Chickens immunised by GM peas (think on that for a moment)

[ensho]

http://www.scidev.net/en/news/chickens-immunised-by-gm-peas.html


Genetically modified peas that can protect chickens against a common infection have been successful in trials, say scientists.

The plants, which protected the chickens from a parasite called Eimeria, which costs the poultry industry US$2.4 billion a year, were developed by Sergey Kipriyanov and colleagues at Novoplant GmbH, a German plant biotechnology company.

Scientists inserted a gene that caused the plants to produce an antibody that stops the parasite invading the chicken's gut cells.

-snip-

Even in chickens infected with high doses of the parasite GM pea flour reduced infections, say the researchers.

"This work demonstrates for the first time the feasibility of using antibody-expressing GM crop seeds to control infectious diseases," Kipriyanov told SciDev.Net.

-snip-

Mohammed Ahmed Hamoud, a plant molecular biotechnologist at Tanta University, Egypt, cautiously welcomes the news.

"To prevent negative health, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, the GM pea plant must be genetically isolated using new male sterile lines that don't produce pollen and cultivated in dedicated land away from food crops," he says.
---------------------------------

[jody]

1. Would the peas pharmacological properties be affected by cooking? n/t

[MadHound]

2. And the meat from those chickens will effect humans how?

Oh, yeah, we don't know. But it will be thrown onto the market anyway, with little or no fanfare and when people start having reactions or death, they will deny all responsibility.

I'm more and more happy that I get my food locally, from people that I know.

[ensho]

3. kick

nt

[mike_c]

4. would you object to chickens that were immunized by injection?

I mean, immunization is immunization. It means the recipient's immune system has acquired the image of a potential pathogen and can produce antibodies to target it. Why would immunization frighten you?

[ensho]

6. because its in a pea?

granted, its a protected pea, at the moment.

but, one of many questions: does it show up in the chicken poop and thus eventually in all our water sources?

[underseasurveyor]

9. Add to that the risk of other creatures ingesting it

Rats, mice, birds, cockroaches, flys, etc.. I know of no place that's 100% effective at keeping all pests out of grain and food supplies.

[mike_c]

14. what "risk?"

Seriously, what risk are you talking about? The pathogen already exists, so it's epitopes already enter the environment and "other creatures" are already exposed to them. The majority of those exposures probably nourish the detrivore community. What actual risk do you anticipate?

[underseasurveyor]

21. I prefer my antibiotics come from a doctor when I need them

Not from my dinner table.

[mike_c]

22. I agree-- but if I'm reading the OP correctly this is IMMUNIZATION...

...not antibiotics. That is completely different!

[underseasurveyor]

24. Alright then.. I'm confused

Antibiotics do not produce and are not antibodies?

[mike_c]

27. no-- and your response typifies the biological misinformation that permeates...

...most objections to this sort of thing. No offense intended-- seriously! I appreciate that you've owned up to confusion.

Antibodies are the workhorses of the immune system. They recognize protein markers on the surface of pathogens and bind to the them, initiating a cascade of events that leads to (hopefully) overcoming the pathogen. Antibodies are vertebrates' natural defense against invasion. One of several actually-- we produce numerous antibiotics as well, but that's an entirely different system.

Antibodies recognize pathogen markers-- or epitopes-- after a first exposure. That's why you're immune to many diseases after suffering infection once. This pea expresses a protein that normally serves as an epitope for a pathogen, substituting for the first exposure that normally requires infection and conferring immunization.

It's functionally equivalent to an oral vaccine. It has no antibiotic properties at all.

[underseasurveyor]

30. I appreciate the clarification

I really do and no offense was taken.

Thanks, I mean that whole heartedly:hi:

[mike_c]

13. do you understand what "it" is...?

"It" is presumably a protein surface marker on the pathogen-- the epitope that the chicken's immune system recognizes. The pathogen itself already introduces "it" into the environment, so nothing really changes except that the chickens acquire immunity to disease from a source OTHER than the pathogen that causes the disease. It's hard to imagine any downside to that-- well, there's a minor reproductive downside for the pea plant that allocates energy toward expressing a protein that does not contribute to its own growth and reproduction, but that's equally the case in most instances of plant and animal breeding, so genetic engineering is just a more efficient way to achieve that outcome (or to achieve outcomes that are impossible with breeding programs, e.g. this case).

[Lorien]

8. GM crops worry a lot of people for good reason

most scientists are very concerned about their safety, if not outright alarmed. Immunization doesn't worry people as much as an entirely untested genetically modified frankencrop does.

[Mrs. Overall]

10. +1

A traditional immunization is given to a chicken in a controlled environment. Genetically altered peas can mix with other pea plants (this has already happened with some Monsanto crops). Perhaps humans shouldn't ingest this pea designed for chicken diseases.

I think it's a bad idea.

[mike_c]

18. well, I'm one of those scientists...

...and I don't regard all, or even most, GM crops as dangerous or undesirable. Frankly, my biggest concerns are economic-- GM crops create corporate monopolies on access to food unless they're released into the public domain. But otherwise, genetic engineering is no different from any other technology-- it can be used for good, or misused to do harm. We've long ago reconciled ourselves to the notion that we must be responsible for the uses that technology is put to-- the only alternative is to return to the stone age or some intermediate state in that direction.

