Mice, Rice, and the Genie in the Bottle

An interesting article in this week's Economist regarding transmission of genetic traits in an odd way reminded me of an issue I'd wanted to mention here.

The Economist article is about this study published last week that indicates that during insemination (or during embryonic development), in some as-yet-undetermined fashion, RNA can play a factor in affecting the eventual genetic traits of the offspring, despite the characteristics of it's parents. In this study:

Unusual amounts of RNA were found in the sperm from mice with the mutant Kit gene. Leading the group to suspect that RNA was implicated.

[The Kit gene being one that causes white spots on the tail of mice, used in this study--Ed.]

When this RNA was extracted and injected into mice embryos, a white-tailed mutant was created--even though no genes for the white tails were present.

In this day of wide-ranging experimentation in genetic modification of gene lines, the implications of this are staggering. It has always been assumed that genetic mutations in offspring happened due to faulty copying of genetic material present in the genes of the parents. Here though, this research team has proven that previously undiscovered factors can affect the way in which genes are ultimately expressed in offspring. And apparently some other studies postulate that

... the effect can persist across generations, which means that genes that were not inherited from your great-grandparents could still be exerting an influence today. [Emphasis Eliel's--Ed.]

Turn now to the article that this story reminded me of. It was an AP wire story carried by lots of sources. Here's a link to the USA Today version. The article covers the backlash being faced by a company called Ventria which has developed what has apparently been proven to be a great additive for treating children with serious dehydration from acute diarrhea.

Their press release (PDF) from the study indicates that their product is a pretty viable-seeming additive that will save lives:

The clinical study was prospective, randomized and blinded, and evaluated 140 children who were admitted to the hospital suffering from acute diarrhea. Results showed that children who consumed oral rehydration solution with Lactiva and Lysomin (Lactiva/Lysomin ORS):

• Had 30% shorter duration of diarrhea. Specifically, children consuming Lactiva/Lysomin ORS were sick for 3.67 days on average, as compared to 5.21 days for children receiving ORS without Lactiva and Lysomin.

• Reached complete resolution of their diarrhea with much higher frequency than children receiving ORS without Lactiva and Lysomin. 85.1 percent of children who consumed Lactiva/Lysomin ORS recovered, while only 69.2 percent of the control group recovered.

• Were less likely to relapse into another episode of diarrhea. The percentage of children who relapsed after 48 hours without diarrhea was lower in the Lactiva/Lysomin ORS group than in the control group Lactiva and Lysomin (8.5 percent compared to 18.7 percent).

So what's the big deal? Ventria's product is produced through the marvels of genetic manipulation. As described in the USA Today article, the company:

Ventria, with 16 employees, practices "biopharming," the most contentious segment of agricultural biotechnology because its adherents essentially operate open-air drug factories by splicing human genes into crops to produce proteins that can be turned into medicines. [Emphasis Eliel's--Ed.]

Ventria's rice produces two human proteins found in mother's milk, saliva and tears, which help people hydrate and lessen the severity and duration of diarrhea attacks, a top killer of children in developing countries.

Given that the scientists doing the mice study have found that we don't fully understand how the process of passing along genetic traits really works, can we really trust that Ventria's claim that there would be no impact from their crops on human beings?

The company says the chance of its genetically engineered rice ending up in the food supply is remote because the company grinds the rice and extracts the protein before shipping. What's more, rice is "self-pollinating," and it's virtually impossible for genetically engineered rice to accidentally cross breed with conventional crops. [Emphasis Eliel's--Ed.]

Yes, maybe they can ensure (although they do use the weasel word of "virtually") that their products DNA won't be transmitted between crops. But wouldn't the very process of extracting the protein for their medicine from the rice provides a vector for RNA material to spread between batches? RNA material that could hold all kinds of genetic instructions that no one yet understands?

I'm worried.

What about you?