EVALUACIÓN DE RIESGO AMBIENTAL DEL FRIJOL COMÚN (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) GENÉTICAMENTE MODIFICADO CON EL GEN DEFENSINA (pdf1.2) DE Arabidopsis thaliana QUE CONFIERE RESISTENCIA A HONGOS FITOPATÓGENOS II

The genetically modified common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cv. Flor de Mayo Anita, with the Arabidopsis thaliana defensin gel (pdf1.2) was characterized by its biological effectiveness and agronomic advantage under confined conditions. Releasing this technology into the environment requires an Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) in order to identify the possible adverse effects that the suggested use of the recombinant technology may have on the environment when evaluating the probability of risk, its severity, and the biosafety measures recommended to reduce possible risks. The problem formulation was established in the earlier manuscript and it gave rise to three operative protection goals related to the adverse effects on pathogenic organisms and non-target organisms, the increase in the competitive capacity of the common bean-pdf1.2, and the gene flow to conventional bean crops and wild relatives. The final evaluation points were defined, and from there, nine risk hypotheses were outlined. The ERA dismissed the possibility of occurrence of any damages caused by the expression of the defensin or neomycin phosphotransferase II proteins on the non-target microorganisms and the development of resistance on target organisms. Likewise, the possibility of an increase in the competitive capacity of the common bean-pdf1.2 was discarded, since it is a highly dependent agricultural system, and finally, the possibility of an introgression of recombinant sequences into conventional crops or wild relatives was defined as an unlikely risk, due to the absence of coincidences in its phenological stages during its environmental release, along with the genetic barriers among wild relatives. The biosafety measures recommended to minimize the possibility of damage consisted in establishing live bean and maize barriers, the phenological lag between the common bean-pdf1.2 and conventional bean; follow-up studies during release such as the characterization of soil microorganisms before, during and after environmental release, as well as the identification of voluntary plants after the harvest.