>Whatever happened to that theory? It sounded as though it needed a very
>simple test to decide if it was plausible, and I'm surprised GM people
>didn't pick up on it, as the proof of horizontal transfer is desperately
>needed. I realise no-one here on Bee-L was punting it as gospel, but it
>sounded worth investigating...

>John Sewell

    I raised this in conversation during a conference on GM a few months ago,
and got a rather dismissive reply. It's the usual situation, unless it's
investigated by someone with the proper academic credentials, and
peer-reviewed, nobody takes any notice. Nobody's paying the scientists to do
the work either, so it doesn't get looked at. Sorry to sound cynical, but I
get a little tired of the academic closed shop mentality at times. I imagine
that it would be a case of checking to see whether the AFB gene was identical
to the one used in GM crops. At the same time, using the same antibiotic
constantly on the same organism for 40 years or so is asking for trouble;
it's a wonder that resistance hasn't arisen before. Throwing chemicals at a
problem isn't much of a long-term solution.



Regards,

Robert Brenchley

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