The variability of processes involved in transgene dispersal—case studies from Brassica and related genera

Background, aim, and scope

We strive to predict consequences of genetically modified plants (GMPs) being cultivated openly in the environment, as human and animal health, biodiversity, agricultural practise and farmers’ economy could be affected. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the risk assessment of GMPs is burdened by uncertainty. One of the reasons for the uncertainty is that the GMPs are interacting with the ecosystems at the release site thereby creating variability. This variability, e.g. in gene flow, makes consequence analysis difficult. The review illustrates the great uncertainty of results from gene-flow analysis.

Main features

Many independent experiments were performed on the individual processes in gene flow. The results comprise information both from laboratory, growth chambers and field trials, and they were generated using molecular or phenotypic markers and analysis of fitness parameters. Monitoring of the extent of spontaneous introgression in natural populations was also performed. Modelling was used as an additional tool to identify key parameters in gene flow.

Results

The GM plant may affect the environment directly or indirectly by dispersal of the transgene. Magnitude of the transgene dispersal will depend on the GM crop, the agricultural practise and the environment of the release site. From case-to-case these three factors provide a variability that is reflected in widely different likelihoods of transgene dispersal and fitness of introgressed plants. In the present review, this is illustrated through a bunch of examples mostly from our own research on oilseed rape, Brassica napus. In the Brassica cases, the variability affected all five main steps in the process of gene dispersal. The modelling performed suggests that in Brassica, differences in fitness among plant genome classes could be a dominant factor in the establishment and survival of introgressed populations.

Discussion

Up to now, experimental analyses have mainly focused on studying the many individual processes of gene flow. This can be criticised, as these experiments are normally carried out in widely different environments and with different genotypes, and thus providing bits and pieces difficult to assemble. Only few gene-flow studies have been performed in natural populations and over several plant generations, though this could give a more coherent and holistic view.

Conclusion

The variability inherent in the processes of gene flow in Brassica is apparent and remedies are wished for. One possibility is to expose the study species to additional experiments and monitoring, but this is costly and will likely not cover all possible scenarios. Another remedy is modelling gene flow. Modelling is a valuable tool in identifying key factors in the gene-flow process for which more knowledge is needed, and identifying parameters and processes which are relatively insensitive to change and therefore require less attention in future collections of data. But the interdependence between models and experimental data is extensive, as models depend on experimental data for their development or testing.

Recommendations

More and more transgenic varieties are being grown worldwide harbouring genes that might potentially affect the environment (e.g. drought tolerance, salt tolerance, disease tolerance, pharmaceutical genes). This calls for a thorough risk assessment. However, in Brassica, the limited and uncertain knowledge on gene flow is an obstacle to this. Modelling of gene flow should be optimised, and modelling outputs verified in targeted field studies and at the landscape level. Last but not least, it is important to remember that transgene flow in itself is not necessarily a thread, but it is the consequences of gene flow that may jeopardise the ecosystems and the agricultural production. This emphasises the importance of consequence analysis of genetically modified plants.     

纳米材料的水生态毒理学研究进展

纳米材料特殊的理化特性,使它们被广泛地应用到各个生活领域中,但纳米材料给人们生活带来巨大改变的同时,其对水环境引起的负面效应也引起了人们广泛的关注.纳米材料可通过多种途径进入水体,对水生生物产生毒理效应,其生态学影响不可忽视.目前,还很缺乏对纳米材料的水生态毒理学研究,众多不确定的生态安全性问题还有待更深入的研究.总结了国内外现有的相关研究,简要综述了纳米材料的水环境行为、水生态毒理学研究现状,分析了该研究领域的未来需要.     

