Tryptophan produced by a genetically modified bacteria caused many illnesses and deaths. Does this not prove that genetic modification can result in the production of toxic substances?
In 1989-90 there were 37 deaths and about 1500 cases of the disease eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS). The only common link among those affected was the consumption of the food supplement L-tryptophan. The contaminated lots of tryptophan had been produced by a company in Japan using a genetically modified bacteria that was designed to overproduce tryptophan. In addition to changing the production organism there were also changes made in the recovery and purification steps; specifically those steps involved in removing impurities. The toxic metabolite was also produced by natural or non-genetically modified strains of bacteria. It was most likely the change in the purification step that allowed the toxic metabolite to contaminate the tryptophan. There was no indication that the illnesses were caused by the application of genetic modification to the bacterial culture.
Related Questions
- Tryptophan produced by a genetically modified bacteria caused many illnesses and deaths. Does this not prove that genetic modification can result in the production of toxic substances?
- Is there any scientific evidence to suggest that genetically modified foods are less safe that those foods produced using conventional techniques?
- Didn Pasteur prove that pathogenic bacteria caused disease in healthy living tissue?
