title: Biotechnological uses of RNAi in plants: risk assessment considerations.
abstract: RNAi offers opportunities to generate new traits in genetically modified (GM) plants. Instead of expressing novel proteins, RNAi-based GM plants reduce target gene expression. Silencing of off-target genes may trigger unintended effects, and identifying these genes would facilitate risk assessment. However, using bioinformatics alone is not reliable, due to the lack of genomic data and insufficient knowledge of mechanisms governing mRNA-small (s)RNA interactions.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries-Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona-Universitat de Barcelona, Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra - Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Casacuberta
authors.affiliation: European Food Safety Authority, Via Carlo Magno 1/A, 43126 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Devos
authors.affiliation: Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Plant Biology Unit, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: du Jardin
authors.affiliation: European Food Safety Authority, Via Carlo Magno 1/A, 43126 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramon
authors.affiliation: INRA, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France; AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vaucheret
authors.affiliation: INRA, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France; AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France. Electronic address: fabien.nogue@versailles.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nogué
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects*; D020868:Gene Silencing; D018390:Gene Targeting; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering
keywords: food/feed safety; gene silencing; genetically modified organism (GMO); nontarget organism (NTO); off-target gene; plant breeding.