Gene flow from genetically modified to conventional chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

Gene flow from genetically modified (GM) chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), containing the CMVP0-CP (cucumber mosaic virus pathotype 0 – coat protein) gene to a non-GM control variety ‘P915’ and two commercial F1 hybrids, ‘Manidda’ and ‘Taesan’, was assessed over two growing seasons in the field. Seeds were collected from non-GM chili peppers at a range of distances from the GM chili pepper plot, and hybrids between GM and non-GM plants were screened using the kanamycin assay. Event-specific PCR was performed to confirm the presence of transgenes in the kanamycin-resistant seedlings. From a total of 11,194 ‘P915’ seeds, there were 67 hybrids; there were 40 hybrids of 7499 seeds, and 102 hybrids of 5340 seeds for ‘Manidda’ and ‘Taesan’, respectively. The gene flow frequency was as high as 17.89% between GM and ‘Taesan’ chili pepper at the closest distance from the GM plot.