Biotechnology, as an emerging technology, has drawn much attention from the public and elicited hot debates in countries around the world and among various stakeholders. Due to the public's limited access to front-line scientific information and scientists, as well as the difficulty of processing complex scientific knowledge, the media have become one of the most important channels for the public to get news about scientific issues such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). According to framing theory, how the media portray GMO issues may influence audiences’ perceptions of those issues. Moreover, different countries and societies have various GMO regulations, policies and public opinion, which also affect the way media cover GMO issues. Thus, it is necessary to investigate how GMO issues are covered in different media outlets across different countries. We conducted a comparative content analysis of media coverage of GMO issues in China, the US and the UK. One mainstream news portal in each of the three countries was chosen ( People's Daily for China, The New York Times for the US, and The Guardian for the UK). We collected coverage over eight years, from 2008 to 2015, which yielded 749 pieces of news in total. We examined the sentiments expressed and the generic frames used in coverage of GMO issues. We found that the factual, human interest, conflict and regulation frames were the most common frames used on the three portals, while the sentiments expressed under those frames varied across the media outlets, indicating differences in the state of GMO development, promotion and regulation among the three countries.

Leontochir ovallei Phil., an endangered Chilean species in the Alstroemericeae, was micropropagated on Murashige & Skoog medium supplemented with 4 #M benzyladenine, 1 #M indolebutyric acid and 1 46 mg 1-1 glutamine. Over 88% of the shoots rooted in vitro when treated with 10 #M naphthaleneacetic acid and micropropagated plantlets were successfully transplanted into the greenhouse.Abbreviations: BA-benzyladenine, IBA -indolebutyric acid, 2iP-isopentenyladenine, NAA -naphthaleneacetic acid, MS -Murashige and Skoog (1962) mediumLeontochir is one of the two genera in the Alstroemericeae that has not been cultivated (Bailey & Bailey 1976). Leontochir ovallei Phil. is commonly grown in the rocky mountains in the northern part of Chile and is becoming rare and endangered. Its attractive flowers are believed to have special aphrodisiac functions which attract Chileans to pick the flowers; this harvesthag prevents the plant from going to seed and can also damage the rhizomes.Micropropagation has been successfully applied in the propagation ofAlstroemeria (Bridgen et al. 1991), but no studies have been documented for Leontochir. A practical micropropagation procedure would be useful to conserve this endangered species since seed propagation and conventional vegetative propagation are slow.Leontochir ovaUei has been successfully micropropagated. Seeds of L. ovallei were disinfected by immersion in 2.6% sodium hypochlorite for 15 minutes, followed by 3 rinses with sterile deionized water. Aseptic seedlings were then cultured on a medium containing 1/10 Murashige and Skoog (1962) salts (MS) and vitamins and 0.3% sucrose. Plants were subsequently subcultured on a medium of MS salts and vitamins supplemented with 1 #M BA for further shoot proliferation and rooting studies.Three types of cytokinins: BA, 2iP, and kinetin each at four concentrations, 0, 2, 4, and 8 #M, were studied for their effects on shoot proliferation. A basal medium of MS salts and vitamins supplemented with 1 #M IBA, 146 mg 1-1 glutamine, 30 g 1-1 sucrose, at pH 5.6 was used. The media were solidified with a combination of 3.2 g agar (Sigma, A-1296) and 0.8 g Phytagel (Sigma, P-8169) per liter. All cytokinins were filterTable 1. Number of newly regenerated shoots and average relative growth rate (RGR) from the cytokinin treatments after 4 weeks of culture I Cyto~nin Sh~tno. 2 RG~ BA 3.6a 0.28a Kine~ 1.8b 0.21b 2~ 1.6b 0.~ b I Mean separation within columns by using LSD (p -0.05). 2 Data were ~asformed by square root (x + 0.5) before analysis. Nonlransformed data are presented. 3 Relative growth rate -(In FRWTIIn FR~tTo)/(tl -tO) ,

