Rats, GM Potatoes, Lack of Regulation and You
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Genetic engineers have no control over where their foreign DNA constructs will be inserted into the host cell’s DNA. Research has revealed that the insertions often occur inside or near genes, which can be turned on or off by the invading foreign DNA. This can have serious consequences.
Of particular concern are fragments of foreign DNA that appear in virtually all genetically modified crops: the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter is used to ensure that the foreign genes continue to express their proteins at a high level. This viral gene switch, or promoter, is able to stimulate the expression of genes, not only in plant cells, but also in the cells of mammals, including humans. This promoter is in all the cells of transgenic plants. Thus, the question of whether it is broken down by digestion processes, or ends up in cows milk, or in the muscles and blood of animals fed GM feeds, or in the milk of breast-feeding mothers, becomes a really important issue.
When critical scientists have raised these concerns, proponents have responded that we have been eating cauliflower, which is sometimes infected with this virus, for a very long time with no apparent consequences. However, the cauliflower mosaic virus promoter used in genetic engineering is, in its naked form, unlike the natural wild-type virus that has a protective protein coat. The naked forms of viruses are more infectious because their viral coats generally determine host specificity. CaMV promoter is particularly prone to integrate into host cell genomes because it has a recombination hotspot, meaning it is prone to breaking and joining with other DNA at that spot. This increases the likelihood that the promoter, and any other genes linked to it, will be integrated into the genomes of cells they manage to enter. Cancer could be one of the outcomes in cells in which genes are turned on and kept on by this particularly strong promoter.
Throughout all GM crops, another hazard of this viral promoter is its potential to reactivate dormant viruses, which exist in the genomes of all higher organisms, including plants and animals. There is also a danger of the creation of new viruses by recombination. Yet another concern is the use of antibiotic resistance marker genes that could conceivably transfer resistance to bacteria in the mouths and guts of people and animals that ingest GM food and feed. It could also be transferred to bacteria in soil that surrounds the roots of transgenic plants, or soil that contains decomposing GM crop residues. Soil containing such bacteria could be dangerous for farmers and children, who might end up passing the resistance to bacteria resident in their own bodies. If pathogenic bacteria later infect them, antibiotics may prove useless because of transfer of the resistance gene from their resident bacteria to the pathogenic invader.
[...]
Genetic engineers have no control over where their foreign DNA constructs will be inserted into the host cell’s DNA. Research has revealed that the insertions often occur inside or near genes, which can be turned on or off by the invading foreign DNA. This can have serious consequences.
Of particular concern are fragments of foreign DNA that appear in virtually all genetically modified crops: the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter is used to ensure that the foreign genes continue to express their proteins at a high level. This viral gene switch, or promoter, is able to stimulate the expression of genes, not only in plant cells, but also in the cells of mammals, including humans. This promoter is in all the cells of transgenic plants. Thus, the question of whether it is broken down by digestion processes, or ends up in cows milk, or in the muscles and blood of animals fed GM feeds, or in the milk of breast-feeding mothers, becomes a really important issue.
When critical scientists have raised these concerns, proponents have responded that we have been eating cauliflower, which is sometimes infected with this virus, for a very long time with no apparent consequences. However, the cauliflower mosaic virus promoter used in genetic engineering is, in its naked form, unlike the natural wild-type virus that has a protective protein coat. The naked forms of viruses are more infectious because their viral coats generally determine host specificity. CaMV promoter is particularly prone to integrate into host cell genomes because it has a recombination hotspot, meaning it is prone to breaking and joining with other DNA at that spot. This increases the likelihood that the promoter, and any other genes linked to it, will be integrated into the genomes of cells they manage to enter. Cancer could be one of the outcomes in cells in which genes are turned on and kept on by this particularly strong promoter.
Throughout all GM crops, another hazard of this viral promoter is its potential to reactivate dormant viruses, which exist in the genomes of all higher organisms, including plants and animals. There is also a danger of the creation of new viruses by recombination. Yet another concern is the use of antibiotic resistance marker genes that could conceivably transfer resistance to bacteria in the mouths and guts of people and animals that ingest GM food and feed. It could also be transferred to bacteria in soil that surrounds the roots of transgenic plants, or soil that contains decomposing GM crop residues. Soil containing such bacteria could be dangerous for farmers and children, who might end up passing the resistance to bacteria resident in their own bodies. If pathogenic bacteria later infect them, antibiotics may prove useless because of transfer of the resistance gene from their resident bacteria to the pathogenic invader.
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posted by TheFuriousGourmet | 5:20 PM
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