Research Interests and Recent Publications

My primary research interests have centered on the population genetics and ecology of invasive plant species. I have been working on questions relating to the role of gene flow in the continued success of plant colonizers and weeds. I am intrigued by the idea of addressing basic evolutionary and ecological questions with applied systems. The majority of my recent publications have addressed consequences of escape of engineered genes into wild/weedy plant populations.

I am currently involved in two projects, and developing a proposal for a third. The first project is a survey of the population genetic structure of the noxious weed Sorghum halepense, "johnsongrass," using starch gel electrophoresis of isozymes. The project is an extension of work I began during my doctoral studies. The goal of the project is to describe the genetic structure of a noxious weed over its global distribution, and examine the relationships between source populations from Eurasia, and colonial areas in North and South America.

My second project is a collaborative effort with Norm Ellstrand at UC Riverside. The project entailed a survey of the likelihood of hybridization between commonly sown North American crops and their feral relatives. A review of the floristic databases and species lists for the land covering the USA, Canada and northern Mexico was conducted for data on the distributions and flowering times for relatives of the 30 most common crops sown in these areas. We also surveyed the plant breeding literature to determine what is known about crossability among each of the compatible species on our list. The results are being compiled into a searchable database that will be available either on diskette or on-line. The goal of the project is to create a resource for biotechnology companies, government regulatory agencies and risk assessment scientists to quickly gauge risk of transgene escape.

Recent Publications

Arriola, P. E., and Hilbeck, A. 2002. Gene flow and its consequences between transgenic and feral maize in Mexico. Greenpeace Monograph.

Arriola, P. E., 2002. All in the Genes. The Chemical Engineer. 731(5): 30-31.

Arriola, P. E. and N. C. Ellstrand. 2002. Gene flow and hybrid fitness in the Sorghum bicolor - Sorghum halepense complex. Proceedings Scientific Methods Workshop: Ecological and agronomic consequences of gene flow from transgenic crops to wild relatives. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. PDF Version

Arriola, P. E. 2000. Crop to wild gene flow and risks of wide-scale release of transgenic Zea mays in Mexico. Proceedings of the NAPPO/USDA/CNBA Workshop on gene flow from cultivated to wild maize. Mexico City, Mexico.

Arriola, P. E. (1998) New directions for risk assessment for biotechnology. Debate on the increasing use of genetic engineering in food production. Nature On-Line http://helix.nature.com/debates/

Arriola, P. E. 1997. Risks of escape and spread of engineered genes from transgenic crops to wild relatives. AgBiotech News and Information 9(7): 157N-160N. AgBiotechNet

Arriola, P. E., and N. C. Ellstrand. 1997. Fitness of interspecific hybrids in the genus Sorghum: persistence of crop genes in wild populations. Ecological Applications 7(2): 512-518.

Arriola, P. E., and N. C. Ellstrand. 1996. Crop-to-weed gene flow in the genus Sorghum (Poaceae): spontaneous interspecific hybridization between johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense, and crop sorghum, S. bicolor. American Journal of Botany 83(9): 1153-1160.

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