Genes Run Wild

**G*@aol.com**

A new report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from the 
National Research Council - part of the U.S.'s National Academies (of Sciences, 
Engineering and Medicine) warns of what it calls serious ecological risks of 
some GM plants and animals. More on the report here:

http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Projects+_by+_PIN/BLSX-K-01-10-A?OpenDocument

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Genes Run Wild 

http://www.sciencentral.com/        

A report today from the National Research Council warns of what it calls 
serious ecological risks of some genetically modified plants and animals. 

As this ScienCentral News video reports, it says there is no 100 percent 
effective way to prevent some introduced genes from running out of control in the 
wild. [see video at 
http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=english&type=article&article_id=218392157]

Bioconfinement

When the nation's first genetically modified pet, the GloFish, recently came 
on the market, it caused more than a small ripple in the scientific ocean.

The fish glow under ultra-violet light because scientists gave them a gene 
from an entirely different species, sea coral. Experts say these "transgenic" 
organisms are less fit than their wild relatives, so they'd likely pose no 
threat to the environment if they got away. But there are organisms that are given 
genes that might increase their fitness, such as genetically modified salmon 
that grow faster than normal. Would they compete with their natural cousins? Do 
they pose any danger? These are questions some scientists have been wondering 
about since genetically engineered organisms, or GEOs, were first introduced 
into the environment nearly 20 years ago. 

A January 20, 2004 report from the National Research Council of the National 
Academies, commissioned by the USDA National Biological Risk Assessment 
Program, which is considering how it should regulate genetically modified plants and 
animals, states that for some GEOs, including modified plants , insects, 
microbes and animals, "the ecological consequences" of their escape or release 
"could be serious." The report, "Biological Confinement of Genetically Modified 
Organisms, " recommends that regulatory agencies require, and enforce, what it 
calls "bioconfinement" on a case-by-case basis. It says, "the evaluation of 
whether and how to confine a GEO should be an integral part of its development, 
and the need for bioconfinement should be considered early in the process."

There are many different methods of bioconfinement, such as making 
genetically engineered plants and animals unable to reproduce. "One way is like fighting 
fire with fire," says William Muir, professor of animal sciences at Purdue 
University. "We will use the transgenic technology to actually introduce genes 
that make the organism sterile. If the transgenic organisms are sterile they 
can't pass their genes on and if they can't pass their genes on then they cannot 
persist in the environment." For example, Muir's lab engineers fish to be 
sterile, unless they are fed certain hormones during breeding. "If it got loose, 
it could not get these compounds in the wild and therefore it would always 
remain infertile," Muir says.

The report also says that "it is unlikely that any single bioconfinement 
technique will be completely effective," which means that fail-safe backups would 
be necessary. "You can stack these genes one behind the other in case one 
fails—a new mutation comes along and it becomes fertile—you have a backup gene 
that stops it," says Muir. "So we can actually use this technology to greatly 
reduce risks." 

Muir hopes that using genetic engineering to make genetic engineering safer 
will spur more public acceptance of its products. But the report concludes that 
bolstering public confidence will come with the success of confinement 
methods that are developed as a result of more research, because the current lack of 
data limits proper assessment of current methods. 

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