The British Times | November 16, 1999 | NICK NUTTAL, ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT
Scientists at Novaritis Seeds have, according to this story, made a breakthrough in their attempt to rid genetically modified crops of antibiotic-resistant genes.
The breakthrough was achieved by a team at the Novaritis Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute in Rayleigh, North Carolina. The sugar-based marker gene was tested in a wide range of crops including wheat. The form of fructose made by the GM plant was found naturally in the tissues of mammals, including man.
Willy De Greef, of Novaritis Seeds, the company behind the development, was quoted as saying yesterday that, "The company does not want to sell products with issues of any kind attached to them. It is difficult enough to develop the technology [of GM crops] without public concern." Details of the technology are expected to be reported in Nature Biotechnology.
Professor Janet Bainbridge, chairwoman of the UK Government's Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes was cited as saying the discovery was a step towards reassuring the public about the safety of GM crops.
The story says that antibiotic-resistant genes have been used in GM crops to act as markers for scientists to establish if genetic modifications have taken effect in plants. Their use alarmed the British Medical Association and government advisers who feared an increase in the spread of "superbugs" resistant to antibiotics.
The new method uses a different kind of marker-gene that allows a GM plant to turn a simple sugar called mannose into food for growth.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of health policy and research at the BMA, was cited as saying it may prove to be one way that the biotechnology industry "regains public confidence".
