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IDENTIFICATION OF ESCAPED TRANSGENIC CREEPING BENTGRASS IN OREGON
Citation:
REICHMAN, J. R. AND L. S. WATRUD. IDENTIFICATION OF ESCAPED TRANSGENIC CREEPING BENTGRASS IN OREGON. ISB NEWS REPORT April:1-4, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
To examine the establishment of transgenic plants in wild populations
Description:
When transgenic plants are cultivated near wild species that are sexually compatible with the crop, gene flow between the crop and wild plants is possible. A resultant concern is that transgene flow and transgene introgression within wild populations could have unintended ecological consequences. In order to begin testing for these potential effects, it is necessary to locate and monitor wild populations into which transgenes have escaped. Empirical data on transgene escapes is just beginning to emerge in the scientific literature, and in the November, 2006, issue of Molecular Ecology we presented the first evidence for establishment of transgenic plants in wild populations within the USA.1 The case involved glyphosate-resistant creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) plants expressing CP4 EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase gene from Agrobacterium spp. strain CP4) transgenes that were found in non-agronomic habitats outside of experimental test plots in central Oregon.