EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF THE RELEASE OF TRANSGENIC TOMATO PLANTS WITH TMV RESISTANCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Studies on the evaluation of the impact of the release of the tomato p lants with an introduced gene of TMV resistance on the environment wer e carried out from January, 1989, to January, 1992, mainly at the Nati onal Institute of Agro-Environmental Sciences (NIAES) in collaboration with the National Institute of Agrobiological Resources (NIAR) and th e National Agriculture Research Center (NARC). Experiments were carrie d out according to the guidelines enacted by the Science and Technolog y Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The following characteristics were compared between the original plants an d transgenic plants: (1) growth characteristics such as plant height a nd vigor, (2) pollen dispersion based on fruit set on emasculated flow ers, (3) kinds of chemical substances produced by plants such as allel ochemicals in plant tissues, soil and air, (4) microorganism flora in soil, (5) overwintering ability, (6) ability to become a weed, (7) the amount of Agrobacterium on plants, and (8) kinds of flower-visiting-i nsects. Cultivation was safely carried out. Since no harmful impact on the environment where the transgenic tomato plants had been cultivate d was detected, it is suggested that this tomato strain can be cultiva ted in an open field. The TMV resistance was maintained throughout gen erations. These transgenic tomato plants were cultivated in an ordinar y field in the summer of 1992 in the campus of the NIAES.