Predicting the environmental impact of transgene outcrossing to wild and weedy rices in Asia

Asia is the center of origin of Asian cultivated rice, Oryza sativa, and is also home to numerous wild species of Oryza. Two wild species, O. rufipogo n and O. nivara, are abundant in many parts of Asia and are known to hybrid ize with O. sativa under natural conditions. Numerous types of weedy rice a lso occur in Asia, derived from O. sativa, wild species, and hybrids betwee n wild rices and O, sativa. Genetic engineering of rice for resistance to i nsects, diseases, and abiotic stresses has been rapidly advancing, although no transgenic varieties have as yet been widely field tested. We propose a n interdisciplinary set of research activities to help predict the conseque nces of transgene outcrossing to wild and weedy rices, before transgenic va rieties with enhanced stress resistance are extensively released into the e nvironment.