REVIEW & INTERPRETATION Potential Hybridization of Flax with Weedy and Wild Relatives: An Avenue for Movement of Engineered Genes? Amit J. Jhala, Linda M. Hall,* and Jocelyn C. Hall Amit J. Jhala and Linda M. Hall, Dep. of Agricultural, Food and Nutri- ABSTRACT tional Science, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2P5 Canada. Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is being evalu- Linda M. Hall, Alberta Agriculture and Food, 410 Agriculture/For- ated as a crop platform for the production of estry Building, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2P5 Canada. bio-industrial and nutraceutical products. An Jocelyn C. Hall, Dep. of Biological Sciences, Biological Sciences Cen- important consideration for the release of any ter, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9 Canada. Received 6 novel trait is the potential for gene fl ow to wild Sept. 2007. *Corresponding author (
[email protected]). or weedy relatives and the impact it may have Abbreviations: AFLP, amplifi ed fragment length polymorphism; on their populations. The potential for gene APG, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group; CFIA, Canadian Food Inspection introgression from transgenic fl ax to wild rela- Agency; EMBO, European Molecular Biology Organization; GM, tives, the occurrence, the phylogeny of fl ax wild genetically modifi ed; ITS, internal transcribed spacer region; NCRPIS, relatives and reported interspecifi c hybridiza- North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station; PGRC, Plant Gene tion was reviewed to initiate the evaluation of Resources of Canada; RAPD, random amplifi cation of polymorphic environmental risk of novel fl ax in Canada. The DNA; sad2, stearoyl-ACP desaturase II. genus Linum contains approximately 230 spe- cies which are distributed in many parts of the lax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is the sixth largest oilseed crop world and may grow in sympatry with cultivated Fin the world and is one of the oldest cultivated plants (Bhatty fl ax.