Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
14.13 Regulatory Issues: Releases of Genetically Modified
Arthropods
Regulatory issues surrounding the releases of genetically modified arthropods
into the environment have been discussed since 1992. Several issues have been
raised, including how such arthropods should be contained in the laboratory
until permission(s) have been given to make releases. Discussions about possible
risks and how to mitigate them also have been conducted (
Table 14.8
). At the
present time, there are no international or U.S. guidelines that would allow per-
manent releases of GMAs into the environment. The science is clearly ahead of
the regulatory system (
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology 2004
).
The releases of a transgenic predatory mite in Florida (
Box 14.1
,
Figure 14.2
),
transgenic sterile pink bollworms in Arizona (
Box 14.2
),
Aedes aegypti
mosqui-
toes containing a novel strain of
Wolbachia
in Australia (
Box 14.3
), and multi-
ple releases of transgenic
Ae. aegypti
containing a RIDL construct (
Box 14.4
) are
described in some detail to outline the diverse scientific and regulatory issues
that have been raised.
In addition to these releases, field tests using RNAi were conducted by
Hunter
et al. (2010)
to determine whether Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) disease could
be reduced in honey bee colonies by feeding the bees with IAPV ds RNA. The IAPV
ds RNA is being developed commercially (called Remebee) and is being evaluated
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for registration. The results of the field
test indicated that Florida colonies had increased adult bee populations if they
received the Remebee (plus the virus), while the bees getting only the virus did not
increase. The bees in the Pennsylvania trial did not show treatment differences. This
appears to be the first field test of an RNAi disease-control strategy directed against
an insect disease. Field trails have been conducted using plants expressing RNAi con-
structs (
Ogwok et al. 2012
) and discussions of regulatory issues for RNAi-expressing
crop plants have occurred (
Center for Environmental Risk Assessment 2011
).
14.14 Conclusions
Genetic manipulation projects involving pest or beneficial arthropods share
many problems and issues. Because the potential risks of permanent releases of
GMAs into the environment raise concerns about risk, it is appropriate to release
relatively low-risk examples first. This might involve the release of a transgenic
beneficial arthropod that is carrying a marker gene or sterile pests that can-
not reproduce in the environment (
Ashburner et al. 1998
,
Hoy 2000a
). A second
release might include sterile insects, such as pink bollworms, that contain a fluo-
rescent marker gene.
