"I would enjoy seeing any reference
 to 30% of beef virus being from a snake.  For some
 reason I suspect I will never witness."

Not virus, I said DNA.  Big difference!!

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/12/10/nearly-a-quarter-of-cow-genome-comes-from-snakes/

This public document says 25%.  As always such % are subject to some variance as it is a very difficult number to get accurate.  After spending billions of $ on the human genome we still do not have it done gap free and 100% accurate on repeats.

http://www.pnas.org/content/95/18/10704.short

This publication shows beyond doubt that the source was snake.

"I would suggest the operational words above is 'likely
 won't'.... which leaves at least a possibility that yes it
 may and it may in some fashion that neither you nor I can
 image. "

I have no problem at all  imagining what it can do. Death by cancer for instance is quite obvious as are many other types of death.  Which is why what nature does is far more dangerous to the individual than what man does if he is working smart.

If you took a genetics course more than ten years ago your knowledge is hopelessly dated if you have not kept up.  There is no other field of science moving forward at more than a small fraction of the rate genetics is moving at.  This is not an insult it is a simple fact.  I am collaborating with a DNA jockey at a University on some projects.  He tells me when he teaches entry level grad students genetics the first day of class he tells them they may think they know something about the topic but most likely actually know nothing of use.  He says he is seldom wrong. 

To get this back to honey bees I seriously doubt if any of us ever have to worry a bit about anyone doing GMO on bees.  Due to mating with multiple drones maintaining such a GMO stock would be near impossible unless you are on an island well off shore.  So, no one is going to come out with a GMO bee that will fight mites and Monsanto is not going to take over the queen market.  GMO directly on mites seems a far more promising direction to explore.  Putting a suicide gene in mites attached to a gene drive would not be all that hard.  But, it would be hampered by the semi clonal mite reproduction scheme, so might need a second component that whacked inbred offspring.  That problem seems tougher to me.

Dick

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