Challenges and opportunities in environmental biosafety research

Since the first commercial release of genetically modified (GM, also referred to as genetically engineered, GE) crops in the middle of 1990s, the research and development of transgenic biotechnology has made dramatic progress. To date, global cultivation area of GM crops has exceeded 120 million hectares (James, 2009) with extensive cultivation of herbicide-tolerant soybean and canola, insect-resistant cotton and maize, as well as other GM products, which has offered great opportunities for agriculture development. However the extensive commercial releases of GM plants have caused concerns and debates over their biosafety, both for consumers and the environment. The heat of debates over environmental biosafety issues has been fuelled by certain new developments, most recently proposal to farm GM salmon and the issuance of biosafety certificates for two insect-resistant GM rice lines in China. Therefore, biosafety issues related to the commercialization of GMOs are as important today as when the technology was first launched.