Abstract

New Camelina sativa genotypes have been genetically engineered (GE) to produce unique high-value chemical compounds and biofuel products. However, baseline information on predictive environmental risk assessment on this plant is urgently needed to establish guidelines for commercial large-scale production. Pollinating insects such as bees could facilitate the spread of transgenes into the ecosystem and raises ecological concerns on insect-mediated gene flow. Thus determination of the potential impact of pollinating insects on C. sativa pollination and gene flow becomes important. A 4-year experiment conducted in Connecticut, USA (2017) and Yangzhou, China (2019–2021) was carried out to determine the pollination effect of different densities of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) populations on C. sativa seed yield and assess their involvement on C. sativa pollen dispersal. Insect cages experiments with presence or absence of honey bees showed that C. sativa seed yield was not affected by a relatively low population density of honey bees (20 honey bees m−2). However, at a higher density of honey bee population, Camelina sativa seed yield (0.23 g plant-1 and 73.3 g m−2) was statistically greater than those of the uncaged control (0.21 g plant-1 and 68.9 g m−2), caged C. sativa plants without honey bees (0.20 g plant-1 and 66.3 g m−2) or with 20 honey bees m−2 (0.21 g plant-1 and 66.9 g m−2), although C. sativa is commonly assumed to be self-pollinated. Principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) made from SSR markers revealed that honey bee and bumble bee are able to transfer C. sativa pollen from pollen source to adjacent flowers of other species (e.g., Brassica juncea, Brassica napus) up to 10−15 m beyond the field edge, raising ecological concerns on insect-mediated gene flow between adjacent C. sativa fields particularly if GE C. sativa cultivars are involved. The new information in this study will help to better understand C. sativa pollination biology, environmental risks associated with insect-mediated gene flow, and develop management strategies to reduce gene flow and facilitate coexistence between GE and non-GE C. sativa under natural agroecosystem.

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