Genetically modified plants (and GMO's- genetically modified organisms) have long been controversial. Scientists use molecular biology to modify the genomes of plants in order to make them more hardy -- to give them resistance to pests or fungi for instance. Plasmids are developed and used to insert a desired resistance gene into the plant. When researchers attempt (sometimes it doesn't work) to insert fungicide or pesticide genes into plants via the plasmids, they add an antibiotic ("Ampicillin") gene on the plasmid along with the pest resistance genes. The Ampicillin gene is commonly used as a marker in these types of experiments because it allows scientists to identify the plants in which the experiment worked -- the plants that carry the desired gene.
However not only is the use of pest or fungus resistance genes controversial, the use of Ampicillin in the environment is also controversial because it potentially increases the risk of widespread antibiotic resistance. Some scientists defend the practice and argue that Ampicillin is no longer a relevant antibiotic for livestock and humans because it is now so prevalent in the intestinal flora of "untreated" humans and livestock. However other scientists disagree with this stance, and argue that the antibiotic should not be further dispersed in the environment via transgenic crops. They argue that Ampicillin is still effective against some species and that the antibiotic's effectiveness depends on conserving its use for therapy. Policy advocates and governments also disagree, with various parties taking different positions.
Europe and the U.K. (as well as Africa and Asia) have always been more squeamish than the U.S. about transgenic crops. The European Food Safety Authority has advised EU governments that Ampicillin containing strains should only be used in test fields. Other agencies and NGO's concur that Ampicillin should not be commonly used especially in the food system. Yet the journal Nature (subscription) uncovered a case of alarming and perhaps inadvertent Ampicillin carrying GMO seed propagation in its recent report: "Stray Seeds had Antibiotic-Resistance Genes" (Colin Macilwain: 434, p.548 March 31, 2005).
For the past 4 years the Swiss firm Syngenta sold corn seed that contained a gene that codes for antibiotic (Ampicillin) resistance. One strain of maize (Bt10) that contained the Ampicillin gene was sold instead of another (Bt11). Bt10 had originally been a control strain to show the lack of the Ampicillin gene in Bt11. "Hundreds of tonnes" of the seed were planted and farmed by American and European farmers from 2001-2004, years before the error was apparently noticed, the investigation reported.
The issue hasn't been resolved. In a June 2nd editorial; "Don't rely on Uncle Sam" (Nature 434, p. 807), the journal notes the lax regulatory agency response. Nature analyzed the responsibilities of three U.S. agencies who would be responsible for discovering and correcting the error. Why didn't the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), catch error for four years? Each had a media ready excuse:
- The FDA reasoned that since the intended pesticide gene was not a food safety issue, they weren't responsible.
- The USDA claimed that its "system was working"...despite the fact that it never caught the transgression. They gave a bureaucratic shrug (actually Nature suggested that it might have been more corporate dismissal) and fined the company $375,000. A very very soft slap on the wrist?
- The EPA claimed that it was short on resources, which prompted Nature to quote The Onion's satirical take, that the EPA had renamed itself "The Agency" -- since the "Environment" part of its title didn’t seem appropriate for its role of "not protecting anything"
In addition to collective shirking on the part of the U.S., Nature also commented on the rather limp European reaction. Back in April 2004, the European Food Safety Association (EFSA), published a directive on the use of antibiotic resistance marker genes in genetically modified plants, decreeing that genetically modified plants intended for food or feed should avoid genes that "confer resistance to antibiotics of clinical importance..." The authors at Nature wonder why European regulators haven't seemed to address Syngenta's 4 year oversight. After all, the editors reasoned, the company is a European one (even if Switzerland is not really in the EU). The Nature editorial concluded - "Thankfully, on this occasion we're not dealing with a threat to public health."
Most recently, in Nature's June 2, 2005 issue (435, 561: Correspondance), UK Scientist Gundula Azeez of the Soil Association responded to this Nature editorial:
"We are concerned by the suggestion, in your Editorial "Don't rely on Uncle Sam", that the US Food and Drug Administration does not consider the presence of the ampicillin-resistance gene in Syngenta's unapproved variety of genetically modified Bt10 maize to represent a safety problem.."
That's not exactly what the original editorial said, although government agencies across the board certainly did seem to support this opinion. The letter to Nature author takes a stance:
"This is not the view of the UK government's scientific advisers... The risk of horizontal gene transfer from genetically modified organisms genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not a theoretical one."
The author cites a study that showed that the plasmids can survive certain conditions and go on to transform bacteria. He adds that not enough research has been done on the potential effects for horizontal gene transfer, as issue that pertains not only to Ampicillin resistance genes but to the toxin resistance genes in GMO's as well. The author also criticized the U.S. agencies' "case-by-case" approval mechanism for transgenic crops, saying that overall the technology hasn't been adequately researched.
While we can't comment on EU agencies' impetus, but the lack of vigorous U.S. response is not accidental. The U.S. has always supported and promoted the use of transgenic crops since the day when vice president Dan Quayle, in the name of business competitiveness, declared that GMO's and non-GMO's were the same.
Will there be more research and will it bridge the EU/US divide? For the U.S., it seems that when doing research would potentially protect public health would interrupt industry's speed in selling products research is eschewed. However when research could potentially show the detrimental affects of industry to public health and the environment, then the call is interminably for more research. Interestingly, while Europe and the U.S. continue to squabble over policies and science results; the potential effected customers are millions of farmers and consumers across the globe.
