UNIVERSITE DE BOURGOGNE THÈSE Yongbo LIU - Université de ...
UNIVERSITE DE BOURGOGNE THÈSE Yongbo LIU - Université de ...
UNIVERSITE DE BOURGOGNE THÈSE Yongbo LIU - Université de ...
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they b ear b eneficial t ransgenes t hat m ight p rovi<strong>de</strong> ad aptive ad vantages ( Darmency 1 994).<br />
Ramachandran et al. (2000) found that transgenic plants were more competitive un<strong>de</strong>r insect<br />
pressure. Vacher et al. (2004) showed higher fitness of Bt transgenic hybrids than wild plants<br />
un<strong>de</strong>r insect pressure. In addition, both F 1 hybrids produced the highest percentage of large<br />
seeds, although the difference was not drastic, which could make the second generation with<br />
more chance of establishment than the small-see<strong>de</strong>d F1 generation.<br />
Implications for gene flow between transgenic B. napus and wild B. juncea<br />
Seed size could affect the emergence and initial seedlings (Major 1977; Aparico et al. 2002),<br />
which further enhance plant fitness (Verdu & Traveset 2005). GT showed significantly seed<br />
size ef fects, an d s mall-see<strong>de</strong>d pl ants <strong>de</strong> monstrated l ower f itness t han l arge-see<strong>de</strong>d pl ants.<br />
However, s mall-see<strong>de</strong>d o f transgenic F 1 did not s how pl ant f itness di fference c ompared t o<br />
larger-see<strong>de</strong>d plants of transgenic F1. Small seeds are more easily sieved out by harvesters and<br />
fall onto the soil, and further buried in the seed bank of soil. The complex correlation between<br />
seed size and persistence in the soil is unclear. However, interspecific hybrid seeds survived<br />
as well as seeds of oilseed rape in the soil (Chadoeuf et al. 1998). In addition, the small seed<br />
dispersed more easily through wind and animals, such that the survival of small-sized seeds of<br />
weeds c ould be hi gher i n c onventional t illage s ystems a nd a rable h abitats ( Ghersa &<br />
Martinez-Ghersa, 2000). They might represent the main risk of transgene escape in the field,<br />
and their small size is not a counterbalancing force exposing them to higher competition from<br />
the neighborhood.<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
This work is supported by two projects of the Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no.<br />
30970432 a nd 30670316 ) a nd enabled b y a U SDA Biotechnology R isk A ssessment G rant.<br />
This work was also supported by a PhD joint fellowship between China and France (CNOUS,<br />
No. 20072315).<br />
References<br />
Ahmed SU, Zuberi M I (1973) Effects of seed size on yield and some of its components in<br />
rape seed, Brassica campestris L. var. Toria. Crop Science, 13, 119-120.<br />
Allainguillaume J , Alexan<strong>de</strong>r M, Bullock J M, Saun<strong>de</strong>rs M, Allen<strong>de</strong>r CJ, King G, Ford CS,<br />
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