Evidence from:
Meza TJ, et al. Transgenic Res., (2001) Vol.10, p 53-67.
Modified plants, when grown in stressful conditions may behave in undexpected ways. “Failure to sfafety” would seem to be a good principle to adopt.
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Evidence from:
PL Bhalla et al. Int. Arch. Allergy & Immunology. 124(2001) Vol.1-3, p51-4.
Pollen sensitisation could be addressed if the allergenic property of pollen was engineered out. This research tested the removal of allergen and whether the pollen remained viable.
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Evidence from:
Crawley MJ, et al. Nature, (2001) Vol. 409 6821, p 682-3
Escape of GMO into unintended environments would be of little consequence if the organism and its novel genes died out before finding a successful niche. The paper here finds evidence in favour of that.
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Evidence from:
Turnbull GA, Morgan JAW, Whipps JM, Saunders JR. FEMS (2001) Vol.36 1, 21-32.
Gene spread will depend on the movement of micro-organisms. Motile bacteria which acquire genetic material from GMO will be more likely to promote gene escape. P. fluorescens may be capable of acquiring genes from the environment.
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Evidence from:
Demanèche S, Kay E, Goubière F, Simonet P, App & Env Microbiology (2001) Vol.67 6, 2617-21
P. fluorescens and A. tumefaciens (a vector commonly used in genetic modification) appear to be
competent to transformation in soil.
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Evidence from:
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. October (2001) Vol. 108 #4. p 654.
The allergenic potential of GMO crops is assessed by a logical methodology. The paper also indicates how unlikely it is that mammalian cells will take up and express transgenes.
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Evidence from:
M Goetz et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, (2001) Vol. 98, No 11 p6522.
Escape of transgenes can be reduced if male plants are made infertile. The study shows that this can be done without affecting the commercial value of the crop.
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Evidence from:
Ecological Applications, Volume 11, No 6, December 2001, Evaluating the risks of engineering viruses: Modeling pathogen competition.
Using modified viruses as pesticides raises a number of risk issues.
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