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Transgene flow to hybrid rice and its male-sterile lines

Transgenic Research volume 16, pages 491–501 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Gene flow from genetically modified (GM) crops to the same species or wild relatives is a major concern in risk assessment. Transgenic rice with insect and/or disease resistance, herbicide, salt and/or drought tolerance and improved quality has been successfully developed. However, data on rice gene flow from environmental risk assessment studies are currently insufficient for the large-scale commercialization of GM rice. We have provided data on the gene flow frequency at 17 distances between a GM japonica line containing the bar gene as a pollen donor and two indica hybrid rice varieties and four male-sterile (ms) lines. The GM line was planted in a 640m2 in an isolated experimental plot (2.4 ha), which simulates actual conditions of rice production with pollen competition. Results showed that: (1) under parallel plantation at the 0-m zone, the transgene flow frequency to the ms lines ranged from 3.145 to 36.116% and was significantly higher than that to hybrid rice cultivars (0.037–0.045%). (2) Gene flow frequency decreased as the distance increased, with a sharp cutoff point at about 1–2 m; (3) The maximum distance of transgene flow was 30–40 m to rice cultivars and 40–150 m to ms lines. We believe that these data will be useful for the risk assessment and management of transgenic rice lines, especially in Asia where 90% of world's rice is produced and hybrid rice varieties are extensively used.

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Acknowledgements

This work was a part of the Project on Risk Assessment of GM Crops and Fishes funded by the China National Basic Research Program (2001CB109003). We sincerely thank the chief scientist of the project, Prof. Yufa Peng, for organizing and fully supporting our studies as well as Drs. Danian Huang and Qian Qian in the China National Rice Research Institute for providing us with seeds of pollen donor L201.

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Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Shirong Jia, Lei Shi & Wujun Jin

  2. Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 51064, China

    Feng Wang, Wuge Liu, Yilong Liao, Shuguang Li & Huipu Peng

  3. Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China

    Qianhua Yuan

  4. Hainan Research & Development Base for Hybrid Rice and Transgenic Crops (National 863 Program), Sanya, 572000, China

    Qianhua Yuan

Authors
  1. Shirong Jia
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  2. Feng Wang
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  3. Lei Shi
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  4. Qianhua Yuan
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  5. Wuge Liu
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  6. Yilong Liao
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  7. Shuguang Li
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  8. Wujun Jin
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  9. Huipu Peng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shirong Jia.

Additional information

Shirong Jia, Feng Wang and Lei Shi contributed equally to this investigation.

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Jia, S., Wang, F., Shi, L. et al. Transgene flow to hybrid rice and its male-sterile lines. Transgenic Res 16, 491–501 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-006-9037-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-006-9037-z

Keywords

  • Transgene flow
  • Oryza sativa
  • Hybrid rice
  • Male-sterile lines