To characterize the in vitro behavior of Rhododendron `Montego' with tissue proliferation (TP) to cytokinin and auxin, comparisons were made of normal [TP(–)], dwarf TP [TP(+) dwarf], and long TP [TP(+) long] shoot cultures. On basal medium TP(–) and TP(+), long shoots failed to multiply and had a low relative growth rate (RGR) of 0.1, whereas TP(+) dwarf shoots produced 31.8 shoots per tip, with most shoots being <5 mm long, and RGR was 0.3. Addition of 15 μm 2iP to basal medium induced the production of more than six shoots per TP(–) tip and doubled their RGR; TP(+) long shoots produced 16.8 shoots, most <5 mm long, and had an RGR of 0.3; TP(+) dwarf shoots produced only 16% as many shoots as on basal medium, but still exhibited an increase in RGR. Leaves from TP(–) and TP(+) sources failed to produce shoots on basal medium, but 74% of TP(–) leaves formed shoots when cultured on 1 μm IBA and 30 μm 2iP. TP(+) leaves were able to form shoot meristems on media containing only 5 μm 2iP (26% of explants), but these meristems failed to elongate into shoots. Calli from TP(–) leaves, TP(+) leaves, and TP(+) tumors grown on medium containing 10 μm NAA and 15 μm 2iP had higher RGRs than the same calli on basal medium during the first 8 weeks of culture. Over time, RGR decreased in both TP(–) and TP(+) leaf calli, but increased in TP(+) tumor callus. The increased RGR resulted from differentiation of shoot meristems on 85% of the calli between week 4 and week 8. Our results suggest that TP(+) tissues have altered hormone metabolism or sensitivity that leads to dramatic differences in in vitro behavior and probably contributes to tissue proliferation observed in whole plants. Chemical names used: 6-(γ,γ-dimethylallylamino) purine (2iP); indole-3-butyric acid (IBA); α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA).

Rhododendron `Montego' shoot cultures initiated from plants with and without tissue proliferation (TP and NTP) served as explant sources for all studies (Note: in vitro TP shoot cultures produce primarily dwarf shoots, some long shoots, and stem tumors). Calli induced from TP leaves and tumors and NTP leaves were cultured on woody plant (WP) medium containing NAA and 2-iP. During the first 4 weeks of culture, calli from NTP leaves had higher relative growth rates than calli from TP leaves or tumors. However, calli from TP leaves and tumors grew faster than calli from NTP leaves for all subculture periods that followed. Shoot tips (5 mm) were excised from TP dwarf shoots, TP long shoots, and NTP shoots and were cultured on WP medium with or without 15 μM 2-iP. Shoot tips from TP dwarf and long shoots multiplied on medium without 2-iP, averaging 18.4 and 1.7 shoots per shoot tip in 12 weeks, respectively. Shoot tips from NTP shoots only multiplied when maintained on 2-iP-containing medium. When placed on 2-iP-containing medium, both types of TP shoot tips produced clusters of callus-like nodules that gave rise to highly tumorized, short shoots or leafy meristems.

Combinations of me auxins 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2.4-D). indolebutyric acid (IBA). and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), with isopentenylademne (2-iP) were studied in Woody Plant (WP) medium for callus induction and shoot organogenesis from leaves of Rhododendron `Besse Howells' (BH) and `Catawbiense Album' (CA). IBA was more effective than NAA and 2,4-D at inducing shoot organogenesis when combined with 2-iP. Addition of 1 uM IBA and 15 or 30 uM 2-iP to WP medium resulted in the highest percentage of explants producing shoots (90% in BH, 100% in CA), and the greatest number of shoots per explant (18.4 in CA, 10.1 in BH) after 12 weeks of culture. Shoot organogenesis also occurred using 1 uM NAA and 2-iP combinations, but me number of shoots produced was much less than for IBA treatments. 2,4-D and NAA were more productive than IBA for callus induction. Media containing l-10 uM 2,4-D plus 5 uM 2-iP. or 10 uM NAA plus 15 uM 2-iP. were me best for callus production. In studies using thidiazuron instead of 2-iP as the cytokinin, leafy buds and very short shoots developed.