Plant Biotechnology
Online ISSN : 1347-6114
Print ISSN : 1342-4580
ISSN-L : 1342-4580
Environmental Risk Assessment of Transgenic Melon in Japan
Yutaka Tabei
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

1999 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 65-68

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Abstract

Environmental risk assessment of transgenic melon plants, introduced with coat protein gene of cucumber mosaic virus was carried out in a closed and a semi-closed greenhouse and in an isolated field. Risk assessment of melon such as allogamous and entomophily plants was a first trial in Japan. In this risk assessment, the following evaluation items were compared between transgenic and non-transgenic melon plants; (1) morphological characteristics of plants and fruits maturation periods, (2) reproductive characters, e. g. pollen form and fertility, longevity of the pollen, pollen dispersal by artificial wind and under natural condition, (3) possibility of harmful impact on environment due to the presence of detrimental substances i. e. volatile compounds, allelochemical substances, (4) overwintering to predict increasing of weediness, (5) residual Agrobacterium tumefaciens used as a vector for the production of the transgenic melon. In conclusion, the result of the evaluation experiments conducted indicated that the influence of transgenic melon plants on the environment was not different from that of non-transgenic melon plants.

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© Japanese Society for Plant Cell and Molecular Biology
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