In his blog, Andrew Kniss, a weed scientist and professor at the University of Wyoming, recently responded to the study, “A novel EPSP synthase transgene for glyphosate resistance stimulates growth and fecundity in weedy rice (Oryza sativa) without herbicide,” published in New Phytologist.
An excerpt:
A really interesting study was reported by Nature News, and has been picking up steam around the interwebs (including Wired and Scientific American). The headlines read “Genetically modified crops pass benefits to weeds” and “weeds get unintended ‘fitness’ boost from genetic modification.” … I’ve read the paper a couple times now, and the results are pretty interesting, but I’m not ready to concede the transgene is causing the effects the authors observed just yet. There are just too many questions unanswered.
Read the full, original story here: “Could a herbicide-resistance gene provide fitness benefits in the absence of the herbicide?”
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Additional Resources:
- “Busting weed roadblocks,” The Land
- “Genetically modified crops pass benefits to weeds,” Nature
- “Looking for Ways to Beat the Weeds,” New York Times
- “A novel 5-enolpyruvoylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase transgene for glyphosate resistance stimulates growth and fecundity in weedy rice (Oryza sativa) without herbicide,” New Phytologist
