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Table 3 Examples of unexpected effects in GE plants due to genome x environmental interactions

From: Risk assessment of genetically engineered plants that can persist and propagate in the environment

Plant

Trait

Findings

References

Wheat

Resistance against the fungus powdery mildew

In a field experiment two of four GE lines showed up to 56% yield reduction and a 40-fold increase of infection with ergot disease Claviceps purpurea compared with control lines. These effects were not observed in greenhouse experiments

[62]

Oilseed rape

Herbicide tolerance

Perennial growth

[57]

Maize

Insecticidal

Changes in proteome (32 differentially expressed proteins mainly involved in carbohydrate and energy metabolism and stress response)

[64]

Potato

Several experimental traits (antisense invertase and maize ribosome-inactivating proteins)

Altered levels of metabolites (sesquiterpenes and glycoalkaloids) in response to biotic stress

[58]

Petunia

Colour of flowers

Altered DNA methylation in 35S promoter of the A1 gene

[59]

Maize

Insecticidal

Bt content higher or lower due to environmental impact factors such as fertilizer, soil quality, pesticide application and climate

[60]

Maize

Insecticidal

Environmental stress can cause unexpected patterns of expression in the newly introduced DNA

[61]

Arabidopsis

Herbicide tolerance

Drought and heat stress caused increased seed germination ratios

[30]

Cotton

Insecticidal

Bt content is influenced by environmental conditions and genetic backgrounds

[42, 63, 65,66,67,68,69,70]