| Amsterdam, 1/12/2002 – Whether or not there is absolute proof that transgenic maize is
growing in Mexico, it is clear that the importation of living maize
seed to that country from the United States should eventually result
in the introgression of transgenes into Mexican landraces just as
alleles from US varieties have been introgressing into those
populations for decades. The purpose of this workshop is not to
address whether transgenes have found their way into Mexican
landraces, but to discuss the potential impacts of current and
future novel alleles on landraces when they arrive undetected.
Although we will use Mexico and maize as a point-of-departure, we
will also ask what other crops and what other locations are likely
to experience unintended gene flow into landraces. Other topics
might include (1) the opportunities for landraces or wild relatives
to serve as hybridization "bridges" to deliver transgenes unintended
to crop populations, (2) the role of seed trade, seed bank, and seed
dispersal in unintended gene flow, (3) international policy that
affects transgene flow across borders, and (4) containment,
monitoring, and mitigation. One hour is planned for discussion
facilitated by Ellstrand, Snow, and Carpentier.
Please visit the website
http://www.science.uva.nl/research/ibed/Introgression, announcing
the European Science Foundation Conference:
"Introgression from Genetically Modified Plants into wild relatives
and its consequences"
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