A freak event in south-west England has transformed a lowly weed into a “superweed” capable of fending off herbicide attacks. Or has it?
Scientists at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) in Dorset, UK, tested the herbicide glufosinate ammonium on weeds growing in fields of oilseed rape modified to carry a herbicide resistance gene. A single charlock plant carried on growing, triggering concerns that the resistance gene had jumped from the GM crop.
But this is not proof that gene transfer has taken place, says Les Firbank, head of land use systems at CEH. “And even if it did…
