Schlüter K, Fütterer J, Potrykus I
Institute of Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland.
Biotechnology (N Y). 1995 Oct;13(10):1094-8. doi: 10.1038/nbt1095-1094.
The frequency of possible "horizontal" gene transfer between a plant and a tightly associated bacterial pathogen was studied in a model system consisting of transgenic Solanum tuberosum, containing a beta-lactamase gene linked to a pBR322 origin of replication, and Erwinia chrysanthemi. This experimental system offers optimal conditions for the detection of possible horizontal gene transfer events, even when they occur at very low frequency. Horizontal gene transfer was not detected under conditions mimicking a "natural" infection. The gradual, stepwise alteration of artificial, positive control conditions to idealized natural conditions, however, allowed the characterization of factors that affected gene transfer, and revealed a gradual decrease of the gene transfer frequency from 6.3 x 10(-2) under optimal control conditions to a calculated 2.0 x 10(-17) under idealized natural conditions. These data, in combination with other published studies, argue that horizontal gene transfer is so rare as to be essentially irrelevant to any realistic assessment of the risk involved in release experiments involving transgenic plants.
在一个模型系统中，研究了植物与紧密相关的细菌病原体之间可能发生的“水平”基因转移频率。该模型系统由含有与pBR322复制起点相连的β-内酰胺酶基因的转基因马铃薯和菊欧文氏菌组成。即使水平基因转移事件发生频率很低，这个实验系统也为检测此类事件提供了最佳条件。在模拟“自然”感染的条件下未检测到水平基因转移。然而，将人工阳性对照条件逐步、分阶段地改变为理想化自然条件后，得以确定影响基因转移的因素，并揭示了基因转移频率从最佳对照条件下的6.3×10⁻²逐渐降低至理想化自然条件下计算得出的2.0×10⁻¹⁷。这些数据与其他已发表的研究结果表明，水平基因转移极为罕见，以至于对于涉及转基因植物的释放实验所涉及风险的任何实际评估而言，基本上都无关紧要。
