Molecular Approaches for Transgene Containment and Their Potential Applications in Horticultural Crops - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 299

of. the. gene. deletor. systems. under. ield. environments. and. in. agricultural. crops.
remains. to. be. demonstrated.. While. the. gene. deletor. technology. should. be. readily.
used.in.vegetatively.propagated.crops,.its.application.in.sexually.propagated.plants.
requires.further.modiications.and.reinements.

PROSPECTIVES
Transgenic.technology.will.undoubtedly.play.an.important.role.in.genetic.improve-
ment.of.horticultural.crops.in.the.future..As.discussed.earlier.even.though.transgenic.
horticultural.crops.are.among.the.irst.group.of.commercialized.transgenic.crops,.the.
market.values.of.transgenic.horticultural.crops.is.insigniicant. 1,2 .In.recent.years,.
the. potential. utilities. of. many. trait. genes. have. been. well. demonstrated. in. plants.
including.in.some.horticultural.crops.(see.other.chapters.of.this.book);.their.applica-
tions.in.horticultural.plants.remain.uncertain.because.of.high.costs.associated.with.
deregulation. approvals. and. environmental. and. food. safety. concerns.. If. the. safety.
concerns.over.transgenic.horticultural.crops.can.be.reduced.and.if.the.costs.associ-
ated.with.the.regulatory.approval.for.deregulation.of.a.transgenic.horticultural.crop.
can.also.be.reduced,.commercialization.of.transgenic.horticultural.crops.should.be.
accelerated..Thus,.it.is.crucial.to.develop.and.use.highly.reliable.gene-based.technol-
ogies.to.help.minimize.transgene.low.or.food.safety.concerns.over.transgenic.horti-
cultural.crops.and.to.help.reduce.costs.associated.with.their.deregulation.approvals.
Finally,.we. would. like. to.end.this.chapter.with.quotation.from.a.report.by.The.
National. Research. Council 124 . on. biological. coninement. of. genetically. engineered.
organisms:.“Making.biosafety.a.primary.goal.from.the.start.of.any.project.will.be.a.
more.effective.and.eficient.way.to.prevent.safety.failures.and.it.will.increase.com-
mercial. investment. ratings. and. reduce. inancial. risks. posed. by. possible. liability.
claims. and. loss. of. consumer. conidence.”. “Each. (gene. containment). method. has.
its.strengths.and.weaknesses,.and.all.vary.in.eficacy.depending.on.circumstances..
No.one.method.will.achieve.100%.coninement.in.the.real.world.”.“Therefore,.it.is.
sometimes.necessary.to.employ.more.than.a.single.method..In.many.technological.
applications,. the. principle. of. redundancy. reduces. the. occurrence. of. predictable.
hazards.while.achieving.the.beneits.of.technological.application.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The. work. described. in. the. Yi. Li. Laboratory. at. the. University. of. Connecticut. has.
been.supported.by.grants.from.USDA,.DOE,.New.England.Invasive.Plant.Center,.
and.the.Storrs-Connecticut.Agriculture.Experiment.Station..The.authors.would.like.
to.thank.K..S..Cao.for.his.help.in.editing.references.cited.in.this.chapter.

REFERENCES
. 1.. Clark,.D.,.Klee,.H.,.and.Dandekar,.A..Despite.beneits,.commercialization.of.transgenic.

horticultural.crops.lags.. Calif. Agric .,.58,.89,.2004.

. 2.. Redenbaugh,. K.. and. McHughen,.A.. Regulatory. challenges. reduce. opportunities. for.

horticultural.biotechnology.. Calif. Agric .,.58,.106,.2004.