Workshop on the Wider environmental implications of genetically modified plants, Cambridge, UK, 20 – 21 January 2000
The first workshop to be organised within the framework of the ESF AIGM Programme, on the Wider environmental implications of genetically modified plants, took place in Cambridge, UK, on 20 – 21 January 2000. The workshop examined the consequences for agriculture of the commercialisation of GM crops and the environmental impacts that may result.
Background
Crop plants are being transformed to contain a wide range of traits which may have direct impacts on their ecology and that of related plants in cultivated and uncultivated land. However it is becoming increasingly apparent that the management and methods of deployment of these GM crops is often different from un-transformed crops and that these methods of deployment and management are themselves having significant environmental impacts. For example pesticide and herbicide programmes are different on resistant GM crops, larger proportions of hybrid crops are being grown and more segregation of crops may be necessary. New pest and disease resistance genes produce products which both directly and indirectly affect the ecology of non-target organisms. Removal of certain pest and disease organisms can encourage competitor species while reducing dependant species. This in turn has crop management implications which impact on the environment.
Gene flow between GM crops can produce admixtures of transgenes which are complimentary, synergistic or inhibit activity against both target and non-target organisms. The agricultural consequences of transgene admixtures and their environmental impact have had little study.
The Workshop
This workshop brought together researchers examining the agronomic and environmental impact of the deployment of GM crops and scientists working to understand the complex interactions determining farmland ecology.
The objectives of the workshop were set out by Jeremy Sweet : (1) to determine which GM crops are likely to affect farming practices to the extent that farmland ecology is significantly altered and (2) what net benefit and harm is likely to accrue from these changes and how should this be measured.
In Session 1. The scene was set and many of the broader environmental, agricultural and social issues discussed by Gesine Schutter, Klaus Ammann, and Alan Grey .
Session 2. Chaired by Guy Poppy, emphasised the need for a systematic approach to studying impacts of GM crops at different trophic levels ranging from direct impact studies under controlled conditions to real scale ecological studies to look at both direct and indirect effects.
Angelika Hilbeck, Tanja Schuler, Johnathon Hillier and Stefan Vidal discussed aspects of their studies on target and beneficial insects.
Ian Cooper, Christine Henry and Helen Smith discussed the ability of transgenic virus resistance to create new viruses and the ecological consequences of GM virus resistance mechanisms.
Jane Thomas reviewed the critical issues to be considered in relation to GM fungal resistance mechansims and the impact they could have on plant microflora population dynamics.
Session 3. Chaired by Alan Raybould, discussed environmental considerations in relation to modified physiological systems (Andreas Ulrich) and Helmut Lieth supplied a comprehensive review of salt tolerance considerations.
Session 4. Chaired by Phil Dale reviewed current information on positional effects on gene expression and stability (Oldrich Navratil and Trine Johansen Meza) and interactions between transgenes in gene stacking (Ian Senior).
Session 5. Was chaired by Peter Lutman as Antoine Messean was unable to attend. This session discussed aspects of current research programmes on herbicide tolerant crops. Peter reviewed the research programmes in the UK studying the effect of the herbicides on botanical and other species diversity. Euan Simpson, Bernd Hommel and Sian Hockaday discussed weed and volunteer control issues. Antje Deitz-Pfeilstetter and Gavin Ramsey discussed cross pollination studies and consequences, particularly the fact that it can occur at low frequencies at large distances in oilseed rape. Katherine Madsen and Alan Dewar discussed the impact of modified herbicide programmes on the diversity of insects and other species in HT crops.
Session 6. Chaired by Rikke Jorgensen, reviewed the implications of gene flow. Alan Raybould discussed the implications of his work on wild cabbage populations. Detlef Bartsch described the significance of gene flow between cultivated and wild beet. Eric Jenczewski discussed gene introgression studies between Brassica napus and Raphanus raphanistrum. Rikke Jorgensen and Carol Norris discussed gene flow between B napus and B rapa, while Thure Hauser and Marina Johanessen discussed gene flow in B napus. Etienne Klien described the modelling of gene flow through pollen dispersal and cross pollination. Geof Squire and Natalie Colbach described their work on modelling the impact of GM crops on a farm scale.
Session 7. Chaired by John MacLeod discussed how GM crops were likely to be deployed in future (Colin Merritt) and how current and future agricultural practices, incorporating GM crops, may affect biodiversity (Les Firbank and Alistair Burn). Ian Cooper discussed the implications for forestry development.
Session 8. Chaired by Jeremy Sweet discussed future research requirements. Alan Gray and Kirsti Kvaloy discussed the need for more holistic research programmes that study a broad range of both direct and indirect consequences of GM cropping. Jeremy Sweet emphasised the need for research to be conducted along sound ecological lines and that publication of biosafety research based on limited laboratory studies should clearly state the need for proper ecological evaluations to be conducted.
Co-ordinator:
- JeremySweetE-Mail
- J B and R D Sweet, EnvironmentalCambridgeUnited Kingdom
