# Biological characterization of genetically modified trees
(GMTs)

Gilles G. Pilate, Hely Häggman, Isabel Allona, Lucian Curtu, Terezia Salaj, Ove Nilsson, Matthias Fladung, Cristina Vettori

► To cite this version:

Gilles G. Pilate, Hely Häggman, Isabel Allona, Lucian Curtu, Terezia Salaj, et al. Biological characterization of genetically modified trees (GMTs). IUFRO Tree Biotechnology Conference 2011 "From genomes to integration and delivery", Jun 2011, Bahia, Brazil. 10.1186/1753-6561-5-S7-O58. hal-02748106

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ORAL PRESENTATION

Open Access

Biological characterization of genetically
modified trees (GMTs)

Gilles Pilate¹*, Hely Haggman², Isabel Allona³, Lucian Curtu⁴, Terezia Salaj⁵, Ove Nilsson⁶, Matthias Fladung⁷, Cristina Vettori⁸

From IUFRO Tree Biotechnology Conference 2011: From Genomes to Integration and Delivery
Arraial d'Ajuda, Bahia, Brazil. 26 June - 2 July 2011

In the last 20 years, a large number of GMTs have been
generated, characterized and field tested to evaluate
their agronomic behaviour and their potential perfor-
mance for technological applications.

Therefore, important knowledge has been gained from
these studies on the potential of GMTs whereas biosaf-
ety concerns have been raised on the plantation of
transgenic trees in the field. The European Cooperation
in Science and Technology (COST) action FP0905 on
the biosafety of forest transgenic trees aims to help
for the building and implementation of EU policy direc-
tives to ensure a safe development and practical use of
GMTs in the future. This Action is expected to generate
important benefits thanks to the experience gained by
the research community, to provide general information
on these studies as well as to address public concerns
about biosafety issues raised by transgenic tree planta-
tions, and finally to help for the establishment and
implementation of EU policy directives in the view of a
future deployment of GMTs cultivation in Europe.
Within this action, the objective of the working group 1
(WG1) is to gather the existing knowledge on geneti-
cally modified forest trees (GMTs) including both field
trials and greenhouse experiments. More specifically, the
action of WG1 is focused on the compilation of:

- Data from literature and methods developed on gene flow and containment strategies

- Data available on the traits targeted and the function of the gene introduced, on their intended and eventually unintended effects

- Data on host species characteristics especially related to biosafety issues such as their biological cycle, their

way of pollination and the characteristics of pollen and
seed dispersal.

This information will be collected from published
papers in books and reviews as well as from reports
from different agencies available on the web. Moreover,
additional data will hopefully be gained through the
responses of expert scientists from public or private
institutions to an ongoing survey accessible at the web-
site of the COST Action FP0905: [http://www.cost-
action-fp0905.eu/index.php?option=com_kunena&Ite-
mid=74&func view&catid=4&id=11]

The information collected will be used to:

- 1) establish a list of protocols for the control of transgene flow and gene containment.

- 2) establish the present state of the art in gene tar-
geting strategies for site specific integration of
transgenes.

- 3) get an appraisal on the types of construct and
genes inserted in GMTs in the past; in the present and
in the future.

This information will be compiled in a database that
will be made available to the scientific community as
well as to the European policy makers.

The results of this work will enable the participants
and end-users to get a clear factual overview of the glo-
bal status of GMTs and especially the status of Europe
compared to non-European countries. Furthermore, the
information gathered will also be useful for assessment
of environmental impacts of GMTs that is the object
addressed in the WG2 of the COST Action FP0905.

Author details

¹INRA, UR588 Amélioration, Génétique, et Physiologie Forestières, F-45075
Orléans cedex 2, France. ²University of Oulu, Department of Biology, P.O. Box
3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland. ³Centro de Biotecnologia y Genomica de
Plantas (CBGP-UPM/INIA), Campus de Montegancedo, UPM, 28223 Madrid,
Spain. ⁴Transilvania University Brasov, Faculty of Forest Sciences, 1 Sirul

<footnote>* Correspondence: pilate@orleans.inra.fr

¹INRA, UR588 Amélioration, Génétique, et Physiologie Forestières, F-45075
Orléans cedex 2, France

Full list of author information is available at the end of the article</footnote>
Beethoven, Brasov, Romania. ⁵Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, P. O. Box 39A, 950 07 Nitra, Slovakia. ⁶Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU. ⁷Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (vTI) Institute for Forest Genetics Sieker Landstr. 2, D-22927 Großhansdorf, Germany. ⁸Plant Genetics Institute, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto, Fiorentino (FI), Italia.

Published: 13 September 2011

doi:10.1186/1753-6561-5-S7-O58

Cite this article as: Pilate et al.; Biological characterization of genetically modified trees (GMTs). BMC Proceedings 2011 5(Suppl 7):O58.

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