Ignacio Chapela

Ignacio Chapela is an microbial ecologist and mycologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and an outspoken critic of the University's ties to the biotechnology industry. He is also notable for authorship of a controversial Nature paper about the flow of transgenes in to wild Mexican maize, which was the first paper ever retracted by the prestigious journal. A subsequent study performed in 2003-2004 at two independent labs, one of which was run by Allison Snow, found no evidence of transgenic DNA in Mexican maize.^[1]

Chapela is also notable for his work with natural resources and indigenous rights.

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Disputes with University Faculty

Chapela objected to his faculty's taking of money from Novartis, taking a strong position on the issue. Chapela was denied tenure in 2003, because of intervention by pro-industry faculty member Jasper Rine.^[2][3][4] However, Chapela was finally awarded tenure on May 17, 2005. Chapela also spoke out against the $500 million deal between UC Berkeley and UI Urbana-Champaign and British Petroleum to research the development of biofuels, which may involve genetically engineering microorganisms and plants. The grant went into effect on November 14th, 2007.

Chapela and indigenous rights

Chapela founded The Mycological Facility, a facility dealing with questions of natural resources and indigenous rights, and collaborates with indigenous communities in Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador on issues rights to genetic resources.

Chapela and mycology

Chapela has worked on the symbiosis between leafcutter ants and their cultivated fungi (attine symbiosis). His research seems to indicate that some leaf-cutter ants have "domesticated" a single lineage of fungi for over 30 million years; Chapela is currently studying this symbiosis from evolutionary and agricultural perspectives, as well as looking for ways to manipulate it.

He is also an Advisory Board member for The Sunshine Project, an organization promoting citizens' concens with biosafety and biowarfare.

Notes and references