Gene Containment provides a comprehensive look at genetically modified organisms and the strategies and implementation of key methods to gene containment. The book is divided into 5 parts: An Introduction that discusses the need for biotechnology and GMOs, Section 1 looks at the need for gene containment, Part II discusses varying strategies for gene containment, section III explores the assessment of gene containment approaches, and section IV covers the steps involved in implementing gene containment. Gene Containment will provide a thorough and up to date look at gene containment research and the needs for implementing new strategies in this arena.

This book explores the risks and benefits of crops that are genetically modified for pest resistance, the urgency of establishing an appropriate regulatory framework for these products, and the importance of public understanding of the issues. The committee critically reviews federal policies toward transgenic products, the 1986 coordinated framework among the key federal agencies in the field, and rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for regulation of plant pesticides. This book provides detailed analyses of: Mechanisms and results of genetic engineering compared to conventional breeding for pest resistance. Review of scientific issues associated with transgenic pest-protected plants, such as allergenicity, impact on nontarget plants, evolution of the pest species, and other concerns. Overview of regulatory framework and its use of scientific information with suggestions for improvements.

Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology is not reaching its potential to improve human health and the environment because of stringent regulations and reduced public funding to develop products offering more benefits to society. While the debate about these and other questions related to the genetic engineering techniques of the first 20 years goes on, emerging genetic-engineering technologies are adding new complexities to the conversation. Genetically Engineered Crops builds on previous related Academies reports published between 1987 and 2010 by undertaking a retrospective examination of the purported positive and adverse effects of GE crops and to anticipate what emerging genetic-engineering technologies hold for the future. This report indicates where there are uncertainties about the economic, agronomic, health, safety, or other impacts of GE crops and food, and makes recommendations to fill gaps in safety assessments, increase regulatory clarity, and improve innovations in and access to GE technology.

Transgenic technology provides a powerful tool for woody plant improvement. However, the full utilization of this technology has been stagnant due to gene flow and food safety concerns. This dissertation describes two transgene containment techniques that are particularly useful for woody plants. The first one is a flowerless plant technique that can be used to prevent pollen- and seed-mediated transgene flow. We developed an artificial promoter sequence, rPTAG2I, and demonstrated that this sequence is floral-predominant in tobacco with no detectable activity in the vegetative tissues of tobacco and poplar. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing the Diphtheria toxin A (DT-A) gene driven by the rPTAG2I promoter exhibited a flowerless phenotype with enhanced shoot and root biomass. Over two growing seasons in the field, rPTAG2I::DT-A transgenic poplar plants displayed similar vegetative growth compared to wild type. The second technique used a root-predominant gene promoter (SbUGT) to drive the expression of an auxin biosynthetic gene (iaaM) and a cytokinin degradation gene (CKX) to improve rootstocks. We demonstrated that expression of both the iaaM and CKX genes, predominantly in roots, inhibited lateral bud release and enhanced both root initiation and biomass of rootstock. Also, the grafting success rates were improved even though non-transgenic scions were used. We have further shown that the use of the iaaM+CKX transgenic rootstocks led to improved non-transgenic scion growth even when the lateral buds on rootstock remained intact. Because of these characteristics, our technique takes advantages of transgenic technology but also eliminates the concerns of gene flow from flowers and fruits. In summary, the development of both the flowerless and iaaM+CKX rootstock techniques may provide useful tools to address gene flow and food safety concerns over transgenic woody plant species.