Scary Business - update
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 @ 12:22 PM
Previous article : http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/ianandspain/11215/Scary-Business-.aspx
UPDATE:
The world’s first field trial of a genetically-modified olive fly could start in Catalonia next year if a British biotech firm wins approval from relevant authorities.
"Generally, we would look to outnumber the wild males by about 10 to 1"
Oxitec CEO, Hadyn Parry
Oxitec proposes to do the trial in collaboration with – and on land belonging to – the Catalan agriculture, food and aquaculture research institute IRTA.
Here, Oxitec CEO Hadyn Parry answers our questions about the plan, which would also be the first field test of a GM insect in the European Union.
What stage are you at in the application process?
Hadyn Parry: It’s being considered by the Catalan government and at the Federal level by the Spanish National Biosafety Commission. The next step is the publication of the call for public comment of which there are two processes: one at the European Commission Joint Research Centre level, which is for information, and the other for comments to be submitted to the Catalan government.
The first of these has already taken place and we are anticipating the second one shortly. At that stage anyone can comment on the application. The Catalan authorities then need to assimilate the comments and determine if they need additional information from us or make a decision. We anticipate a decision in the (northern) spring.
Would it be the world’s first such trial of a GM olive fly?
Yes, it would. But of course we have trialed our GM mosquitoes with great effect in Cayman and Brazil.
Aside from potentially improving olive production, what impact could heavily reducing or eliminating wild olive fly populations have?
The impact of a reduction in the olive fly population is the same no matter what method you use to achieve it. If one was to release the Oxitec flies and then stop, the wild olive fly population would recover. In the same way, if you hit the population hard with pesticides and then stop, it comes back….
Read more here
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