The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a $649,818 Project Grant under the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants (BRAG) program (CFDA 10.219) to the Old Dominion University Research Foundation (doing business as Odurf) to assess the potential for horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from genetically engineered (GE) cyanobacteria to soil-environmental bacteria and risk group-2 microorganisms.
The research team will measure the rates of HGT, characterize the HGT mechanisms, and evaluate the fate/stability of transgenes and survivability of GE cyanobacteria in comparison to wild-type organisms. This work will help quantify the potential risks of HGT from GE cyanobacteria to other microbes, which is valuable information for federal regulatory agencies overseeing biotechnology advancements.
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