gene Flow: Implications for Crop Diversity and Wild Relatives

This paper presents an overview of the potential evolutionaryconsequences of (trans)gene flow, focusing on cropplants. It introduces the basic concepts of the biology of geneflow and discusses the potential evolutionary significance oftransgene flow from crop to wild relative, crop to landrace,and crop to crop, each of which has its own set of emergentsocio-cultural, political, and economic considerations. Thediscussion also draws on recent research and actual transgeneflow events. Research needs, critical gaps in scientificunderstanding and uncertainties in gene flow assessmentsare identified with a view to contributing to a more robustscientific assessment of the potential implications of verticaltransgene flow for crop biodiversity, weed and targetresistance evolution, and food security.Dr David Quist is a senior scientist at GenØk – Centre for Biosafetyin Tromsø, Norway. He received his PhD from the Universityof California, Berkeley, where he studied the fate of transgenicDNA in traditional varieties of maize in Oaxaca, Mexico. His currentwork focuses on the detection and characterisation of transgenesin varying biological and ecological contexts, risk research inemerging biotechnologies, and eco-epidemiological approachesto monitoring transgene flow.BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOSAFETYSERIESis a series of papers published by the ThirdWorld Network. It is aimed at deepening publicunderstanding of ecological and safety aspectsof new biotechnologies, especially geneticengineering.