Timeline uncertain for agricultural biotechnology

The power of genetic manipulation first became apparent in the mid-1800s, when Gregor Mendel established the rules of inheritance through painstaking experiments with garden peas. Soon after, California’s Luther Burbank extended his findings by breeding more than 800 varieties of fruits, flowers, vegetables, grains and grasses. The new understanding of genetics, combined with landmark discoveries at the molecular level, laid the groundwork for genetic engineering. In the Outlook at right, Peggy Lemaux takes stock of the current prospects for this technology in California agriculture. In the peer-reviewed articles that follow (pages 116 to 139), California Agriculture launches a special series on the risks and benefits of biotechnology in agriculture: “When transgenes wander, should we worry?” We previously covered the obstacles facing horticultural biotechnology (“Fruits of biotechnology struggle to emerge,” April-June 2004) and biotechnology’s promise (“On the horizon: Agriculture’s new millennium,” July-August 2000). In our judgment, the risk-benefit picture for biotechnology merits equally careful attention in this special series. Authors in the current issue consider transgenes in crop plants, fish and animals; future articles will examine genetically modified insects, pharmaceutical plants and rice. Your thoughts and comments on this series are welcome; please write to calag@ucop.edu. by Peggy G. Lemaux