What are genetic side-effects (pleiotropy) and why are they important for NUE?
Genes do not function in isolation in any organism. Rather, they interact with and influence each other. When genes are manipulated by GE or conventional breeding, these interactions can lead to unintended side-effects that alter traits other than the intended one and lead to unintended changes in the crop. Genetic side-effects associated with GE have been frequently observed. But while the two types of widely commercialized genes for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance in crops have relatively limited interactions with other genes, genes under consideration for improving NUE typically have much more complex interactions in the plant, and many side-effects are associated with them. Specific side-effects can’t reliably be predicted by current science, often because they occur only in specific plant tissues, at certain stages of development, or under particular environmental influences, and therefore only extensive testing in the lab and the field is likely to identify many importa
