Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27694819›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2016

Pollen-mediated gene flow and seed exchange in small-scale Zambian maize farming, implications for biosafety assessment.

Thomas Bøhn, Denis W Aheto, Felix S Mwangala, Klara Fischer, Inger Louise Bones, Christopher Simoloka, Ireen Mbeule, Gunther Schmidt, Broder Breckling

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.

Thomas BøhnGenØk - Centre for Biosafety, Tromsø, Norway.
Denis W AhetoSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Felix S MwangalaNational Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Zambia.
Klara FischerSwedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden.
Inger Louise BonesGenØk - Centre for Biosafety, Tromsø, Norway.
Christopher SimolokaNational Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Zambia.
Ireen MbeuleNational Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Zambia.
Gunther SchmidtUniversity of Vechta, Germany.
Broder BrecklingUniversity of Vechta, Germany.
GenØk · NONational Institute of Public Administration · ZMNational Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research · ZMSwedish University of Agricultural Sciences · SEUniversity of Bremen · DEUniversity of Cape Coast · GHUniversity of Vechta · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gene flow in agricultural crops is important for risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops, particularly in countries with a large informal agricultural sector of subsistence cultivation. We present a pollen flow model for maize (Zea mays), a major staple crop in Africa. We use spatial properties of fields (size, position) in three small-scale maize farming communities in Zambia and estimate rates of cross-fertilisation between fields sown with different maize varieties (e.g. conventional and transgene). As an additional factor contributing to gene flow, we present data on seed saving and sharing among farmers that live in the same communities. Our results show that: i) maize fields were small and located in immediate vicinity of neighboring fields; ii) a majority of farmers saved and shared seed; iii) modeled rates of pollen-mediated gene flow showed extensive mixing of germplasm between fields and farms and iv) as a result, segregation of GM and non-GM varieties is not likely to be an option in these systems. We conclude that the overall genetic composition of maize, in this and similar agricultural contexts, will be strongly influenced both by self-organised ecological factors (pollen flow), and by socially mediated intervention (seed recycling and sharing).

Indexed as

Crop ProductionGene FlowPollenPollinationSeedsZambiaZea mays

Identifiers

PMID27694819
PMCPMC5046111
OpenAlexW2529013159

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.