Biotech Updates

University of Arkansas to Study Gene Flow in GM Canola

April 25, 2008

U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency (USDA/EPA) has awarded a $520,000 grant to a group of researchers from the University of Arkansas to study the effects of climate change on weed biology, especially the transgenic hybrid weeds produced by cross pollination with GM canola. Canola has the potential to hybridize with 40 species, and several of these species are weed pests. GM canola has been widely grown because of its potential as a biofuel crop. In Arkansas, field test of GM canola took place last year. The group aims to build predictive models that will show the effects of climate change on the flow of transgenes from GM canola to its sexually compatible relatives.

For more information visit, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2008.00340.x