[underseasurveyor]

23. "it can be used for good, or misused to do harm"

When it comes down to the bottom dollar which side of this 'for good or do harm' side do you imagine we are going to be on?

Seems we've been on the short side of the stick for far too long already. Now we're suppose to trust that our food that's being playing with is being made safer to eat? pffft!

[mike_c]

28. "Now we're suppose to trust..."

Absolutely NOT! But what I would hope we would do is to become informed and make informed decisions rather than kneejerk objections to EVERYTHING genetically engineered. It's hard to see how this particular application is anything more than a convenient oral vaccine that chickens will self-administer, that immunizes them against a troublesome pathogen. The chances of that epitope causing any harm to other organisms are really remote-- I mean, the pathogen already exists, so the protein the peas express already occurs naturally-- this particular GMO simply presents that epitope to chickens in nonpathogenic form, just like any other oral vaccine. What's the downside of that?

[jwirr]

5. Once again too many unanswered questions. Of course the will use

some third world country to do the human tests. Or will they?

[Ian David]

7. Thank god...

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. Chicken Shit !

FDA urged to ban feeding Millions of Tons of Chicken Shit to cattle






A fight is brewing over the practice of feeding chicken feces and other poultry farm waste to cattle.

A coalition of food and consumer groups that includes Consumers Union and the Center for Science in the Public Interest has asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban the practice. McDonald's Corp., the nation's largest restaurant user of beef, also wants the FDA to prohibit the feeding of so-called poultry litter to cattle.

Members of the coalition are threatening to file a lawsuit or to push for federal legislation establishing such a ban if the FDA doesn't act to do so in the coming months.

Farmers feed 1 million to 2 million tons of poultry litter to their cattle annually, according to FDA estimates. The litter includes feces, spilled chicken feed, feathers and poultry farm detritus.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x215142

[ensho]

12. just so we know - thanks

nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

32. Yes Millions of Tons of Chicken Shit fed to Cows in the US

Amazing isn't it?

[notesdev]

15. Someone's got to say it

No chickens, no peas!

[file83]

16. The question no one is addressing:

Why are those chickens getting infections in the first place?

What are the conditions that give rise to this Eimeria parasite?

Why don't they just address that problem instead of jumping through all these expensive hoops developing mutant plants?

[CrispyQ]

31. It wouldn't surprise me to find out

that this infection is related to the horrid, filthy living conditions of these animals. Admittedly, that is entirely speculation on my part. However, American's love to be outraged at meat recalls that put their health at risk, but how outraged would they be if chicken, beef & pork were suddenly $2-$3 a pound more, due to better living conditions for the animals?

I'm not taking issue with your post - quite the contrary. I applaud your suggestion that this is a symptom of a greater problem.

[Enthusiast]

17. It just seems wrong.

Frankenstein-like. This carries genetic modification too far.

[Zodiak]

20. It actually doesn't carry it very far at all.

On a scale of 1 to 10 on potential harm this modification can cause, I'd give it a 1.

Pea gets gene that codes for small protein segment found on a pathogen's cell surface
Chicken eats pea
Chicken's immune systems finds the piece of protein and programs immune cells to recognize that protein and target it for immune attack in the future.

The chicken is not getting modified....just the pea. The chicken benefits because no one has to inject it with something to give it immunity. That is the overall effect of this modification. Chance of harm to the environment is next to zero (actually, I am thinking zero but I always allow for what I cannot foresee).

The worst thing that can happen is the modified gene getting out in other related plants through pollination. Any animal that eats that plant may acquire an immunity, as well, but only from the natural immunity of their own biology.

Now the "Round-up-ready" gene...that would be more like a 7.

[Zodiak]

19. What's the big deal about an epitope?

A tiny chunk of protein, not even functional...but useful for recognition purposes in an immune system. I can see the concern about something that affects the overall biochemistry of an organism (functional enzyme), but this most certainly does not. It's not even a functional domain that can eventually be used to make new proteins through mutation, and that is only if the genes get incorporated into the host genome (nearly impossible or we'd be picking up all kinds of genes from our foods).

And even so, the scientists involved in this study are being as careful as possible.

If the fear is "frankenfoods", then you are reacting more to a word than from the functional knowledge of this breakthrough.

[mike_c]

25. I'm absoulutel;y amazed at the FUD that surrounds this topic....

Why would anyone fear using peas as an epitope delivery system instead of some other oral vaccine? It's kneejerk Ludditism. That's the only explanation that makes any sense.

[bvar22]

26. ?

"To prevent negative health, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, the GM pea plant must be genetically isolated using new male sterile lines that don't produce pollen and cultivated in dedicated land away from food crops,"

Oh yes.
I sure the Profiteers are going to be very careful.
They have such a good track record.

[Zodiak]

33. These are scientists in Egypt, not profiteers

And they are being far more careful than I have seen in the past....actually, they are being overly cautious for a epitope delivery system.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

29. Neat stuff.

Don't worry, I'm sure all those nuke events you're constantly worried about will kill us all before GM peas will.