Summary
Recombinant DNA technology has great potential to enhance and extend the advantages of conventional plant breeding, and increase the production and productivity of crops to meet the increasing demand for food and food products in the future. Judicious application of this technology provides opportunities for alleviating some of the major constraints to crop productivity under subsistence farming conditions in the developing countries. Considerable progress has been made in developing strategies for the production and deployment of transgenic crops. However, biosafety concerns have been raised regarding the deployment and release of genetically engineered plants. This debate has divided the farming and consumer communities over acceptability of genetically modified foods. There is a need for a thorough investigation regarding the fate of transgenic plants in the environment, and their interaction with wild relatives and non-target organisms. The production and release of transgenic plants should be based on experience and sound scientific reasoning. The regulatory requirements for deployment of transgenic crops should be streamlined and harmonized, in order to achieve sustainable food production, poverty reduction, and environmental protection in resource-poor countries in the semi-arid tropics.
References
Anonymous. Background document for the Workshop on biosafety issues emanating from use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). New Delhi: Biotech Consortium India Ltd.: 1998: 289 pp. [http://www.biotech.co.in].
Anonymous. Transgenic plants and world agriculture. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000: 1–40. [http://www.nap.edu/html/transgenic].
Arakawa, T.; Chong, D. K. X.; Langridge, W. H. R. Efficiency of a food plant-based oral cholera toxin B subunit vaccine. Nature Biotechnol. 16:292–297; 1998.
Birch, R. G. Plant transformation: problems and strategies for practical applications. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 48:297–326, 1997.
Borlaug, N. E. Contributions of conventional plant breeding to food producing. Science 219:689–693; 1983.
Borlaug, N. E. Feeding a world of 10 million people: the miracle ahead. Plant Tiss. Cult. Biotechnol. 3:119–127; 1997.
Burks, A. W.; Fuchs, R. L.: J. Allergy Clinic. Immunol. 96:1008–1010; 1995.
CEC (Commission of the European Communities). Council Directive of 23rd April 1990 on the Contained use of Genetically Modified Microorganisms. Reference no. 90/219/EEC. Official Journal L117 vol. 33 Brussels: Commission of the European Communities: May 1990a.
CEC. Council Directive of 23rd April 1990 on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms. Reference no. 90/220/EEC. Official Journal L117, vol. 33. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities: May 1990b.
Cook, R. J. Science-based risk assessment for the approval and use of plants in agricultural and other environments. In: Persley, G. J., Lantin, M. M., eds. Agricultural biotechnology and the poor. Washington, DC: CGIAR: 2000:123–130 [http://www.cgiar.org/bioteche/bioconf.htm]
Dale, P. J.; Irwin, J. A.; Schefler, J. A. The experimental and commercial release of transgenic crop plants. Plant Breed. 111:1–22; 1993.
de la Fuente, J. M.; Ramirez-Rodriguez, V.; Cabrera-Ponce, J. L.: Herrera-Estrella. L. Aluminium tolerance in transgenic plants by alteration of citrate synthesis. Science 276:1566–1568; 1997.
Flavell, R.B. Nature Biotechnol. Suppl. 17: BV7: 1999.
Flint, J.; Gil, L.; Verastegui, J.; Irarrazabal, C.; Dellacha, J. Biosafety information management systems. A comparative analysis of the regulatory systems in Canada, Argentina, and Chile. Elect. J. Biotechnol. 3:9–29; 2000. [http://www.ejb.org/content/vol3/issue1/full/2]
Ghosh, P. K.; Ramanaiah, T. V. Indian rules, regulations and procedures for handling transgenic plants. J. Sci. Ind. Res. 59:114–120; 2000.
Hagedorn, C.; Allender-Hagedorn, S.: Issues in agricultural and environmental biotechnology: identifying and comparing issues from public opinion surveys, the popular press, and technical/regulatory sources. Public Understand. Sci. 16:233–245; 1997.
Hagedorn, C.; Allender-Hagedorn, S. Public perceptions of transgenics in biocontrol. Agbiotech. Bull. 10:217N-222N; 1998.
Hooykaas, P. J. J.; Schilperoort, R. A.: Agrobacterium and plant genetic engineering. Plant Mol. Biol. 19:15–38; 1992.
IAICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture). In: Guidelines for release into the environment of genetically modified organisms. San Jose, Costa Rica: IAICA; 1991.
Jazairy, I.; Alamgir, M.; Panuccio, T. The state of world rural poverty: an inquiry into its causes and consequences. New York: IFAD/New York University Press; 1992.
Kessler, D. A.; Taylor, M. R.; Maryanski, J. H.; Flamm, E. L.; Kahl, L. S. The safety of foods developed by biotechnology. Science 256:1747–1749; 1992.
Kidwell, M. G. Lateral transfer in natural populations of eukaryotes. Annu. Rev. Genet. 27:235–257; 1993.
Kung, S., Wu, R., eds. Transgenic plants, vol. 1–2. San Diego: Academic Press; 1993.
Lehrer, S. B.; Horner, W. E.; Resse, G. Why are some proteins allergenic? Implications for biotechnology. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nut. 36:553–564; 1996.
Lehrer, S. B.; Reese, G. Recombinant proteins in newly developed foods: identification of allergenic activity. Int. Arch. Allergy Immun. 113:122–124; 1997.
Leopold, M. The commercialization of biotechnology, the shifting frontier. In: Tzotzos, G. T., ed., Biotechnology R & D trends. Science policy for development. New York: New York Academy of Sciences; 1993:214–231.
