A corner stone of the current GM debate in Europe, as elsewhere, is the impact that genetically modified crops might have on their wild neighbours. Researchers in the UK claim to have come up with the right strategy to assess hybridisation risk.
Scientist Mike J. Wilkinson at the university of Reading and colleagues have produced a UK-wide estimate of the rate of hybridisation between the crop plant rapeseed (Brassica napus) and its wild relative, Brassica rapa.
These numbers set targets for strategies to eliminate hybridisation and provide a starting point for a nationwide assessment of hybridisation risk, said Wilkinson this week.
Deciding which of several strategies for suppressing hybridisation should be used depends in part on the number of hybrids expected to form, the authors say.
Using a combination of information sources, Wilkinson's team calculated their nationwide estimate and identified areas in the UK that are most and least prone to hybrid formation.
According to the study authors, their findings suggest that hybrid formation may be more frequent than a previous, regional study had indicated, but they caution that their findings are just 'the first step' toward a more quantitative national-scale assessment.
The paper "Hybridization Between Brassica napus and B. rapa at a National Scale in the U.K.," by M.J. Wilkinson, J. Allainguillaume, M.W. Shaw, L.J. Elliott and D.C. Mason at the University of Reading, C. Norris and J. Sweet at NIAB in Cambridge and R. Welters and M. Alexander at Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Dorset will be published online by the journal Science this Thursday, on 9th October.