Dataset Information

Fitness correlates of crop transgene flow into weedy populations: a case study of weedy rice in China and other examples.

ABSTRACT: Whether transgene flow from crops to cross-compatible weedy relatives will result in negative environmental consequences has been the topic of discussion for decades. An important component of environmental risk assessment depends on whether an introgressed transgene is associated with a fitness change in weedy populations. Several crop-weed pairs have received experimental attention. Perhaps, the most worrisome example is transgene flow from genetically engineered cultivated rice, a staple for billions globally, to its conspecific weed, weedy rice. China's cultivated/weedy rice system is one of the best experimentally studied systems under field conditions for assessing how the presence of transgenes alters the weed's fitness and the likely impacts of that fitness change. Here, we present the cultivated/weedy rice system as a case study on the consequences of introgressed transgenes in unmanaged populations. The experimental work on this system reveals considerable variation in fitness outcomes - increased, decreased, and none - based on the transgenic trait, its introgressed genomic background, and the environment. A review of similar research from a sample of other crop-wild pairs suggests such variation is the rule. We conclude such variation in fitness correlates supports the case-by-case method of biosafety regulation is sound.

SUBMITTER: Lu BR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4947148 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fitness correlates of crop transgene flow into weedy populations: a case study of weedy rice in China and other examples.

Lu Bao-Rong BR Yang Xiao X Ellstrand Norman C NC

Evolutionary applications 20160331 7

Whether transgene flow from crops to cross-compatible weedy relatives will result in negative environmental consequences has been the topic of discussion for decades. An important component of environmental risk assessment depends on whether an introgressed transgene is associated with a fitness change in weedy populations. Several crop-weed pairs have received experimental attention. Perhaps, the most worrisome example is transgene flow from genetically engineered cultivated rice, a staple for ...[more]

PMID: 27468304

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Project description:Domestication is the hallmark of evolution and civilization and harnesses biodiversity through selection for specific traits. In regions where domesticated lines are grown near wild relatives, congeneric sources of aggressive weedy genotypes cause major economic losses. Thus, the origins of weedy genotypes where no congeneric species occur raise questions regarding management effectiveness and evolutionary mechanisms responsible for weedy population success. Since eradication in the 1970s, California growers avoided weedy rice through continuous flood culture and zero-tolerance guidelines, preventing the import, presence, and movement of weedy seeds. In 2003, after decades of no reported presence in California, a weedy rice population was confirmed in dry-seeded fields. Our objectives were to identify the origins and establishment of this population and pinpoint possible phenotypes involved. We show that California weedy rice is derived from a different genetic source among a broad range of AA genome Oryzas and is most recently diverged from O. sativa temperate japonica cultivated in California. In contrast, other weedy rice ecotypes in North America (Southern US) originate from weedy genotypes from China near wild Oryza, and are derived through existing crop-wild relative crosses. Analyses of morphological data show that California weedy rice subgroups have phenotypes like medium-grain or gourmet cultivars, but have colored pericarp, seed shattering, and awns like wild relatives, suggesting that reversion to non-domestic or wild-like traits can occur following domestication, despite apparent fixation of domestication alleles. Additionally, these results indicate that preventive methods focused on incoming weed sources through contamination may miss burgeoning weedy genotypes that rapidly adapt, establish, and proliferate. Investigating the common and unique evolutionary mechanisms underlying global weed origins and subsequent interactions with crop relatives sheds light on how weeds evolve and addresses broader questions regarding the stability of selection during domestication and crop improvement.

Dataset Information

Fitness correlates of crop transgene flow into weedy populations: a case study of weedy rice in China and other examples.

Publications

Fitness correlates of crop transgene flow into weedy populations: a case study of weedy rice in China and other examples.

Similar Datasets

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