Woody plants: Preventing spread

Woody plants have one particular characteristic which is very significant for the risk assessment of genetic interventions: they have an extre… more

Agrobacteria - Transfer of genetic information to other bacteria?

In order to insert new genes into plant cells, the soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is used as a ‘gene ferry’.… more

Transgenic apple varieties: Approaches to preventing outcrossing – possible effects on micro-organisms

(2005 – 2008) Federal Centre for Breeding Research on Cultivated Plants, Institute of Fruit Breeding, Dresden (since 2008 Julius Kühn In… more

New EFSA report: Adverse effects from marker genes “unlikely”

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a new scientific opinion on the potential health and environmental risks arising fr… more

Transgenic poplars: Is horizontal gene transfer from Agrobacteria to endophytic bacteria possible?

(2005 – 2008) Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products (BFH), Institute for Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, Wa… more

Ten years of Bt maize cultivation: Horizontal gene transfer of no significance

Scientists from France and Switzerland have been studying soil bacteria from a field where genetically modified Bt maize has been growing for … more

Do bacteria absorb plant genes?

Bacteria are capable of exchanging genetic material directly between each other - and even across species boundaries. But are they also able t… more

Restricted use

On the 22 April 2004 the scientific panel responsible for safety matters relating to green genetic engineering (GMO Panel) of the European Foo… more

Once necessary, now undesirable

The use of antibiotic-resistance genes in genetically modified plants is strictly controlled. But what are they used for and why are they cont… more

Investigation into a possible transfer of genes from cows fed on Bt maize to gastrointestinal micro-organisms

(2001 – 2004) Technical University of Munich (TUM), Chair for Physiology and Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture, Institute f… more