Prospects for the Commercialization of Transgenic Ornamentals - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 306

lowering.time.range,.increased.branching,.and.better.shelf.life..However,.once.created,.
these.improvements.are.almost.always.restricted.to.the.genus,.sometimes.restricted.to.
the.species,.and.occasionally.restricted.to.the.variety.in.which.they.are.bred.
Commercial.examples.of.shrubs.and.herbaceous.perennials.displaying.some.of.
the.above.listed.traits.have.been.and.continue.to.be.developed.by.conventional.breed-
ing..These.include.The.Knock.Out ® .Rose.(U.S..patent.PP11836),.Endless.Summer.
Hydrangea.(U.S..plant.patent.15298),.and.Salvia.'May.Night.'.The.Knock.Out.Rose.
is.highly.resistant.to.black.spot,.is.drought.tolerant,.and.lowers.from.early.summer.
to. fall.. Endless. Summer. Hydrangea. blooms. throughout. the. summer. into. late. fall,.
and.Salvia.'May.Night'.is.repeat.blooming.and.highly.drought.tolerant..The.market.
success.of.these.examples.demonstrates.that.there.is.indeed.a.strong.demand.market.
for.these.traits..At.the.same.time,.it.emphasizes.that.the.technology.used.to.develop.
new.varieties.needs.to.be.comparable.in.cost.to.conventional.approaches.or.needs.to.
confer.traits.unobtainable.by.conventional.breeding.
Transgenic.technology.is.unique.among.other.breeding.tools.in.its.ability.to.pre-
cisely. move. single. traits. over. large. genetic. distances.. Although. crossing. the. spe-
cies.and.the.genus.barrier.has.been.achieved.by.conventional.breeding.on.numerous.
occasions, 6,7 .genetic.engineering.differs.in.its.ability.to.move.speciic.genes.across.
greater. distances:. between. families,. between. divisions,. and. between. kingdoms..
Transferring.genes.for.color,.fragrance,.and.other.desirable.traits.to.species.devoid.
of.such.traits.represents.a.prime.target.for.genetic.engineering. 8
To. date,. only. Suntory. has. commercialized. a. transgenic. ornamental. in. the. form.
of.cut.carnations.in.the.United.States,.Europe,.and.Japan 9 .and.more.recently.lavender-
colored. “blue”. cut. roses. in. Japan. 10 . Given. the. dearth. of. commercial. exploitation. in.
ornamentals,.it.is.ironic.that.one.of.the.irst.published.examples.of.a.transgenic.plant.
involved.petunia. 11 .Since.then,.there.has.been.considerable.excitement.about.the.pros-
pect. for. improving. ornamental. crops. and. other. specialty. food. and. nonfood. crops.
through.genetic.engineering..Several.companies.were.founded.either.partially.or.solely.
on.the.concept.of.developing.and.commercializing.genetically.engineered.ornamen-
tal. plants.. Companies. included. NovaFlora. Inc.,. Sanford. Scientiic,. Calgene. Paciic,.
and.Florigene.NV..Many.established.companies.formed.their.own.genetic.engineering.
groups..These.included.Scotts,.Ball.Seeds,.Syngenta,.Suntory,.and.Kirin..Corporate.and.
university-based.activity.in.genetic.engineering.can.be.tracked.by.examining.the.online.
United.States.Department.of.Agriculture-Animal.and.Plant.Health.Inspection.Service-
Biotechnology.Regulatory.Service.(USDA-APHIS-BRS).movement.and.release.permit.
database. (www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology).. More. than. 91. movement. permits. and.
73.release.permits.(ield.trials).for.ornamental.genera.have.been.issued..Permits.were.
issued. equally. to. both. corporations. and. university. and. government. institutions.. The.
targets.cover.more.than.10.genera.of.bedding.plants,.foliage.plants,.and.shrubs.
In.the.history.of.technology,.this.spurt.of.corporate.and.entrepreneurial.interest.in.
a.new.technology.is.fairly.common..Similar.entrepreneurial.bursts.have.been.seen.in.
the.advent.of.electrical,.automotive,.photographic,.computer,.and.medical.technology.
industries.. As. with.other. new.technologies,.the. growth. of.commercial.interest.was.
matched.with.skepticism.and.sometimes.fear..This.has.been.true.for.the.automotive.
industry,. the. computer. industry. as. well. as. biotechnology. and. genetic. engineering..
Some.of.the.above-mentioned.“ornamental.biotech”.companies.are.still.in.existence..