GMO plant/food are usually modified to contain extra gene for added value. This gene are usually placed inside a vector that contain resistance for antibiotic in order to aid selection of transformants. So what will happen if human consumes it? Are we going to be resistance to that antibiotic as well?
2006-11-20 13:43:54 · 4 answers · asked by spears83 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
If the protein will be lost in our digestive tract, does it means edible vaccine has no future at all?
2006-11-20 13:57:46 · update #1
First of all antibiotics are designed to kill microorganisms like bacteria and fungi by interacting specifically with some of their molecules. Therefore antibiotics anyway do not harm human cells (otherwise they would poison/kill us) since they don't interact with the human cellular machinery and in a way we are already "resistant" to antibiotics.
When you digest food proteins that provide resistance to antibiotics are broken down and the genes encoding for these proteins are also broken down. So no they will not enter into your cells or change your DNA...
The only issue is that there is the possibility that this gene might be transfered through viruses to microorganisms and make them resistant to that antibiotic. Then you could have e.g. a bacterium that is resistant to that antibiotic and therefore infection by it will not be treatable with this antibiotic. HOWEVER it can be treated by other antibiotics. Or it might be specific for microorganisms that are pathogenic eg for plants but not humans so anyway there wouldn't be any risk for humans.
Moreover there are other methods that ensure that the final GMO will not have an anibiotic resistance gene.
Inserting "new" genes or genes from other organisms in organisms that will be consumed has the risk of generating allergies. It would be poisonous only if you clone a gene that codes for a toxin but that would be stupid or ill-purposed.
2006-11-20 23:43:20 · answer #1 · answered by bellerophon 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
likely nothing. The gene codes for protein, the protein would not survive the digestive tract. As for your corralary about edible vaccines...I don't know of any and In anycase this is not the way you would do it. Resistence derives from exposure to an antigen not the protein that causes resistance.
2006-11-20 13:50:13 · answer #2 · answered by Mr Pink 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good question. This is the reason most countries have banned genetically modified foods, except, of course: the USA.
Yes, I think we will be resistant to antibiotics; a lot of people are that way already
2006-11-20 13:52:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The food will be digested just like any other food. Everything we eat contains DNA and it does not affect our genome. It may affect our epigentics and methylation patterns (ways sequences of our DNA is regulated). The DNA will simply be broken down in digestion regardless of the information contained within.
2006-11-20 14:10:05 · answer #4 · answered by Joe M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