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EVALUATING THE ROLE OF HABITAT QUALITY ON ESTABLISHMENT OF GM AGROSTIS STOLONIFERA IN NON-AGRONOMIC ENVIRONMENTS
Citation:
WATRUD, L. S., M. A. BOLLMAN, M. STORM, G. KING, J. R. REICHMAN, C. A. BURDICK, AND E. LEE. EVALUATING THE ROLE OF HABITAT QUALITY ON ESTABLISHMENT OF GM AGROSTIS STOLONIFERA IN NON-AGRONOMIC ENVIRONMENTS. Presented at Molecular Breeding of Forage & Turf, Sapporo, JAPAN, June 30 - July 06, 2007.
Description:
The initial flowering of experimental fields of the GM wind-pollinated plant Agrostis stolonifera L. that expressed an engineered gene (CP4 EPSPS) for resistance to glyphosate herbicide in central Oregon in 2003 afforded researchers a unique opportunity to track gene flow from the GM crop fields to wild resident Agrostis spp. Using field, greenhouse and molecular biology techniques, hundreds of incidents of pollen-mediated gene flow from the GM source crop fields to compatible Agrostis spp. were documented at multi-kilometer distances (PNAS 101:14533-14538). Follow-up studies in 2004-2005 demonstrated establishment of six GM crop/wild plant hybrids and three feral GM plants in largely mesic non-agronomic environments e.g., along roadside ditches and canals, near ponds, and in small wetlands within an arid sagebrush steppe (Mol Ecol 15:4243-4255). In the current study, we report that the soils in which the GM plants became established in down-wind mesic locations had a significantly higher % of bare ground and significantly lower organic matter, carbon, and nitrogen content (P<0.05, Tukey¿s T test). The pH of soil at the nine GM plant locations varied from 5.9 to 8.7. Logistic regression analyses indicated that extractable manganese and iron were significantly lower (P< 0.05) at all GM plant locations compared to locations that supported populations of wild resident A. stolonifera. Three of the GM plants became established near a pond adjacent to a housing development; that soil had a significantly higher copper content than soil at other GM and non-GM Agrostis locations. Our results suggest potential roles of soil disturbance and nutrient status in the establishment of Agrostis in mesic habitats. Additional research is needed to evaluate the ecological consequences of gene flow of GM Agrostis to non-agronomic plant communities.