Genetically Modified Organisms for Pest Management: Environmental Impact

Dhillon, M K and Sharma, H C (2012) Genetically Modified Organisms for Pest Management: Environmental Impact. In: Environmental Safety of Biotech and Conventional IPM Technologies. Studium Press LLC, Texas, USA. ISBN 1-933699-68-X

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Abstract

Recombinant DNA technology has been exploited to develop genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for pest management that retain the advantages of classical biological control agents, but have fewer or none of their drawbacks. Genes conferring resistance to insects, particularly the 5-endotoxin genes from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis have been inserted into several crop plants, of which insect-resistant cotton, maize, rice, tomato, and potato have been deployed commercially on a large-scale for pest management. Genetic engineering techniques can also be used for producing robust natural enemies, and more stable and virulent strains of bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, and nematodes for use in integrated pest management. Deployment of insect-resistant transgenic plants for pest control will lead to a substantial reduction in insecticide use, reduced exposure of farm labor to insecticides, reduction in harmful effects of insecticides to nontarget organisms, and reduced amounts of insecticide residues in food and food products. Gene introgression through transgenic approach could also be beneficial in the sense that it adds diversity to the genetic pool of the crop plants. However, transgenics are not a panacea for solving all the pest problems, and concerns regarding the biosafety of GMOs to the environment are still inconclusive, and there is a continuous debate regarding their nontarget effects in the environment. There is a concern that large-scale deployment of GMOs for pest management might influence

Item Type:	Book Section
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Others > Genetics and Genomics Others > Fertilizer Applications
Depositing User:	Mr Sanat Kumar Behera
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2013 14:14
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2013 14:14
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/6560
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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