Levin, M.; Strauss, H. S. Overview of risk assessment and regulation of environmental biotechnology. In: Levin, M., Strauss, H. S., eds., Risk assessment in genetic engineering. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.; 1993: 1–17.
Levin, S. A., Safety standards for the release of genetically engineered organisms. Trends Biotechnol. 6:547–549; 1988.
Lipton, M.; Crawford Memorial Lecture, 28/10/99. CGIAR International Centres' Week, Washington, DC; 1999.
Mason, H.S.; Ball, J.M.; Shi, J.J. Expression of Norwalk virus capsid protein in transgenic tobacco and potato and its oral immunogenicity in mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:5335–5340; 1996.
May, B.; Genetically modified foods: facts, worries, policies and public confidence. London: Office of Science and Technology; 1999.
Miller, H. I.; Flamm, E. L. Biotechnology and food regulation. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 4:265–268; 1993.
Molvig, L.; Tabe, L. M.; Eggum, B. O.; Moore, A. E.; Craig, S.; Spencer, D.; Higgins, T. J. Enhanced methionine levels and increased nutritive value of seeds of transgenic lupins (Lupinus angustifolius L.) expressing a sunflower seed albumin gene. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 94:8393–8398; 1997.
NAS (National Academy of Sciences). Introduction of recombinant DNA-engineered organisms into the environment: key issues. Washington, DC: NAS; 1987:24.
NAS: Field testing genetically modified organisms. Washington, DC: NAS; 1989:170.
Nordlee, J. A.; Taylor, S. L.; Townsend, J. A.; Thomas, L. A.; Bush, R. K. Identification of a Brazil nut allergen in transgenic soybeans. N. Engl. J. Med. 334:688–692; 1996.
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Workshop on the Monitoring of Organisms Introduced into the Environment. Paris: OECD; 1992.
Ortiz, R. Transgenic crops at ICRISAT: 1999. [http://grep.icrisat.cgiar.org/grep/ro_trans.htm]
Ortiz. R. ICRISAT containment facility for transgenic plants; 2000 [http://grep.icrisat.cgiar.org/grep/P2Facility.htm].
Pinstrup-Andersen, P.; Cohen, M. J. Modern biotechnology for food and agriculture: risks and opportunities for the poor. In: Persley, G. J.; Lantin, M. M., eds. Agricultural biotechnology and the poor, Washington, DC: CGIAR; 2000:159–169 [http://www.cgiar.org/bioteche/bioconf.htm]
Potrykus, I. Gene transfer to plants: assessment and perspectives. Physiol. Plant. 79:125–134; 1990.
Sampson, H. A.; Metcalfe, D. D. Immediate reactions to foods. In: Metcalfe, D. D., Sampson, H. A., Simon, R. A., eds. Food allergy: adverse reactions to foods and food additives. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publishers; 1991:99–112.
Serageldin, I. The challenge of poverty in the 21st century: the role of science. In: Persley, G. J., Lantin, M. M., eds., Agricultural biotechnology and the poor. Washington, DC: CGIAR; 2000:25–31 [http://www.cgiar.org/bioteche/bioeonf.htm]
Sharma, K. K.; Ortiz, R. Program for the application of genetic transformation for crop improvement in the semi-arid tropics. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. Plant 36:83–92; 2000.
Spillanc, C. Could agricultural biotechnology contribute to poverty alleviation? AgBiotechNet 2: ABN041, 1–40; 2000.
Taylor, S.; Lehrer, S. B. Principles and characteristics of food allergans. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 36:S91-S118; 1996.
Tiedje, J. M.; Colwell, R. K.; Grossman, W. L.; Hodson, R. E.; Lenski, R. E.; Mack, R. N.; Regal, P. J. The planned introduction of genetically modified organisms: ecological considerations and recommendations. Ecology 70:298–315; 1989.
Tzotzos, T. Genetically modified microorganisms: a guide to biosafety. Wallingford: CAB; 1995.
UN (United Nations). World population prospects: the 1996 revisions. New York: UN; 1996.
UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization). Voluntary code of conduct for the release of organisms into the environment. Vienna: UNIDO; 1991.
Whitham, S.; McCormick, S.; Baker, B. The N gene of tobacco confers resistance to tobacco mosaic virus in transgenic tomato. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 93:8776–8781; 1996.
Wilkinson, J. Q.; Lanahan, M. B.; Clark, D. G.; Bleecker, A. B.; Chang, C.; Meyerowitz, E. M.; Klee, H. J. A dominant mutant receptor from Arabidopsis confers ethylene insensitivity in heterologous plants. Nature Biotechnol. 15:444–447; 1997.
Williamson, M.; Perrins, J.; Fitter, A. Releasing genetically engineered plants. Trends Ecol. Evol. 5:417–419; 1990.
Wyngaarden, J. B. The future role of biotechnology in society. Advances in biotechnology. Stockholm: Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research; 1990:260.
Zupan, J. R.; Zambryski, P. Transfer of T-DNA from Agrobacterium to the plant cell. Plant Physiol. 107:1041–1047; 1995.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sharma, K.K., Sharma, H.C., Seetharama, N. et al. Development and deployment of transgenic plants: Biosafety considerations. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 38, 106–115 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1079/IVP2001268
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/IVP2001268
Key words
- biosafety
- environmental protection
- genetic transformation
- recombinant DNA
- transgenic plants