Evolutionary principles and the regulation of engineered bacteria.
The introduction of engineered bacteria to the environment is being overregulated, on the basis of several assumptions: (i) the danger from deliberate introduction on a large scale is much greater than that from accidental release; (ii) the more distant the source of the DNA the greater the risk; (iii) novel organisms are likely to cause unexpected ecological damage, like that seen with native organisms transplanted to a novel location; (iv) even if the probability of harm is very small, great care must be taken because the harm might be large; (v) products of recombinant DNA must be treated differently from products of classical genetic manipulation; and (vi) our unlimited power to manipulate DNA implies an unlimited power to refashion organisms. Evolutionary principles contradict all these assumptions. Moreover, our increased power of genetic manipulation must be recognized as an expansion of the biotechnology of domestication; and unlike the physical technologies, the long history of domestication has not adventitiously created harmful by-products. I propose that in dealing with such novel and unpredictable developments it would be better to respond with speed and resilience to problems as they arise, rather than to hamper advances by clumsy regulations based on unsubstantiated guesses.
Davis
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BD
Bacterial Physiology Unit, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003264:Containment of Biohazards / Q000592:standards; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D012306:Risk; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency
D004274:DNA, Recombinant