GM microbes

[onthespot]

I have always been in favor of GM research, but stumbled across this article about GM microbes and have done a stat 180 in my thinking. I am not "the sky is falling" sort of person, and am all for moving ahead with research, but this article, well... read it for yourselves.
http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=187

[Michael Kawalek]

Gee, what a treat. After all these years is was fun to see reference to some of my first published work.

Auteur(s) / Author(s)
STOCKWELL V. O. (1) ; KAWALEK M. D. ; MOORE L. W. ; LOPER J. E. (1) ;
Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)
(1) ARS, horticultural crops res. lab., Corvallis OR 97330, ETATS-UNIS
Résumé / Abstract
Agrobacterium radiobacter strain K84 effects biological control of crown gall disease caused by A. tumefaciens in part by the plasmid-conferred production of agrocin 84, an antibiotic with specific activity against certain strains of the pathogen. A transmissible plasmid (pAgK84) resident in the biocontrol bacterium contains genes for agrocin 84 biosynthesis and immunity. The frequency of pAgK84 transfer from K84 to A. tumefaciens strain B49c, a naturally occurring strain that is insensitive to agrocin 84, in gall tissue of cherry seedlings was evaluated under field conditions. Putative transconjugants were detected by colony hybridization in 4 of 13 galls evaluated. The identity of transconjugants recovered from one of those galls was confirmed by serology, agrocin production, pathogenicity, and Southern blot analysis using agrocin 84 biosynthesis, T-DNA, and nopaline synthase gene probes. In the four galls in which transconjugants were detected, the estimated frequency of plasmid transfer from K84 to B49c was approximately 10-4 transconjugants per recipient. A transconjugant strain and B49c did not differ in their capacities to colonize the rhizosphere of cherry or to cause crown gall under field conditions. The transconjugant retained pAgK84 for up to 7 months in the rhizosphere of field-grown plants. These results confirm that Agrobacterium strains harboring both a tumor-inducing plasmid and pAgK84 can develop from plasmid transfer in the field and that such newly derived strains can persist under field conditions.
Revue / Journal Title
Phytopathology ISSN 0031-949X CODEN PHYTAJ
Source / Source
1996, vol. 86, no1, pp. 31-37 (42 ref.)

I later moved to the University of California where I too worked on Cry toxins, but that work is not related to the gene insertions in Pseudomonas.

The important point of this is that this kind of work has been taking place since the mid 1980's and the sky hasn't fallen yet has it? My work specifically was conducted in the ground in 1986-87. After twenty years has any crisis happened? Are genetically engineered organisms crawling out of the soil and attaching people? This reminds me of the 19th century hysteria related to photographers trying to take people's pictures, but they believing the photographer was trying to take their soul.

[backachersfarm]

I'm not sure how you can feel so certain this research hasn't cause some serious shift to the left. There are booming numbers of people with cancers, reproductive disorders with men and women, and genetic illiness in children that have been showing up. You can't say for sure none of the things you worked on haven't contributed to this. Some of this GM work has a snowball effect that isn't looked at or if it is...isn't made known to the public. Most of these companies have the attitude that it's worth the risk and more cost effective to pay the eventual lawsuits then throw expensive work down the drain.

Sharon