Can genes from biotech-derived plants move from ingested food to the bacteria in our intestines?
There is no evidence of plant gene transfer to intestinal microbes over the millions of years animals have eaten plants. Experimental conditions that maximize the probability of transfer of DNA in the gut to intestinal bacteria provide estimates of one cell in one million cells. However, when researchers consider the characteristics of genes from biotech-derived plants that make HGT unlikely, in conjunction with the real conditions in the digestive tract, the HGT estimate from biotech plants to intestinal bacteria drops to one cell in 750 billion cells.
