BACKGROUND Like conventional crops, some GM cultivars may readily hybridize with their wild or weedy relatives. The progressive introgression of transgenes into wild or weedy populations thus appears inevitable, and we are now faced with the challenge of determining the possible evolutionary effects of these transgenes. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the impact of interspecific ...

Although genetically modified (GM) plants expressing toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protect agricultural crops against lepidopteran and coleopteran pests, field-evolved resistance to Bt toxins has been reported for populations of several lepidopteran species. Moreover, some important agricultural pests, like phloem-feeding insects, are not susceptible to Bt crops. Complementary pest co...

Genetically modified foods are a controversial subject in today’s society. They benefit the human race in many ways but they also pose many risks to the health of humans and the good of the environment. It is crucial that we study the effects of transgenic crops on people and their surroundings before is it continued to be integrated into the world. There is currently not enough proof to ensure...

The root-knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne incognita, is an obligate, sedentary endoparasite that infects a large number of crops and severely affects productivity. The commonly used nematode control strategies have their own limitations. Of late, RNA interference (RNAi) has become a popular approach for the development of nematode resistance in plants. Transgenic crops capable of expressing dsR...

well known in rats fed similar diets, and that the sample size (six rats) was too small to draw any conclusions. Following the production of the first transgenic plants, health issues The report by Ewen and Pusztai (1999) was seized concerning the safety of using genetically modified (GM) crops in foods and feeds have been discussed, debated, and evaluated. The upon by anti-GM advocates to supp...

BACKGROUND Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are the most important pollinators of many agricultural crops worldwide and are a key test species used in the tiered safety assessment of genetically engineered insect-resistant crops. There is concern that widespread planting of these transgenic crops could harm honey bee populations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We conducted a meta-analysis of 25...

Concern about the effects of pesticides on human health and the environment, has been a major rationale for promoting transgenic crops, often referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or as genetically enhanced (GE) crops. Companies that sell genetically engineered crop plants claim that biotechnology offers a safe alternative to agricultural chemicals and is necessary to feed the w...

It is proposed that post-harvest longevity and appearance of salad crops is closely linked to pre-harvest leaf morphology (cell and leaf size) and biophysical structure (leaf strength). Transgenic lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa cv. Valeria) were produced in which the production of the cell wall-modifying enzyme xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) was down-regulated by antisense inhi...