EDP Sciences Journals List
Home Document
Subscriber Authentication Point
Free access article

Issue Environ. Biosafety Res.
Volume 5, Number 2, April-June 2006
Page(s) 67 - 75
DOI 10.1051/ebr:2006019
Published online 23 January 2007

Environ. Biosafety Res. 5 (2006) 67-75
DOI: 10.1051/ebr:2006019

Transgenic oilseed rape along transportation routes and port of Vancouver in western Canada

Yasuyuki Yoshimura1, Hugh J. Beckie2 and Kazuhito Matsuo1

1   National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8604, Japan
2   Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

(Received August 31, 2006; accepted November 29, 2006; published online 23 January 2007)

Abstract - The occurrence of transgenic herbicide-resistant oilseed rape (Brassica napus) in ruderal (non-crop disturbed) areas has not been investigated previously in Canada. The primary objective of this study was to document their occurrence in two main ruderal areas (along railways and roads) in the province of Saskatchewan, where half of all oilseed rape is grown, and at the port of Vancouver, British Columbia on the west coast of Canada, where most oilseed rape destined for export is transported by rail. During the 2005 growing season, leaf samples of oilseed rape plants were collected at randomly-selected sites along railways and roads across Saskatchewan ecoregions and at Vancouver; infestation area, density, and plant height of oilseed rape were measured at each site. The presence of the glyphosate and glufosinate resistance traits was determined using test strips. The infestation area of oilseed rape, averaged across 155 sampled sites in the Saskatchewan survey, was markedly smaller in populations along railways than roads; in contrast, infestation area averaged across 54 sites in the Vancouver survey was greater for populations along railways than roads. In both surveys, mean plant density was greater for populations found along railways than roads. Two-thirds of oilseed rape plants sampled across Saskatchewan ecoregions and at Vancouver were transgenic, although the relative proportion of plants with the glyphosate or glufosinate resistance trait varied between surveys. Frequency of occurrence of transgenic plants in ruderal areas was similar to the proportion of the oilseed rape area planted with transgenic cultivars in the recent preceding years. A single transgenic B. rapa x B. napus hybrid was found along a road in Vancouver, confirming the relatively high probability of hybridization between these two Brassica species. With current control measures, transgenic oilseed rape populations may persist and spread in these ruderal areas.


Key words: Brassica napus / canola / gene flow / herbicide resistance / oilseed rape / ruderal / transgenic crop

Corresponding author: Hugh J. Beckie beckieh@agr.gc.ca

© ISBR, EDP Sciences 2006


What is OpenURL?

The OpenURL standard is a protocol for transmission of metadata describing the resource that you wish to access. An OpenURL link contains article metadata and directs it to the OpenURL server of your choice. The OpenURL server can provide access to the resource and also offer complementary services (specific search engine, export of references...). The OpenURL link can be generated by different means.
  • If your librarian has set up your subscription with an OpenURL resolver, OpenURL links appear automatically on the abstract pages.
  • You can define your own OpenURL resolver with your EDPS Account. In this case your choice will be given priority over that of your library.
  • You can use an add-on for your browser (Firefox or I.E.) to display OpenURL links on a page (see http://www.openly.com/openurlref/). You should disable this module if you wish to use the OpenURL server that you or your library have defined.