Recent publications in the web site

Proceedings of a Workshop on Criteria for Field Testing of Plants with Engineered Regulatory, Metabolic and Signaling Pathways

ISB sponsored a workshop on Criteria for Field Testing of Plants with Engineered Regulatory, Metabolic and Signaling Pathways held in Washington, DC, on June 3-4, 2002. The workshop promoted a multidisciplinary discussion about field testing and management of plants that contain the "newer," more complex genes emerging from plant genomics projects.

This two-day workshop brought together regulators and industry and academic scientists from various disciplines to discuss and evaluate current knowledge and research on secondary effects of transgenes that function as transcription factors, in signal transduction, or to modify metabolic pathways.

The workshop focused on examples and commercially-promising case studies to promote information exchange and discussion of data and experiments on secondary effects of these genes. We sought to evaluate the information that is available and to identify areas that would benefit from additional research. In particular, secondary effects that could alter confinement, including the propensity for gene flow to wild populations and adjacent, nontransgenic crops, were discussed. The collective knowledge and insight coming from this workshop should be valuable to those who develop these products for commercial purposes and to those who make regulatory decisions on field testing criteria of future transgenic plants.

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A Practical Guide to Containment Plant Biosafety in Research Greenhouses

Research conducted in greenhouses involves many biological systems that benefit from containment. Guidance literature on containment strategies for the greenhouse is limited, though it is rapidly expanding as new facilities and practices emerge and experiences are shared. The original version of this Guide is testament to the dearth of printed material covering the principles of containment in research greenhouses, based on the multiple printings required to fill demand around the world.

This Guide was originally published in 2001 as A Practical Guide to Containment: Greenhouse Research with Transgenic Plants and Microbes and primarily addressed containment of transgenic [genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GM)] plants or plant-associated organisms.

Researchers, facility managers, and regulators have subsequently encouraged the authors to expand this Guide beyond containment of solely transgenic organisms. Therefore, the reader will find new information on containment strategies for research with exotics (non-native invasive species), pathogens, insects, GE plant-manufactured pharmaceuticals and industrial compounds, and high containment for quarantined organisms, including those included on the Select Agent list. Material was obtained from many individuals, primarily those acknowledged on page v, as well as from regulatory agencies, the literature, personal experience gained from facility planning and construction, and shared 'lessons learned' from the research community.
We emphasize working closely with regulatory authorities when using this Guide to develop containment strategies for research greenhouses. Although we refer by default to agencies within the United States, we also welcome people residing outside the United States to use the Guide freely. It is our sincere desire that this updated Guide will be of even greater service to the research community.

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Proceedings of a Workshop on Ecological Effects of Pest Resistance Genes in Managed Ecosystems

The workshop on Ecological Effects of Pest Resistance Genes in Managed Ecosystems was organized to promote multidisciplinary discussions that would lead to a synthesis of what we already know, and what we don’t know, regarding the environmental impact of pest resistant crops. In so doing, the workshop provided an opportunity to reexamine a key issue related to the responsible development and use of agricultural biotechnology products.

The workshop focused on seven groups of crop species that have weedy relatives in North America: berries, certain grains and grasses, poplar, sunflower, squash, and Brassica species. A 13-member steering committee drawn from academic, private sector, and government institutions defined the objectives, identified plenary speakers, and nominated participants known to have expertise and interest in the subject.

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