Singapore, March 19, 2008: Researchers at the Zhejiang University in China have developed a method of creating selective terminable transgenic (genetically modified (GM)) rice. Unintended spreading of transgenic rice by pollen and seed dispersal is a major concern for planting transgenic rice, especially transgenic rice expressing pharmaceutical or industrial proteins.

 

The transgenic rice plants created in the past usually can only be detected by sophisticated molecular detection methods and it is difficult to identify and selectively kill the transgenic rice plants once they escape into environments and contaminate conventional rice.

 

With the technology reported by Dr Zhicheng Shen and colleagues of Zhejiang University, a spray of Bentazon, an herbicide commonly used for rice weed control, could selectively eliminate the transgenic rice plants mixed in the conventional rice.

 

This technology appears to be quite simple, reliable and inexpensive for implementation. “If you use Bentazon for weed control in your rice field, you do not need to worry about any possible contamination caused by transgenic rice created by our method. The herbicide will take care of it,” said Dr Shen. “Containment of transgenic crops only by physical isolation is not sufficient in our view, as human errors, animal activities and nature accidents will lead to the spreading of transgenic rice plants sooner or later” added Mr Chaoyang Lin, graduate student in Dr Shen’s laboratory. Indeed, several major accidents of unintended spreading of the transgenic crops did happen in the past several years in the US.

 

This technology may be best for use to contain transgenic rice as bioreactors. “While all biotech products today are safe and nutritious, this technology could allow certain crops targeted for industrial, energy or health uses to be grown under controlled conditions and kept separate from other channels,” said Mr Nick Duck Vice President of Research for US-based Athenix.

 

The principle beneath this strategy is elegant and simple according to the article. The genes of interest in these transgenic rice plants will be linked with an RNAi cassette, which suppresses the expression of the rice detoxification enzyme of Bentazon, rendering the transgenic rice to be sensitive to the herbicide. Conventional rice is highly tolerant to Bentazon.