glossaries exist. One of them is FAO Research and Technology Paper 9, entitled "Glossary of Biotechnology for Food and Agriculture", that was published a few months ago. The glossary is a revised, augmented version of the "Glossary of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering", published by FAO in 1999 and co-authored by A. Zaid, H.G. Hughes, E. Porceddu and F. Nicholas. This new publication is available at http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/Y2775E/Y2775E00.HTM or, as a searchable database, at http://www.fao.org/biotech/index_glossary.asp....Moderator]