> I've been wanting to ask for opinions on the new gene splicing tool CRISPR/Cas9 (targeted gene editing) being touted as a new era in molecular biology.

Hi all
I work in a lab that uses genetic modification to study gene functions, mainly those linked to infertility. We used genetically modified mice to do this work, & it has implications for human infertility. We have been using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique since it first became doable. The work is done in house. All genetically modified material is regarded as a "biohazard" and can't be released into the environment. The restrictions surrounding genetic experimentation are very strict.

As you may have read, genetically modified salmon were successfully raised twenty years ago but it took this long for them to be approved. They have to be grown in ponds far from any wild salmon populations. One wonders how the honey bee could be modified and tested, while presenting absolutely no risk of interbreeding with the normal population. This is a bit different from GMO corn. There are no wild corn populations.

One of the most notable cases of a genetic experiment gone wrong, leading to the creation of one of the most invasive species ever known, was the introduction of the African bee into Brazil. This was done using conventional breeding, and the results could not have been predicted. 

I have already written publicly about this topic. To me, the honey bee is not really a domesticated species, and deserves to have its genome protected from modification. There are ways to preserve the species without altering it irrevocably, and it would be nearly impossible to keep GMO bees from interbreeding with regular honey bees. Any experimentation would have to be done on an island, with the ability to eradicate them, if things went awry. 

We have already seen a community prevent the release of GMO mosquitoes ("It's about human rights—this can't be pushed down our throats without consent," said one Key West resident.). Approved by the FDA, this trial could be the beginning of the end of millennia of mosquito borne illness. Not only that, but the mosquitoes are bred to create sterile offspring. I am certainly in favor of that, but not in favor of mucking about with the honey bee genome.

Now, I wouldn't say the same thing about somehow breeding sterile varroa. Those blood sucking bastards can go straight to hell. 

PLB

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