Line 4Line 4 Copyic/close/grey600play_circle_outline - material
Answers

Question

A gene can behave in different ways depending on the genome in which it is contained. How can genetic engineers perform tests to be sure that a gene transferred from, say, a bacterium into a plant will result in the desired effect only?

Submitted by: Blob


Answer

Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Thursday, 30/01/2014 00:16

Thank you for your question. Alan McHughen, CE biotechnology specialist and geneticist, discussed the safety of inserted genes in a recent article. An excerpt is below:

 

“…To ensure the inserted gene does what it is supposed to, various molecular, chemical and biological tests are conducted on the GM plant, animal or microbe to check that the inserted DNA sequence is intact and the expressed protein is functional before the GMO is commercialized.  They are also extensively tested for safety and efficacy for several years prior to commercial release, to ensure there are no unexpected or unusual results.

 

"There are no known examples where a specific gene recipe (DNA sequence) was inserted into a cell and produced something other than the predicted protein.  What can—and does—go wrong is that the inserted gene goes unexpressed or is only partially expressed, such that the amount of protein is insufficient to prove commercial levels of the desired trait.  In those cases, the GMO is destroyed as soon as it is detected, usually in very early testing, and in any case long before commercialization.”

 

The article is available in its entirety here. If you have any additional questions, please ask.