Progress 06/01/05 to 05/31/07
Outputs
A Practical Guide to Containment: Greenhouse Research with Transgenic Plants and Microbes, a greenhouse guidebook, has become the primary guidance for greenhouse containment in the United States and beyond. Since publication in 2001, the changing containment landscape has prompted ISB to offer an updated version of the greenhouse guidebook. On April 18-19, a workshop was held in Colorado Springs, CO for the purpose of gathering input from leading parties that are highly responsible for greenhouse containment. The following participants represent a cross section of researchers, facility managers, and regulators. Bill Bruckart,USDA-ARS-FDWSRU, Frederick, MD; Kristen Curlee, Dow Agrosciences, Indianapolis, IN; Rob Eddy Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; Ed Fischer, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO; David Hantz, USDA-ARS-PGEC, Berkeley, CA; Sandy Kelley, University of California-Davis, CRF, Davis, CA; Mike Kenney, USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Riverdale, MD; Robyn
Rose USDA-APHIS-BRS, Riverdale, MD; Ralph Stokes, USDA-APHIS-BRS, Fort Collins, CO; Kevin Wallick, DuPont, Stine-Haskell Research Center, Newark, DE. Presentations were given by all, structured discussion was completed, and relevant material was provided both at the workshop and subsequently by all participants. Workshops, site visits, consultation with facility managers, actual facility design and construction, and academic symposia and coursework all are contributing to the research base for revising the greenhouse guide. Documents continue to be collected as appropriate. Plans for completing the revisions by late 2006 and publishing by early 2007 were unrealistic goals. This was primarily due to Adair's additional commitments and important input from USDA-APHIS-BRS staff. ISB has a verbal commitment from Adair to provide needed writing. Efforts will be made to procure relevant material from APHIS-BRS staff that are needed to complete the project. No obstacles are anticipated for
completing the project by October 1, 2007. ISB Linked the APHIS Field Trials database to the Petitions for Deregulation database to cross-reference each field trial to the petition it supports and vice-versa. It is now possible to discover the Line/Event, Antecedent Lines and field tests and specific reference in the Environmental Assessment for the information. ISB continued to keep all databases updated and to publish the ISB News Report.
Impacts
As proven in the past, the updated revision of A Practical Guide to Containment: Greenhouse Research with Transgenic Plants and Microbes will aid the research community to more safely and securely contain greenhouse research with transgenic, introduced and exotic species. USDA-APHIS routinely uses the manual in its training classes with its constituents. USDA-APHIS uses the ISB Field Trials and Petitions for Deregulation database search engines on a daily basis to search their own database from which the information is sourced. The ISB News Report provides timely information worldwide to assist in the safe application of agricultural and environmental biotechnology.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 06/01/05 to 05/31/06
Outputs
Further expanded the capability of users to download field test and deregulatory petitions search results as a file suitable for importing into Excel for further data analysis; twice weekly updating of the US and International Field Test Databases. Updated the Charts and Tables for field test and commercialization data analysis biweekly. The ISB web site currently averages over 110,000 page requests per month, up from over 69,000 last year. The US Field Test database was searched over 18,000 times in CY 2005. Continuously updated the annotated Web Links database that now lists 85 sites selected for their relevance to ISB's users. Maintained the list of links to international field test information by adding new listings and updating existing ones. Continuously updated the Meetings and Conferences database by adding new listings. Switched international subscribers from the print copy version to e-mail version, thereby saving a substantial amount in postage costs. This
savings was used to convert the News Report to color, considered necessary for accurate rendering of images. Increased circulation to 1800 email subscribers and 500 print subscribers from 56 countries. Fourth printing of 'A Practical Guide to Containment: Greenhouse Research with Transgenic Plants and Microbes'.
Impacts
ISB serves the agricultural and environmental biotechnology national and international research community and the interested public. As one of only two projects USDA/CSREES funded in the agbiotech arena, ISB keeps its constituency apprised of research and regulatory developments, and provides information resources to support the environmentally responsible use of agricultural biotechnology products. Funding through the research, education, and extension arm of USDA and affiliation with a land grant university allow ISB to provide comprehensive information that gives a balanced view of complex issues. ISB is a source for information not found anywhere else. It is the only means of public access to the complete searchable database of all field tests conducted under USDA/APHIS permit or notification. It is the only site hosting the experimental Net Fitness Components model. Abstracts from the USDA/CSREES/ARS Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants symposia and the
Performance Standards for Safely Conducting Research with Genetically Modified Fish and Shellfish are only available through ISB. ISB has a self-imposed mandate to provide to users the latest information available on time-sensitive issues. As such, the proposed projects tend to address topics of current interest or soon to be of interest to the research community. Original analyses of research are developed through the various workshops conducted by ISB on risk assessment topics not previously examined.
Publications
- Ruth Irwin and co-author, Phillip B.C. Jones, ISB staff writer, contributed a book chapter, Biosafety of Transgenic Forests in the United States, pp. 245-261, in 'Landscapes, Genomics & Transgenic Conifer Forests' (2006) Springer Publishers, Dordrecht Netherlands, 270 Pages.
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