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Re: Gene Tinkering: YOU Are The Mice And They Don't Want You to Know
In article <aquilla.1193032089A@news.erols.com> on Fri, 13 Sep 96
19:54:09 GMT aquilla@erols.com (Tracy Aquilla) wrote:>
>...
> >Current test are growing riskier all the time even though release
> >of a carelessly gene tinkered health food product caused death of at
> >least 37 Americans and crippled thousands.
>
> I assume this reference is to tryptophan, but as in the rest of your
> post, there is no reference to any literature or evidence to support
> your claim.
> Tryptophan is not a food product and the case in question did not
> involved any "tinkered" gene!
>...
I am not a scientist but what I have read is:
>From the book "Genetic Engineering: The Hazards, Vedic Engineering: The
Solutions", Fagan J, MIU Press 1995, p53-54
(I do not have access to ref 13 cited but perhaps someone else could
summarise the details?)
<<
Genetic manipulations to customize a bacterium for efficient tryptophan
production
Several companies use bacterial fermentation to produce tryptophan
which is sold as a human nutritional supplement. To increase the
efficiency of tryptophan production, one company Showa Denko, carried
out extensive genetic modifications of the bacterium used in this
process. The tryptophan produced by this genetically engineered
organism was tested according to U.S Food and Drug Administration
standards, and was cleared for commercial production and sale as a food
supplement for humans.
Not satisfied with the efficiency of tryptophan production, this
company carried out further genetic modifications of this organism.
These manipulations were successful in greatly increasing output.
However, Showa Denko decided not to carry out the costly series of
safety tests that were done with the earlier genetically engineered
microorganism. The company assumed, based on the earlier tests, that
the tryptophan produced using the new bacterium was safe and
immediately began selling it as a nutritional supplement.
Over the next two years 37 people died, another 1500 were partially
paralyzed, and 5000 more were temporarily disabled by a syndrome that
was finally linked to this company's tryptophan (Ref 13). It was
contaminated with one or more toxic compounds chemically related to
tryptophan.
Most likely, the genetic manipulations had increased tryptophan
production so greatly that the concentrations of tryptophan, within the
bacteria reached very high levels. As a result, the tryptophan and its
precursors began to react chemically producing unexpected toxic
compounds. To date this company has paid over $1 billion in damages,
and litigation is still in progress.
There is still controversy regarding the cause of this toxicity.
since, in addition to using the new genetically engineered bacterium
this company had also begun to cut corners in the procedure for
purifying their tryptophan. To protect the good name of genetic
engineering, the industry has blamed the toxicity on these procedural
changes, and the company has destroyed the bacterium, so that further
research cannot be done. However, scientists who have followed this
incident favor the explanation in which genetic manipulations caused
the bacteria to generate toxic tryptophan derivatives.
The question that this example raises is this: If it is impossible
to predict the consequences of altering the genes of a simple,
single-celled organism how can genetic engineers say with confidence
that manipulations of the far more complex human genome will improve
health and not create new diseases?
Ref 13: Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and tryptophan production: a
cautionary tale: Mayeno A N, Gleich G J; Tibtech, 12, 346-352, 1994
>>
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