Plant sciences. Will GM rapeseed cut the mustard?
Genetic modification can render crops resistant to herbicides, providing them with a growth advantage so that they can outcompete weeds. However, there are concerns about the possibility that transgenes could flow from GM crops into wild plant populations. In his Perspective, Heritage discusses these important issues in terms of a new report (Wilkinson et al.) that provides a nationwide assessment in the UK of the ability of the conventional crop, oilseed rape (Brassica napus), to form hybrids with its wild relatives.
Heritage
John
J
Division of Microbiology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. j.heritage@leeds.ac.uk
D027461:Beta vulgaris / Q000235:genetics; D029688:Brassica napus / Q000235:genetics*; D029741:Brassica rapa / Q000235:genetics*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics*; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006540:Herbicides; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D019076:Transgenes; D006113:United Kingdom; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics
D006540:Herbicides