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Pollen-mediated gene flow in Chinese commercial fields of glufosinate-resistant canola (Brassica napus)

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  • Plant Protection
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

One of the most pressing issues surrounding transgenic oilseed rape cultivation is the potential impact of GM genes entering neighboring non-GM oilseed rape plants, related weeds or closely related wild relatives. Following the principle of a case-by-case for transgenic crop safety assessment, we designed experiments to study pollen-mediated gene flow from herbicide-resistant transgenic oilseed rape to Chinese commercial varieties. The pollen dispersal was detected as the progeny of recipient plants that were identified as glufosinate resistant. The results indicated that pollen dispersal occurred up to 2000 m and its rate sharply decreased as the distance from the pollen source increased. However, the rate of long-distance pollen dispersal from 33 to 2000 m was less than 0.015% and did not present a gradual decrease, indicating the randomization of dispersal and pollination. Most pollen dispersed within a 4.5 m area around the transgenic pollen source plot, with a maximum of 1.19% at the sampling site of 1.4 m. Wind direction significantly affected the direction and the distance of pollen dispersal, resulting in the more and farther dispersal in southwest direction. However, the number of potentially pollinating bees was not correlated with direction and distance from the pollen source plot, suggesting that bee density and distribution would not contribute to the differences in pollen dispersal among different directions. This paper is the first report on research in a large-scale experiment of pollen-mediated gene flow under the China’s environmental conditions and provided scientific evidence for the effective commercialization of transgenic oilseed rape and its safe management. Our results also provided important data on pollen spatial distribution pattern.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Li Cai & MingSheng Hou

  2. Key Lab of Genetic Improvement for Oil Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Li Cai, BiWen Zhou, XueLan Guo, CaiHua Dong, XiaoJia Hu & ShengYi Liu

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  1. Li Cai
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  2. BiWen Zhou
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  3. XueLan Guo
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  4. CaiHua Dong
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  5. XiaoJia Hu
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  6. MingSheng Hou
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  7. ShengYi Liu
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Correspondence to ShengYi Liu.

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Supported by Bayer (China) Co. Ltd. and Division of GM Biosafety Management, the Ministry of Agriculture, China

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Cai, L., Zhou, B., Guo, X. et al. Pollen-mediated gene flow in Chinese commercial fields of glufosinate-resistant canola (Brassica napus). Chin. Sci. Bull. 53, 2333–2341 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-008-0305-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-008-0305-6

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