Comment on Van de Wiel, Groot and Den Nijs: Gene flow from crop to wild plants and its population-ecological consequences in the context of GM-crop biosafety, including some recent experiences from lettuce

Abstract

Gene flow from crop to wild plants is one of the potential risks associated with the use of genetically modified organisms. The paper by van de Wiel et al. is an effort to understanding how far we are from answering the question: “How likely is hybridization from transgenic crops to wild relatives to occur?” To be able to answer this question is of fundamental importance for the future use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture. The potential evolutionary consequences of the use of transgenic crops have already raised a great deal of concern from consumers as well as producers and the government side of the market for agricultural products. From the consumer side the issues raised can be summarized in 3 broad categories: 1. Loss of biodiversity and environmental concerns; 2. Human health concerns; 3. Concerns related to the effect on prices of agricultural products of an imperfectly competitive biotech industry. From the producer’s point of view the concerns related to gene flow from crop to wild are of 3 main categories: 1. Liability for damages caused to other producers; 2. Ability to identify responsible parties for damages suffered; 3. Ability to calculate the risk of causing damages for which the producer is liable and the extent of these damages and costs of reducing this risk. From the government point of view the concerns related to gene flow from crop to wild are also of 3 main categories: 1. Ability of setting standards to reduce the risk of damages caused by gene flow; 2. Choice of the optimal governance structure for these standards; 3. Ability to maintain friendly international relations with foreign countries that have adopted different standards. The paper by van de Wiel et al. analyses the steps that are needed for gene flow from crop to wild to occur actually. In the paper these key elements may influence gene flow: 1. “The presence of wild or weedy relatives in the vicinity of the crop” 2. “The chance of survival of the F1 hybrids and their fecundity” 3. “The integration site of the construct on the genome”.