title: A comparative analysis of insertional effects in genetically engineered plants: considerations for pre-market assessments.
abstract: During genetic engineering, DNA is inserted into a plant's genome, and such insertions are often accompanied by the insertion of additional DNA, deletions and/or rearrangements. These genetic changes are collectively known as insertional effects, and they have the potential to give rise to unintended traits in plants. In addition, there are many other genetic changes that occur in plants both spontaneously and as a result of conventional breeding practices. Genetic changes similar to insertional effects occur in plants, namely as a result of the movement of transposable elements, the repair of double-strand breaks by non-homologous end-joining, and the intracellular transfer of organelle DNA. Based on this similarity, insertional effects should present a similar level of risk as these other genetic changes in plants, and it is within the context of these genetic changes that insertional effects must be considered. Increased familiarity with genetic engineering techniques and advances in molecular analysis techniques have provided us with a greater understanding of the nature and impact of genetic changes in plants, and this can be used to refine pre-market assessments of genetically engineered plants and food and feeds derived from genetically engineered plants.
authors.affiliation: Plant and Biotechnology Risk Assessment Unit, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 1400 Merivale Road, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0Y9, Canada, jaimie.schnell@inspection.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Jaimie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schnell
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bean
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neuspiel
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Girard
authors.forename: Nataliya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dormann
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Savoie
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bourbonnière
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Macdonald
mesh_terms: D001947:Breeding; D003593:Cytoplasm; D059766:DNA End-Joining Repair / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D018745:Genome, Plant; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements