GMO Research Programme - Reports
The impact of transgenes for herbivore and virus resistance on the weediness of crop relatives
Ref EPG 1/5/132
Synopsis
The project aimed to establish whether protection from herbivory is important to wild Brassica in stable plant communities and hence whether transgenes for herbivore resistance could increase the weediness of these species. This research will strengthen the risk assessment of existing and future GM Brassica crops where the genetic modification imparts herbivore resistance and where there is potential for that transgene to pass into wild relatives.
The research concentrates on two wild Brassica species, the perennial Brassica oleracea and the annual B. nigra. A theoretical model can be constructed to show how natural herbivore resistance mechanisms may mediate the population dynamics of wild Brassica populations. The aim of the proposed work is to parameterise this model and so allow us to predict the likely effects of herbivore resistance transgenes in wild relatives of crop Brassicas.
Start and completion dates
Project started April 1999; final report published December 2004.
Final report
Available to download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format (1.4 MB - nb large file - you should consult the information is available on our Help page about downloading or reading large PDF documents)
Other publications
Not yet available
Contact details
Contractor
NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Winfrith Technology Centre
Dorchester
Dorset DT2 8ZD
Defra
Dr Nick Brickle
3/E8 Ashdown House
123 Victoria Street
London, SW1E 6DE.
020 7082 5238
GM@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Page last modified:
16 December, 2004
Page published: 2 March 2004