Several people have joined this discussion and have presented the
main arguments. One, the genome project is about science and
knowledge, has potential for great good and involves little risk.
Two, the whole genetic modification industry is misguided and we are
headed for great peril. Three, GM may be a problem for some, but not
us beekeepers, because we are a small group with little national
interest. In any case, our problems are isolated and the money is not
there to solve them.

Well, if you are still reading, follow this scenario. Suppose I am a
bee breeder in the southern US and my industry produces millions of
dollars worth of queens and packages annually. My two main threats
are infiltration by African bees (and associated problems such as
tighter restrictions on transporting bee hives on the interstate
highways), and pests such as varroa and the small hive beetle.

Suppose honey bee researchers have the ability to turn genes off and
on. There is ample evidence of this is possible, especially in the
bee. Simply changing the make-up of larval food brings about profound
differences in the adult -- based on exactly the same set of genes in
the egg. A bee can become an egg laying queen or a wax producing
worker, by triggering certain developmental changes.

So, given the steady advance of Africanized bees, with their apparent
ability to control pests, such as varroa, and given the discovery by
researchers of the genetic basis of aggressive behavior, I might
conceive of a plan to breed from these bees to get a healthier bee,
but without the menace of the so-called killer bees, which are
stinging people to death in Arizona.  If this were possible, why I
would not want it? And could not researchers make a case for national
interest, given the magnitude of the pollination industry and the
impact on this that a ban on transporting bees would bring about? Not
to mention the health cost impact if vicious bees were spread over
the entire North American continent.

Suppose the changes could be brought about by altering the chemical
composition of the larval food. Some observers have seen actual
changes in the characteristics of bees where eggs were transferred
from one hive to another. That is, the developing bees took on
characteristics of the new parent -- changes that could attributed to
the feeding or some other unknown factor. So, by changing something
in the honey bee's food supply (perhaps by adding certain chemicals),
bees could be raised that had certain genes turned off or on.

Why would I not want this? Perhaps because the shaky barrier between
African and non-African bees would be forever destroyed. Even now, it
is increasingly difficult to say what the current hybrids are and
what they are not. Molecular markers are now the main criterion for
identifying honey bee types. In the bee, as in so many cultivated
species, the original types are threatened or no longer exist. And
once a species is gone, it is gone forever.

What could go wrong? Suppose a non-aggressive African bee was
produced by me, mated naturally with the local drones (mostly
African), and distributed freely around the US. Soon, these genes
would be in everyone's bees. And then the experiment would be much
larger, because we would then find out if these GM bees stay the same
or mutate further as a result of unforeseen recombinations with local
hybrids. Then we could have a problem on our hands much like that of
Brazil when the African bees first got out of hand. Of course, we
would adapt. Perhaps honey bees would finally be outlawed altogether,
or all pollination would have to be done with disposable units that
contained some time-release insecticide that would kill the hive
after an allotted time.

Having been a beekeeper for almost 30 years, I have seen some great
changes. None of my children have shown any interest in learning
about honey bees, but I would like to think that beekeeping would
survive for future generations. I would like to think that people
could always get and keep a couple of hives in their yard, and not be
afraid that one of their kids or neighbors is going to be covered
with hundreds of stings some afternoon, just because they were
walking by.


--

Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>