ISIS Press Release 02/OCT/2007 Udder Disregard for Safety GM
Tobacco for Preventing Mastitis in Cows The USDA is promoting a potentially
disastrous strategy for controlling mastitis in cows that could enhance a host
of other diseases and create new disease agents. Prof. Joe Cummins
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Mastitis is a bacterial disease of the mammary, bovine mastitis is an
increasing problem in the dairy industry. The gram negative bacterium,
Escherichia coli is responsible for most cases of bovine mastitis in North
America . Increase in mastitis is, in part, caused by the treatment of the
cattle with recombinant (genetically modified) bovine somatotropin [1]. The
United States Department of Agriculture Research Service (USDA ARS) has found
that treatment of cattle with recombinant receptor protein CD14 can reduce the
severity of mastitis. The CD14 receptor protein binds to the bacterial surface
lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a proinflammatory molecule that activates mammalian
cells to produce and secrete cytokines that induce fever, dysregulated
coagulation, and vascular collapse. The CD14-related innate immune responses
facilitate clearance and neutralization of LPS, thereby reducing the severity
of mastitis. The recombinant bovine CD14 gene is produced by USDA/ARS
first in insect cell transformed by a baculovirus vector system [2,3], and by
the transformation of tobacco plants using the potato virus X as vector for the
gene for CD14. The recombinant bovine protein was recovered from the
recombinant virus infected plants [4]. The incorporation of recombinant CD14
in tobacco host plant offers the advantage that a large quantity of the
recombinant protein can be produced in a short time and at very little cost
[5]. However, the recombinant potato virus X in tobacco plants raises serious
safety concerns. Recombination between the viral vector and wild virus will
lead to widespread dispersal of the recombinant CD14 gene with untoward
consequences.
While CD14 is important in controlling infection by gram-negative bacteria
such as E. coli, it facilitates invasion by gram-positive bacteria such as
Streptococcus pneumoniae [6]. Early intestinal colonization of the human infant
with Staphylococcus aureus gram-positive bacteria are associated with increased
levels of soluble circulating levels of CD14 [7]. USDA/ARS, in promoting the
use of recombinant CD14 to treat mastitis in cattle, seems to have given little
thought to the incidence of pneumonia and toxic shock syndrome caused by the
elevated levels of soluble CD14 in milk. Furthermore, Staphylococcus mastitis
may simply take over from E. coli mastitis.
USDA is not only promoting CD14 to control mastitis in cattle, but it is also
regulating the production of the protein in GM tobacco plants. So far, USDA
has not discussed the potential of CD14 to enhance diseases caused by
gram-positive bacteria nor has it discussed the problems associated with the
release of the recombinant viral CD14 in the environment- the potential for
recombination with wild viruses or the transfer of the CD14 gene to food crops
such as the potato. This is a good time to call on the USDA to consider such
problems.
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