Transgenic cotton that expresses a gene derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been deployed for combating the cotton pests Helicoverpa armigera and Pectinophora gossypiella since 1997 in China. The pest management tactics associated with Bt cotton have resulted in a drastic...

Algal biofuels are an attractive alternative to fossil fuels due to their high productivity and the possible integration of their production systems with wastewater treatment and bioremediation of CO₂. However, there has been increasing concern over the risks associated with the use of algae for...

This chapter discusses speciation and the factors distinguishing its major modes in sexual plants: allopatric (geographical and peripatric), parapatric and sympatric. The genetic differentiation during speciation and the risk of transgene escape into the environment are described. The role of...

The adoption of transgenic herbicide-resistant crops has made an unfathomable change in global agriculture within the last decade. Currently, an estimated 114.3 million ha of transgenic crops are planted throughout a variety of agroecosystems in 23 developing and industrial countries. Approximately ...

This chapter provides synthesis and recommendations concerning the biosafety of introducing Bt cotton into Vietnam. The following aspects are discussed: problem formulation and options assessment for environmental risk assessment, Bt cotton transgene locus structure and expression, nontarget and...

This chapter discusses the potential risks of gene flow from genetically modified insect-resistant cotton in Vietnam, using a general framework to guide gene flow risk assessment. This framework includes assessment stages beginning with the conception of the specific transgenic crops...

This chapter addresses how a transgene can be designed to minimize the cost of risk assessment and identifies the features of a transgene that are essential to characterize risk assessment. Specific topics covered include: (i) transgene design and production; (ii) transgene locus structure and...

This book (13 chapters), the fourth in a series (the first, second and third books focused on Bt maize in Kenya, Bt cotton in Brazil, and risk assessment and management of transgenic fish, respectively) that provides scientifically peer-reviewed tools that can help developing countries strengthen...

The conservational and ecological risks posed by gene flow from all modern crops to crop wild relatives is examined, and the extent to which the principles developed for the risk assessment of genetically modified crops can be applied to this broader set of problems is explored. A case study on...

This chapter focuses on ways to assess the likelihood of gene flow before approved use and actual entry of transgenic fish into the environment. A step-by-step approach for assessing gene flow based on a fault tree of the chain of events necessary for introgression of transgenes into a wild...