Gene Flow from Transgenic Rice to Conventional Rice in China

Global area of genetically modified crops (GM crops or biotech crops) continues to grow. It was 189.9 million hectares in 2017. Recently, a total of 24 countries have approved GM crops for planting and additional 43 countries have formally imported biotech crops for food, feed, and processing, meaning that biotech crops are now commonly accepted in those countries. With the continuous growth of the global population and the impact of climate change, research and commercialization of genetically modified crops are important for solving global food security issues in the future. At present, a large number of GM rice varieties have been cultivated in China (Chen et al. 2004; Jia 2004). Among them, GM rice varieties with insect resistance (Bt, CpTI genes), disease resistance (Xa21 genes), and herbicide resistance (bar, EPSPs genes) are waiting for relevant planting permits (Chen et al. 2004). In particular, two varieties, “Huahua 1” and “Shanyou 63”, developed by China Huazhong Agriculture Co., Ltd. have obtained GM rice safety certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture of China. However, there is still a lot of controversy in South Korea on the commercialization and safety research of GM products. This article aims to conduct a rational analysis of China's GM rice pollen mobility and China's current GM rice commercialization process to provide relevant reference basis for safety evaluation and future commercialization process of GM rice in South Korea.