title: Genetic basis and detection of unintended effects in genetically modified crop plants.
abstract: In January 2014, an international meeting sponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute/Health and Environmental Sciences Institute and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency titled "Genetic Basis of Unintended Effects in Modified Plants" was held in Ottawa, Canada, bringing together over 75 scientists from academia, government, and the agro-biotech industry. The objectives of the meeting were to explore current knowledge and identify areas requiring further study on unintended effects in plants and to discuss how this information can inform and improve genetically modified (GM) crop risk assessments. The meeting featured presentations on the molecular basis of plant genome variability in general, unintended changes at the molecular and phenotypic levels, and the development and use of hypothesis-driven evaluations of unintended effects in assessing conventional and GM crops. The development and role of emerging "omics" technologies in the assessment of unintended effects was also discussed. Several themes recurred in a number of talks; for example, a common observation was that no system for genetic modification, including conventional methods of plant breeding, is without unintended effects. Another common observation was that "unintended" does not necessarily mean "harmful". This paper summarizes key points from the information presented at the meeting to provide readers with current viewpoints on these topics.
authors.affiliation: DuPont Pioneer Agricultural Biotechnology, DuPont Experimental Station, 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, DE, 19803, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ladics
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartholomaeus
authors.forename: Phil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bregitzer
authors.forename: Nancy G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Doerrer
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Holzhauser
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keese
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.forename: Phil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Parrott
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Privalle
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raybould
authors.forename: Seung Yon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Romeis
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vaughn
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wal
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Glenn
mesh_terms: D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics*; D030841:Food, Genetically Modified; D006801:Humans; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics*; D018570:Risk Assessment