Hi Mega,
This is a very cool project idea, but I think you are going to encounter a lot of roadblocks. Even here in the US, which is kind of the wild west of GMOs, the FDA and EPA do assessments of potential environmental and human health impact for anything that will be released and/or consumed. This is expensive and lengthy, for animals more so than plants. The GMO salmon still haven't made it to market after 10+ years. It's going to be even more difficult to get regulatory approval when you're adding a ton of new genes. Before that approval, the bees would need to be contained in an indoor facility, so simply finding a regular beekeeper is probably out.
Also, do you have any precedent for adding so many resistance genes to an insect? Are they contained in a single piece of DNA, and if so will it be able to get into the sperm? (DNA movement thru membranes gets a lot more difficult as the construct gets bigger...) How high does the expression need to be for these genes to effective? This has the potential to put stress on the cell metabolism, and make the bees less healthy.
I won't say walk before you run, I think you're already running. But maybe run more before you do an ultra-triathlon.
Mike
This is a very cool project idea, but I think you are going to encounter a lot of roadblocks. Even here in the US, which is kind of the wild west of GMOs, the FDA and EPA do assessments of potential environmental and human health impact for anything that will be released and/or consumed. This is expensive and lengthy, for animals more so than plants. The GMO salmon still haven't made it to market after 10+ years. It's going to be even more difficult to get regulatory approval when you're adding a ton of new genes. Before that approval, the bees would need to be contained in an indoor facility, so simply finding a regular beekeeper is probably out.
Also, do you have any precedent for adding so many resistance genes to an insect? Are they contained in a single piece of DNA, and if so will it be able to get into the sperm? (DNA movement thru membranes gets a lot more difficult as the construct gets bigger...) How high does the expression need to be for these genes to effective? This has the potential to put stress on the cell metabolism, and make the bees less healthy.
I won't say walk before you run, I think you're already running. But maybe run more before you do an ultra-triathlon.
Mike
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