"Does Bioengineering pose any risk to our genetic diversity ??"

wow!

p.s. by the way, is it really so boring the life at Tribhuvan University?

Anything (crop variety) developed (by bio-engineering or even conventional breeding) performing better and adapted by farming community will eventually replace land-races, YES its a risk to our genetic diversity.

Current scientific evidence indicates that long term research are needed on this aspects. The GMO food impact on environment and other organisms must be assessed. The Indian government has initiated some work on cotton and bringal. But in my view we are still having a lot of ways to improve our cropping system. You might know that the wastage from our conventional method of farming has to be reduced. We are not ventured in to intensive farming systems.Our farming areas are very limited. Without trying these directly moving to GMO based or bioengineered based farming definitley cause a lot of problems. As nature supports multiple diversity based systems for long term sustainability, GMO based culture systems should be in a biosecured way culture practice. Such a practice will emerge educating the farmers.

It is a long term process.

In relation to the use of a common GMO crop, i.e. "roundup ready canola" the simple answer to this question is yes! Plant biodiversity & soil biological diversity will be negatively affected

Evidence has previously shown that some plant families including Brassicas, Beets & Amaranths are non-hosts for obligate biotrophic symbionts including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Monocultural crop rotations of such non-host plants are in turn likely to negatively affect AMF biodiversity & thus the potential for mutually beneficial effects of this ubiquitous plant & fungal partnership, see:

Ocampo JA, Hayman DS, 1981. Influence of plant interactions on vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal infections. II. Crop rotations and residual effects of non-host plants. New Phytologist 87: 333-343.

Karasawa T, Arihara J, Kasahara Y, 2000. Effects of previous crops on arbuscular mycorrhizal formation and growth of maize under various soil moisture conditions Soil Science & Plant Nutrituion. 46: 53-60.

It can therefore be hypothesised & may be easily tested that the blanket use of glyphosate herbicides for weed management in roundup-resisitant brassica crops will be likely to increase the monocultural effects by removing weeds as potential host plant partners of AMF.

Has this hypothesis been tested yet? Unfortunately not yet!

Why not? Try asking Monsanto for permission to conduct such research, ... not as easy as it may seem!

What other biodiversity effects are likely to result from subsequent decline on AMF populations & biodiversity?

Subsequent crop rotations that are host plants of AMF are less likely to be able to benefit from the effects of AMF symbioses,, i.e. improved phosphate uptake, increased plant drought tolerance, improved soil aggregation, improved soil drainage & aeration, & improved plant disease resistance. Thus it is further hypothesised that subsequent crop & weed plant biodiversity will be negatively affected by decreased AMF biodiversity following the use of glyphosate for 'roundup-ready canola.

Will the subsequent & necessary use of increased inputs of P fertilisers remedy or mitigate against effects on AMF biodiversity or plant biodiversity. Not likely! Chemical fertilsers only feed plant nutrient requirements. In the absence of suitable plant hosts AMF populations decline.

In addition to the effects of vegetation clearance by widespread use of chemical herbicides, intensive soil disturbance tillage practices are also known to decrease AMF populations & biodiversity.

In summary, GMO crops merely continue to & may accelerate or add to the ecologically detrimental effects of intensive vegetation clearance & soil disturbance on soil & plant biodiversity & ecological functions.

Unfortunately we haven't yet acknowledged our predominant ignorance about the unintended effects that we humans can cause during crop production.

Dear Vijay Dev, i am not familiar in this subject but i heard and learned genetics interestingly because i love the subject.

genetic engineering doesn't harm to the nature but when we start promoting a new variety out of natural varieties only make more complications into the environment and human health and also triggers new problems too.

genetic engineering is to study the arrangements of arrays of genes in all living things but promoting a tolerant variety or something creative only the problem to all.

Thank you Paulraj: Yes there are lot many ways to improve our farming practice. But the industrial agriculture system relies a lot in GMOs. Glad to hear that Indian Government has initiated some work, I hope it continues.

Thank you Don: For introducing completely new dimension I have never heard of AMF I will read about it. I acknowledge your knowledge and experience. Thanks again for your input in the discussion.

Thanks Dr. Mophin: As mentioned above and as much as I have read genetic engineering can threat our natural diversity (not always though). Like the introduction of 'terminator genes' which can replicate itself on other species by cross pollination.

...genetic engineering will certain affect genetic diversity because, artificial modification of genes to produce certain phenotypes will affect the process of natural selection and adaptive radiation. Thus on the long run the mechanism of producing diversity will become mechanical not natural, and perhaps may create an undue advantage for varieties produced from genetic engineering.

You might want to read the book Darwinian Agriculture by R. Ford Denison published in 2012 by Princeton University Press ISBN: 978-0-691-13950-0. The author raises this and other questions related to sustainability.

Dear Vijay,

Gul-e- Arzoo gave a short yet clear answer to your question. You may want to consult also the many works of Miguel Altieri about the risks posed by GE agriculture. Vandana Shiva wrote extensively about the effects of GMOs in Indian agriculture. It is a risky business. The agroindustry proposes it as the modern way of envisioning agriculture in the future and continues to remain oblivious of the drawbacks of the technology when it is applied to agroecosystems in a continuously evolving context.

The work we have done with a multispecies culture (over 3,500 species... rumen) would suggest not. We tested introducing a high concentration of a monoculture and found that the culture reverted back to its original composition (plus or minus... to the extent that it can be measured). It was our observation that the introduction of a foreign microbe will result in two states of possibility... either the microbe is on the table or at the table. If the microbe is compatible with the culture then its DNA will be incorporated by the whole... if not it will be consumed.