210Po in the marine environment with emphasis on its behaviour within the biosphere

The distribution and behaviour of the natural-series alpha-emitter polonium-210 in the marine environment has been under study for many years primarily due to its enhanced bioaccumulation, its strong affinity for binding with certain internal tissues, and its importance as a contributor to the natural radiation dose received by marine biota as well as humans consuming seafoods. Results from studies spanning nearly 5 decades show that ²¹⁰Po concentrations in organisms vary widely among the different phylogenic groups as well as between the different tissues of a given species. Such variation results in ²¹⁰Po concentration factors ranging from approximately 10³ to over 10⁶ depending upon the organism or tissue considered. ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb ratios in marine species are generally greater than unity and tend to increase up the food chain indicating that ²¹⁰Po is preferentially taken up by organisms compared to its progenitor ²¹⁰Pb. The effective transfer of ²¹⁰Po up the food chain is primarily due to the high degree of assimilation of the radionuclide from ingested food and its subsequent strong retention in the organisms. In some cases this mechanism may lead to an apparent biomagnification of ²¹⁰Po at the higher trophic level. Various pelagic species release ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb packaged in organic biodetrital particles that sink and remove these radionuclides from the upper water column, a biogeochemical process which, coupled with scavenging rates of this radionuclide pair, is being examined as a possible proxy for estimating downward organic carbon fluxes in the sea. Data related to preferential bioaccumulation in various organisms, their tissues, resultant radiation doses to these species, and the processes by which ²¹⁰Po is transferred and recycled through the food web are discussed. In addition, the main gaps in our present knowledge and proposed areas for future studies on the biogeochemical behaviour of ²¹⁰Po and its use as a tracer of oceanographic processes are highlighted in this review.     

Suspended-Sediment Concentration Regimes for Two Biological Reference Streams in Middle Tennessee1

Diehl, Timothy H. and William J. Wolfe, 2010. Suspended-Sediment Concentration Regimes for Two Biological Reference Streams in Middle Tennessee. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 824-837. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00460.x Abstract: Temporal patterns of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) duration and frequency (SSC regimes) were characterized and compared with biological impairment thresholds for two headwater streams in the Western Highland Rim of Tennessee. The SSC regimes were plotted as curves showing concentrations and durations of the annual longest and tenth-longest SSC excursions above 18 concentrations for water years 2005-2008 in Copperas Branch and water years 2006 and 2008 in Kelley Creek. Both streams have fish communities remarkably diverse for their small drainage basin areas (420 and 565 ha, respectively), and represent biological reference conditions with respect to SSC. SSC-regime curves were similar for the two sites across water years. The measured SSC regimes reached or exceeded published experimentally based SSC impairment thresholds and plotted below a proposed long-term SSC reference regime for the Interior Plateau ecoregion (Ecoregion 71), suggesting that neither the experimentally based thresholds nor the proposed SSC reference regime adequately reflect the relation between SSC and biological impairment for Western Highland Rim headwater streams. The SSC regimes of the two study streams were similar to the estimated SSC regime of an unimpaired East Tennessee trout stream. Additional field studies are needed to describe SSC regimes in streams of varying basin scale, level of impairment, and region.     

Current Status of Mathematical Models for Population Dynamics of Prymnesium parvum in a Texas Reservoir1

Grover, James P., Jason W. Baker, Daniel L. Roelke, and Bryan W. Brooks, 2010. Current Status of Mathematical Models for Population Dynamics of Prymnesium parvum in a Texas Reservoir. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(1):92-107. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00393.x Abstract: Blooms of the harmful alga Prymnesium parvum have apparently increased in frequency in inland waters of the United States, especially in western Texas. A suite of mathematical models was developed based on a chemostat (or continuously stirred tank reactor) framework, and calibrated with data from Lake Granbury, Texas. Inputs included data on flows, salinity, irradiance, temperature, zooplankton grazing, and nutrients. Parameterization incorporated recent laboratory studies relating the specific growth rate of P. parvum to such factors. Models differed in the number of algal populations competing with P. parvum, and whether competition occurred only by consumption of shared nutrients, or additionally through production of an allelopathic chemical by one of the populations, parameterized as cyanobacteria. Uncalibrated models did not reproduce the observed seasonal dynamics of P. parvum in Lake Granbury, which displayed a maximum population in late February during a prolonged bloom in cooler weather, and reduced abundance in summer. Sensitivity analyses suggested two modifications leading to predictions that better resembled observations. The first modification greatly reduces the optimal temperature for growth of P. parvum, an approach that disagrees with laboratory experiments indicating a strong potential for growth at temperatures above 20°C. The second modification increases the growth rate of P. parvum at all temperatures, in models including cyanobacterial allelopathy. Despite these adjustments, calibrated models did not faithfully simulate all features of the seasonal dynamics of P. parvum.     

