title: Impact of gene stacking on gene flow: the case of maize.
abstract: To respect the European labelling threshold for the adventitious presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed, stakeholders mainly rely on real-time PCR analysis, which provides a measurement expressed as a percentage of GM-DNA. However, this measurement veils the complexity of gene flow, especially in the case of gene stacking. We have investigated the impact of gene stacking on adventitious GM presence due to pollen flow and seed admixture as well as its translation in terms of the percentage of GM-DNA in a non-GM maize harvest. In the case of varieties bearing one to four stacked events, we established a set of relationships between the percentage of GM kernels and the percentage of GM-DNA in a non-GM harvest as well as a set of relationships between the rate of seed admixture and the percentages of GM material in a non-GM harvest. Thanks to these relationships, and based on simulations with a gene flow model, we have been able to demonstrate that the number of events and the stacking structure of the emitting fields impact the ability of a non-GM maize producer to comply with given GM kernel or GM-DNA thresholds. We also show that a great variability in the rates of GM kernels, embryos and DNA results from seed admixture. Finally, the choice of a unit of measurement for a GM threshold in seed lots can have opposite effects on the ability of farmers to comply with a given threshold depending on whether they are crop or seed producers.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UAR 1240 Eco-Innov, Avenue Lucien Brétignières, 78850, Thiverval-Grignon, France.
authors.forename: Lénaïc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Angevin
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Collonnier
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Messéan
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051456:Gene Flow; D018745:Genome, Plant; D057898:Hemizygote; D008957:Models, Genetic; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054817:Pollination; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019076:Transgenes; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant