Toxicity transgenic plants

Tab. 16.1 N ovel marker genes that avoid the use of potentially toxic antibiotics, herbicides and drugs for the selection of transgenic plants. ESR1, enhancer of shoot regeneration 1 CKI1, cyto-...

Ecological concerns are real as we do not know what may occur with the widespread propagation of transgenic plants. There were initial fears that Bt corn was toxic not only to the European corn borer but also to the monarch butterfly larvae that may eat milkweed leaves laced with Bt corn pollen. However, EPA studies dismissed this threat. It is possible that other insects, not intended as targets of bioengineered proteins, may also be affected. It is absolutely essential that these ecological issues be addressed. However, these are not food safety issues. The same concerns occur with the widespread use of organic pesticides relative to runoff and water pollution. Both must be addressed on their own merits. 

Kovalchuk O et al., A sensitive transgenic plant system to detect toxic inorganic compounds in the environment, Nat. Biotechnol., 19, 568, 2001. 

The decarboxylation of the toxic 4-methyltryptophan mentioned earlier has been patented as a basis for a selection procedure of transgenic plants, using the C. roseus Tdc gene as selection marker gene (192). 

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