GE CYANOBACTERIA BIOSAFETY ASSESSMENT RESEARCH

The novel protocol to measure HGT from algae to non-photosynthetic organisms illustrated in Figure 1, with Eq. (1) for the HGT rates [3], will be used to quantitively measure the rates of HGT from GE cyanobacteria to soil-environmental bacteria (Objective 1). It will also be used to characterize the mechanisms whether the HGT is through a direct cell-to-cell interaction or by an indirect cell-to-liquid environment (eDNA)-to-cell process (Objective 2). In addition, the stability of the transgenes and the survivability of GE cyanobacteria in comparison with their related wild-type organisms will be assessed (Objective 3).