DNA条形码技术在水生生物分类中的研究进展

介绍DNA条形码技术的相关原理和发展概况,分析其具有的优势和所存在的局限性,并阐述了DNA条形码技术在水生生物分类中的研究现状,最后探讨了目前存在的问题并展望了其未来应用前景.     

固城湖水生植物的组成现状和动态变化研究初探

对固城湖水生植被现状和动态变化进行研究,为水生植被控制和恢复提出针对性的意见,同时也为长江中下游流域中的类似湖泊提供沉水植被科学管理的依据。     

长江靖江段近岸小型渔业生物碳氮稳定同位素特征分析

长江靖江段是众多洄游性渔业生物的重要栖息地,为进一步的研究和渔业资源评估提供基础生物学资料、掌握该水域食物网结构特征,应用碳、氮稳定同位素技术测定了2016年8月在长江靖江段近岸采集的蟹类、小型鱼类、虾类等渔业生物样品的δ~(13)C值和δ~(15)N值,并由此构建了所采集的各类渔业生物的连续营养谱。结果表明:长江靖江段近岸各类生物中浮游动物的δ~(13)C值最低,为-30.34‰;其次是底栖碎屑的-30.24‰;贝类、水生植物类、鱼类和虾类居中,它们的δ~(13)C值均值分别为-29.75‰±0.75‰、-28.98‰±0.88‰、-26.74‰±2.37‰、-26.1‰±0.16‰;蟹类最高,为-25.86‰±0.74‰。水生植物类的δ~(15)N均值最低,为5.16‰±0.85‰;底栖碎屑其次,为5.58‰;贝类、鱼类、浮游动物和蟹类的δ~(15)N值均居中,δ~(15)N均值分别为8.13‰±0.31‰、11.56‰±1.59‰、12.02‰和12.51‰±1.43‰;虾类的δ~(15)N均值最高,为13.05‰±0.45‰;营养级由低到高依次为:水生植物类、底栖碎屑、贝类、浮游动物、小型鱼类、蟹类和虾类。近岸水域的小型鱼类、蟹类和虾类拥有着比较接近的食物源,生态位重叠较为明显。     

太湖流域农村生活污水处理技术探讨

2010年江苏省太湖流域主要污染物排放情况显示,太湖流域内的农村生活污水、农田径流和养殖污水是导致太湖水体富营养化的主要污染源。目前,在中国针对农村生活污水的处理技术已有一定研究。根据太湖流域农村生活污水的特点,人工湿地处理技术和稳定塘系统等新型污水处理技术具有良好的应用前景。     

Sensitivity of Thermal Habitat of a Trout Stream to Potential Climate Change,Wisconsin, United States1

Abstract: Airborne thermal remote sensing from four flights on a single day from a single‐engine airplane was used to collect thermal infrared data of a 10.47‐km reach of the upper East Branch Pecatonica River in southwest Wisconsin. The study uses a one‐dimensional stream temperature model calibrated with the longitudinal profiles of stream temperature created from the four thermal imaging flights and validated with three days of continuous stream temperature data from instream data loggers on the days surrounding the thermal remote‐sensing campaign. Model simulations were used to quantify the sensitivity of stream thermal habitat to increases in air and groundwater temperature and changes in base flow. The simulations indicate that stream temperatures may reach critical maximum thresholds for brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) mortality, particularly if both air temperature increases and base flow declines. The approach demonstrates that thermal infrared data can greatly assist stream temperature model validation due to its high spatial resolution, and that this spatially continuous stream temperature data can be used to pinpoint spatial heterogeneity in groundwater inflow to streams. With this spatially distributed data on thermal heterogeneity and base‐flow accretion, stream temperature models considering various climate change scenarios are able to identify thermal refugia that will be critical for fisheries management under a changing climate.