The wild plants may possess an herbicide resistance advantage.
Credit: Xiao Yang
A method of genetic modification used extensively to produce crops that are herbicide-resistant has been proven to provide advantages to a weedy form of rice even in absence of herbicide. The findings suggest that this modification may be able to be beneficial to wild rice varieties and crop varieties.
ラウンドアップ A variety of crop varieties have been modified genetically so that they are immune to Roundup herbicide glyphosate. Farmers can eliminate the majority of the weeds that grow in their fields by using this glyphosate resistance without causing damage to their crops.
ラウンドアップ Glyphosate inhibits an enzyme known as EPSP synthase that is responsible for the production of certain amino acid and various other molecules. It can also inhibit the growth of plants. The technique of genetic modification employed by Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops, which are based in St Louis (Missouri), typically involves inserting genes into a crop’s DNA to increase EPSP synthase production. Genes are usually derived from bacteria that infects crops.
This additional EPSP synthase permits plants to counteract the effects from glyphosate. Biotechnology labs have also tried to make EPSP-synthase more plant-based than bacteria by utilizing genes from plants. ラウンドアップ This was made to make use of a loophole found in US law, which permits the approval of regulatory authorities for organisms which aren’t the result of bacteria or parasites.
There aren’t many studies that have examined whether transgenes that confer glyphosate tolerance may — once they become weedy , or wild relatives through cross-pollinating- increase the plants’ survival and reproduce. Norman Ellstrand of the University of California, Riverside, explained that the standard assumption was that any transgene would be detrimental to nature if there was no selection pressure. This is because extra machines would reduce the effectiveness of.
Lu Baorong, an ecologist from Fudan University in Shanghai has revised that opinion. He has discovered that glyphosate resistance gives an impressive fitness boost to the weedy version of the popular rice crop Oryza sativa.
Lu and his associates modified the cultivars of rice to make more EPSP synthase. https://www.kaunet.com/rakuraku/spook3/main?Keyword=%83%89%83E%83%93%83h%83A%83b%83v%83%7D%83b%83N%83X%83%8D%81%5B%83h&ShowList=1 They also crossed the modified rice with a weedy-related. Their work was published in NewPhytologist 1.
The team allowed the offspring from cross-breeding to breed with each other, resulting in second-generation hybrids genetically identical to each other , with the exception of the number of copies the gene encoding EPSP synase. As expected, those with more copies expressed greater amounts of the enzyme, and produced more amino acids tryptophan than their unmodified counterparts.
Researchers also found that transgenics have higher rates, more flowers, and 48-125% more seeds/plant than nontransgenics.
Lu believes that making weedy invasive rice more competitive may make it more difficult for farmers to recoup the damage caused by this pest.
ラウンドアップ Brian Ford Lloyd, a UK plant scientist, said that the EPSP Synthase gene may be introduced into wild rice species. This would erode the genetic diversity of their species, which is very vital. “This is an example of the highly plausible negative effects [of GM plantson our environment.”
The public has a perception that genetically engineered crops that have extra copies or microorganisms genes are more secure than those containing only their own genes. Lu says, “Our study shows this is not always the case.”
Researchers believe that their findings require a reconsideration of how genetically modified crops will be regulated in the future. Ellstrand claims that some people believe biosafety regulations can be relaxed given the past over two decades of genetic engineering. ラウンドアップ 影響 “But this study has shown that the new technologies still require careful analysis.”