Transgenic Organisms
Risk Assessment of Deliberate Release
Published in April 1993
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-3-7643-2834-4 (ISBN)
Description
The genetic structure of organisms is being altered to an ever-increasing degree by molecular genetic techniques. Thus far, more than 500 transgenic organisms have been tested or utilized in the field. The strides forward, however, have been encumbered by persistent and intense controversy. What is happening now on the forefront of genetic engineering? What are its aims, and inherent risks? What is its justification? The purpose of this book is to offer the reader a firm grounding in the subject by systematically reviewing several basic issues: the interaction between host DNA/RNA and the introduced DNA/RNA; the extent and effect of horizontal gene transfer; the fate in populations of genes inadvertently released into nature; the feasibility and effectiveness of risk assessment; and the manner in which this modern technique can best be harnassed to improve human health. More generally, but perhaps most significantly, the book calls for a critical appraisal of the desirability of the aims advanced by molecular geneticists today.
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Content
Expression and stability of foreign genes in animals and plants, P. Meyer; P-elements of drosophila - genomic parasites as genetic tools, W. Pinsker et al; bacterial gene transfer in the environment, M. G. Lorenz and W. Wackernagel; gene transfer from bacteria and heterologous viruses into cells of higher organisms, J.M. Lopez-Pila and C. Scheler; gene transfer in plants as a potential agent of introfression, H.-R. Gregorius and W. Steiner; technologically modified genes in natural populations - some skeptical remarks on risk assessment from the view of population genetics, W. Gabriel; conditions for the establishment and persistence of populations of transgenic organisms, J. Tomiuk and V. Loeschcke; introduction of plants with special regard to cultigens running wild, D. Bartsch et al; potential ecological effects of escaped transgenic animals - lessons from past biological invasions, K.D. Adam et al; aspects of the stability of the host-pathogen interaction of baculoviruses, J.A. Jehle et al; escherichia coli host/plasmid systems providing biological containment, K.H. Hofmann and T. Schweder; risk assessment of genetically modified plants introduced into the environment, A. Dietz; treatment of human disorders with gene therapy and its consequences for the human gene pool, H. Mueller; the release of microorganisms - ethical criteria, D. Mieth.