Genescapes : the ecology of genetic engineering / Stephen Nottingham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nottingham, Stephen, 1960-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Transgenic organisms--Environmental aspects.

Transgenic organisms.

Genetic engineering--Environmental aspects.

Genetic engineering.

Physical Description:

xii, 211 pages ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Ecology of genetic engineering.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Zed Books ; New York : Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave, 2002.

Summary:

This book introduces the lay reader to the ecological risks associated with transgenic organisms. Genetic engineering could make a valuable contribution within agriculture, although the initial promise of more abundant food, produced in an environmentally friendly manner, is not being fulfilled. Instead the technology is being promoted at the expense of sustainable alternatives that have fewer environmental and social costs.

Contents:

Genetic modification in perspective 1

Differences in comparison to conventional breeding 4

Ecology and genetic engineering 6

2. The principles of ecology 8

From biosphere to individual 10

Food webs and food chains 12

Mutualism 13

Habitats and niches 13

Invasion ecology 16

Species diversity 16

Defining ecological risk 17

3. Microorganisms 19

Ice-minus 19

Bioremediation 21

Impacts on soil ecology 23

Baculovirus bioinsecticide 28

Genetic exchange 29

Risk containment and assessment 30

4. Transgenic crops 33

Herbicide-resistance 33

Insect-resistance 42

Virus-resistance 45

The next generation 47

5. Invasion 54

Species introductions 54

Predicting invasions 57

Assessing the invasiveness of transgenic plants 58

6. Genetic pollution 62

Gene flow from transgenic crops 62

Crop-weed hybridization 65

Crop contamination: Impact on organic growers 75

Food contamination 78

Canola in Canada 80

Percy Schmeiser's canola 82

Seed contamination: The Advanta case 84

7. Impact on non-target species 87

Natural enemies 87

Monarch butterfly 90

Farmaland birds 94

Bt toxins in the soil 96

Pollinating insects and honey contamination 97

8. Engineering solutions? 102

Promoters and tissue-specific transgene expression 102

Antibiotic-resistance marker genes 106

The manipulation of flowering 109

Hybrid seed 111

Terminator technology 112

Apomixis 116

Chloroplast transformation 117

9. Trees 121

Increased growth rates 121

Low-lignin trees 122

Herbicide and pest resistance 123

Orchard trees 124

Gene flow 125

Forest diversity 127

Transgenic trees and climate change 129

10. Fish 132

Modifications and benefits 132

Physiological costs of growth enhancement 135

Risks to ecosystems 136

The need for transgenic fish 139

11. Assessing ecological risk 141

Transgenes within genomes 143

Arthropods, birds and mammals 145

Farm-scale evaluations 147

12. Diversity 156

Crop diversity 156

Corporate diversity and the patenting of life 159

An appropriate technology? 164

The sustainable alternative 167

Prospects for transgenic crops 169

13. The precautionary principle 173

Reasons to be cautious 174

The Biosafety Protocol 180

Landscapes and genescapes 182.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-204) and index.

ISBN:

1842770373

1842770365

OCLC:

48398871