Karen writes:
>Am I the only one to see where the great money making potential of this lies?


Karen,
Well, no, not the only one. Large scale pollinators have always been
more intimately associated with agri-business than the small time
honey producers, for example. One could easily imagine how pesticide
resistant bees would ease this love-hate relationship, where bees are
moved on and off heavily sprayed fields of alfalfa, cotton, etc. A
hive that could tolerate being sprayed could be rented out more times
throughout the year.

My main concern is in the unwanted consequences for small timers and
the environment, both which are of lesser importance to investors
than the sales potential of a "pesticide-ready" bee. Another
potential avenue for modification is the so-called "killer gene."
Drones could be developed that would mate with queens from feral
swarms and prevent those queens from laying, in order to rid an area
of undesirable strains.

I can supply more info on request.

See:

"Terminator Insects - The Killing of Females"

GM pink bollworms are a prelude to developing female-killing traits
to control bollworm pests. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins
explain the genetics and hazards of female killing systems. ...
Recently, other conditional lethal systems have been considered for
kill off females. Such systems could be introduced into any insect
pest species with the help of genetic engineering. As a result, the
GM insects could be released directly without pre-sterilisation.

------------------

The piggyBac transposon used to genetically modify pink bollworm was
originally discovered by its ability to infect insect cells and
baculovirus and to move between the two. The environment assessment
of the pink bollworm release did not discuss the likelihood that
baculovirus bearing piggyBac or related transposons could rescue the
inactivated piggyBac in the pink bollworm cell by complementation and
genetic recombination. ... Baculoviruses are known to be efficient
vectors for transferring genes into animal and human cells. There is
also evidence that piggyBac transposon vectors carrying transgenes
are unstable, and undergo secondary mobilization to transfer
horizontally, potentially to all species including human beings.

------------------

Since the first transgenic mouse in the world was produced in the
early 1980s, the application of genetransfer techniques has furnished
us with many new insights into various areas of biological science.
Currently, gene transfer appears to be a promising technique in
biotechnology, especially in medical and agricultural sciences,
improving for example disease resistance, the quality of animal
products, and genetic breeding. Until now, more than one thousand
transgenic fish, including red carp, mirror carp, crucian carp,
silver crucian, white crucian, and rainbow trout, have been produced
[in China]. Compared to a control group, the growth rate of
transgenic fish increased by 10-50%. These transgenic fish have
produced more than 100,000 individuals of F1-F5 generation. The
heredity of the transgene was relatively stable (>80%), and the
growth rate increased by 21%. Feed was saved by 10%. Overall, the
technique of gene transfer is gradually benefiting the fish breeding
programme in China.

------------------

Under what circumstances is the use of transgenic organisms safe and
effective? As biotechnology develops, some scientists hope for new
ways to control invasive species for which there are few other
options. But controversy is common in areas where issues related to
invasive species and genetically modified organisms overlap. Recent
debates involve: 1) the potential use of genetically modified (GM)
Atlantic salmon in aquaculture where escapes of tens of thousands of
fish per year are documented and when the genetic impacts of escaped
farmed fish on rare wild populations are unclear; 2) the first
proposed field trials of a GM insect--caged populations of the pink
bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella)--itself a non-native pest of
cotton; and 3) the emergence, in Canada, of naturally occurring
herbicide-resistant canola plants descended from GM parents.


--

Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>