Selectively Terminable Transgenic Rice

Scientists from the Zhejiang University in China have developed a method of creating selective terminable transgenic rice varieties. The rice lines were genetically modified to express genes tagged with an RNA interference cassette that renders them sensitive to bentazon, an herbicide widely used in rice weed control. Field trials showed that the transgenic lines can be selectively killed 100 percent by one spray of bentazon at a regular dose used for conventional rice weed control. They were also found to be highly tolerant to glyphosate, which is exactly the opposite of conventional rice. The transgenic lines showed no difference in development, growth and yield compared to its non-GM counterparts.

The method developed by the scientists represents a simple, reliable and inexpensive way of transgene containment. Previously, GM rice can only be identified by sophisticated molecular detection methods and it is often difficult to selectively kill GM rice varieties once they escape into environments and contaminate conventional rice.

Read the abstract of the paper published by PlosOne at http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0001818