ISSN 2736-1624
Frontiers of Agriculture and Food Technology Vol. 1 (8), pp. 087-099, August, 2013. International Scholars Journals
Review
Safety Measures employed in live forms associated with molecular farming in genetically modified plants
Arik Halit, Kazim Ozcan and Sergio D. Hasan*
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 22 July, 2013
Abstract
The production in genetically modified plants of recombinant proteins for pharmaceutical or industrial use, also referred to as "plant molecular farming", deserves increasing interest due to its potential advantages. However, this type of application of genetic engineering also raises some biosafety concerns, in particular regarding aspects such as transgene spread in the environment or accidental contamination of the food and feed chains. This review presents the current state of the art of this sector, discusses some relevant regulatory issues and outlines important scientific aspects that should be considered during the safety assessment of genetically modified plants grown for this purpose. In particular, it addresses general strategies as well as specific potential containment measures that could be applied to limit the potential environmental and human health impacts linked to plant molecular farming.
Key words: Biopharming, biosafety, confinement, containment, genetically modified organism, plant molecular farming, plant-made industrials, plant-made pharmaceuticals.