Current status of research on environmental risk assessment of genetically modified crops in Korea = 국내 유전자변형작물의 환경위해성 평가에 관한 최근 연구 동향

Abstract

For the approval of living modified organisms (LMO) for commercial cultivation or for import, risk assessment of LMO should be carried out in a scientifically sound manner. Research on the environmental risk assessment of LMO has been conducted in Korea to produce data for the approval of commercial cultivation or to develop technologies for the environmental risk assessment. About 20 papers on the research results of the environmental risk assessment of LMO developed in Korea have been published in scientific journals during the last five years. In those research, potential environmental risks of herbicide resistant rice and zoysiagrass, insect resistant Chinese cabbage and disease resistant chili pepper have been assessed. In particular, a number of studies of herbicide resistant rice on gene flow, weediness potential and impacts on soil ecosystem have been published. Effects of insect resistant Chinese cabbage and disease resistant chili pepper on the non-target organisms have also been investigated. In the future, the field trials need to be conducted in a much greater scale. In addition, further studies are required on the effects of novel proteins on the non-target organisms, the effects of genetically modified crops on the function as well as the structure of soil ecosystems, and weediness potential of genetically modified crops that their fitness was increased.