GMO Food for Thought

According to a report in the October 2005 edition of Economic Perspectives, an electronic journal of the U.S. Department of State, there are two types of genetically modified insects under research: paratransgenic and transgenic. Paratransgenic insects are created by integrating a piece of DNA manipulated in the laboratory into the microbes that naturally inhabit their alimentary canal. Transgenic insects are the product of the physical integration of transgenes into the chromosomes of an insect.

The article states that generically altering an insect so that all of its descendants will also be genetically altered requires that the initial integration of the transgene occur in the chromosomes of cells that will produce sperm or eggs (since most insect reproduction is sexual). Genetically modified insects must have these characteristics readily visible so scientists or other researchers can have a way to control them during research, like in order to separate male from female insects.

Scientists are working to develop a broad array of insects with new characteristics that could make them useful in fighting the spread of infectious diseases, controlling noxious weeds and insect pests, and producing pharmaceuticals, such as genetically modifying honeybees to make them resistant to diseases and parasites.

The greatest interest in this new technology, according to the article, is that genetically modified insects may be able to save lives. According to the World Health Organization, mosquitoes spread malaria, which infects 300 to 500 million people and kills over 1 million annually. Chemical pesticides currently being used have negative effects on human health and the environment and the emergence of insects resistant to many pesticides have undermined the efficiency of these pesticides. Genetically modified mosquitoes carry a promise of a clean and radically solution to this problem.

The first confined field trials with different genetically modified insects have already been conducted and some projects are expected to reach full environmental release within three to five years. Technological and other obstacles will also prevent scientists and businesses from wide scale releases of these bugs for at least five to ten years more, according to scientists. Scientists and regulators will also need to deal with the uncertainty about the lasting effects these insects could have on ecosystems, public health, and food safety.

The thought of genetically modified insects in the environment is an unusual prospect. These insects could offer many promises including helping the production of foods and improving public health, but there is also the chance of an overriding public fear that such insects could be a detriment. Although the process is still in its initial stages, the United States and other governments need to develop a comprehensive policy on how these insects will be reviewed and regulated. Discussions on this potential technology need to take place now. However, it will be interesting to see how this technology progresses in the future. The possibilities are endless.