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Establishment and optimization of a regionally applicable maize gene-flow model

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Abstract

Because of the rapid development of transgenic maize, the potential effect of transgene flow on seed purity has become a major concern in public and scientific communities. Setting a proper isolation distance in field experiments and seed production is a possible solution to meet seed-quality standards and ensure adventitious contamination of products is below a specific threshold. By using a Gaussian plume model as basis and data recorded by meteorological stations as input, we have established a simple regionally applicable maize gene-flow model for prediction of the maximum threshold distances (MTD) at which gene-flow frequency is equal to or lower than a threshold value of 1 or 0.1 % (MTD1%, MTD0.1%). After optimization of the model variables, simulated outcrossing rate was a good fit to data obtained from field experiments (y = 1.156x, R 2 = 0.8913, n = 30, P < P 0.01). In the process of model calibration, it was found that only 15.82 % of the total amount of the pollen released by each plant participated in the dispersal process. The variable “a” for genetic pollen competitiveness between donor and recipient was introduced into our model, for the “Zinuo18” and “Su608” used, “a” was 17.47. Finally, the model was successfully used in the spring maize-growing region of Northeast China. The range of MTD1% and MTD0.1% in this region varied from 10 m to 49 m and from 17 m to 125 m, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

This work is part of the project “GMO biosafety evaluation” supported by the “National Key Programs of China, Breeding of GMOs” (2009ZX08011-019B, 2014ZX08011-001) and the “Foundation of Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Agricultural Meteorology” (KYQ1203). Partial financial support was also obtained from Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) and the Ministry of Education of China (grant PCSIRT). We are grateful to Professor Fen-fen Feng for her technical assistance in observation of biological characteristics, to Ms Bo Pang, Ms Yexian Zhou, and Mr Peijian Shi for helping with observations, and to Professor Chuangen Lü for supporting the field experiment at Lishui. Kind help and suggestions by Professor Qianhua Yuan during preparation of the manuscript are also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Ning Hu & Weihong Luo

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, College of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Ning Hu, Jichao Hu, Xiaodong Jiang, Wanlong Chen & Kemin Yao

  3. Institute of Plant Protection, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling, 136100, Jilin, People’s Republic of China

    Zongzhi Lu

  4. Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Yufa Peng

  5. Biotechnology Research Center, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130124, Jilin, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Zhang

  6. Laboratory for Crop Genetic Engineering, Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Shirong Jia & Xinwu Pei

Authors
  1. Ning Hu
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  2. Jichao Hu
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  3. Xiaodong Jiang
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  4. Zongzhi Lu
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  6. Wanlong Chen
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  7. Kemin Yao
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  8. Ming Zhang
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  9. Shirong Jia
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  10. Xinwu Pei
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  11. Weihong Luo
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shirong Jia, Xinwu Pei or Weihong Luo.

Additional information

Ning Hu, Jichao Hu, and Xiaodong Jiang contributed equally to this publication.

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Hu, N., Hu, J., Jiang, X. et al. Establishment and optimization of a regionally applicable maize gene-flow model. Transgenic Res 23, 795–807 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-014-9810-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-014-9810-3

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