S01 - Session P1 - Detection of genetic modification events in ornamental plants

Authors: Anne-Laure Boutigny, Nicolas Dohin, David Pornin, Julie Mallet *, Mathieu Rolland

The market of ornamental plants is extremely competitive. For many species, genetic engineering can be used to introduce original traits of high commercial interest for the producers and/or consumers. It is known that at least 50 ornamental species have been transformed; however, very few genetically modified (GM) ornamental varieties have obtained regulatory approval and have reached the market to date. Considering the numerous scientific studies using genetic modification on ornamental species of interest, a lot of transformed material has been produced, which could be of commercial interest and therefore be unintentionally released into the market. In 2017, transgenic petunia plants were detected in the market in Europe and the United States. These plants were obtained to study metabolic pathways and had the particularity of producing flowers of an orange color not previously seen in this genus. Such plants have never been through the authorization process required in the European Union and should not have been commercialized. Furthermore, the detected GM plants showed several phenotypes, suggesting that the transgenic material was used in breeding programs for several years. This example demonstrates the risk that represents the potential non-intentional use of research plant material in breeding programs, especially when the transgene provides a trait of commercial interest. With 166 publications considered, we provide an overview of the constructs that could unintentionally reach the market if used involuntarily in breeding programs without preliminary approval. We investigated if such unauthorized material would be detectable by laboratories testing for the presence of GM plants based on the presence of sequences repeatedly used in constructs.