Proceedings of the XLV Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy - 26/29 September, 2001

ISBN 88-900622-1-5

Poster Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF POLLEN DISPERSAL FROM TWO FIELD TRIALS OF TRANSGENIC BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL PLANTS

DE MARCHIS F., BELLUCCI M.

Istituto di Ricerche sul Miglioramento Genetico delle Piante Foraggere (IRMGPF), CNR, Via della Madonna Alta 130, 06128 Perugia, Italia

s.arcioni@irmgpf.pg.cnr.it

birdsfoot trefoil, pollen dispersal, gene flow, transgenic plants

The birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) is a perennial forage legume with an high nutritive value used for pasture and hay. Even if up to now genetically modified birdsfoot trefoil plants are not in commerce, their release could be probable due to their economic and agronomic advantages. Furthermore, this plant is considered a model species for genetic transformation of legumes and for this reason is widely used in plant biology laboratories. To evaluate the potential risks of gene escape from transgenic birdsfoot trefoil plants through pollen dispersal under italian environmental conditions one field trial was performed in Umbria. Forty-eight transgenic birdsfoot trefoil plants, twenty-four transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens harbouring the asparagine synthase (asn-A) gene and other twenty-four with A. rhizogenes carrying the b-glucuronidase (uidA) gene, were transplanted at the two opposite corners of a 64 x 40 m field. One beehive was located near each corner. The aim of this study is to monitor the gene flow of asn-A and uidA gene in the same specie (L. corniculatus ) and even to asses the possibility of transgene dispersal in the environment through interspecific hybridisation with L. pedunculatus and L. tenuis. Sixteen recipient plots were distributed in four lines in the whole area of the field and in each one were transplanted 4 plants of the three species considered. During this summer seeds will be harvested from each plant and the presence of the transgenes in the progeny of these plants will be revealed by PCR. PCR amplification for uidA gene was going to underline an eventual difference between the asn-A or uidA flow due, in particular, to the two species of Agrobacterium utilised for the infections. To address the effect of field size on pollen movement another trial was done in a c.a. 2 ha field in Lazio at the Istituto di Biologia ed Ecofisiologia Vegetale (IBEV), and the results will be further investigated.