A sterile-female technique proposed for control of Striga hermonthica and other intractable weeds: advantages, shortcomings and risk management.
Weeds have posed intractable challenges to farmers since the dawn of agriculture. This article describes in detail a proposed control strategy based on the introduction of genes conferring female sterility into the genome of an intractable target weed. Spread of these genes through target populations via pollen would be facilitated by their incorporation within active transposable elements. Advantages (e.g. self-dissemination, self-proliferation, target specificity) and shortcomings (e.g. high cost, long project incubation period, limited range of possible targets) of this strategy are discussed in depth, as are assessment and management of its attendant biological and ecological risks, such as the risk of introduced genes spreading to non-target species. The parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. is examined as a potential target.
Rector
Brian G
BG
USDA-ARS, European Biological Control Laboratory, Montpellier, France. brector@ars-ebcl.org
D018390:Gene Targeting / Q000379:methods*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D051479:Plant Infertility; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D034362:Striga / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology