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gic reactions. If the seeds are being mixed with the general food supply, it will be difficult to trace this sort of effect. Terminator crop is next to a field planted in a normal variety, and gic reactions. If the seeds are being mixed with the general food pollen is taken by insects or the wind to that field, any eggs fer- supply, it will be difficult to trace this sort of effect. tilised by the Terminator pollen will now have one toxin gene. It will be activated late in that seed's development, and the seed will + Will dead seeds have different properties than living die. However, it is unlikely that the person growing the normal seeds? variety will be able to tell, because the seed will probably look Although Terminator is supposed to kill seeds very late in normal. Only when that seed is planted, and doesn't germinate, development, it is not known what other effects, if any, will the change become apparent. Terminator may have. Will the dead seeds be more or less easy to In most cases, the toxin gene will not be passed on any further store? Perhaps they will respond differently to changes in humid- because dead plants don't reproduce. However, under certain con- ity or to infection with bacteria and fungi. ditions I will discuss later, it is possible for the toxin gene to be If dead seeds do behave differently, even a few ‘bad apples may inherited. spoil the barrel’, and the problem of partial killing of neighbours’ In any case, dead seeds, where they occur, would be a serious crops may be even more of an issue. problem for the farmer whose fields are close to the Terminator There also may be nutritional changes in seeds that are killed crop. How many seeds die will depend on the degree of cross- late in development. Although most of their oils and proteins are pollination, which is influenced by the species of plant, the variety present, it is possible that seeds will start to deteriorate or will of crop, weather conditions, how close the fields are to each other, lack some minor component that is important. and so on. If many seeds die, saving seed The functional properties of specific mol- will be untenable for the adjacent farmer. ecules in foods, for example, are just begin- Even if only a few seeds die, they will con- ning to be appreciated and are likely to play tain the toxin and any other proteins engi- important roles in preventing diseases. neered into the Terminator-protected variety. These possibilities require further study. These new ‘components’ may make the seed . unusable for certain purposes, The toxin could end up - Will use of an antibiotic to treat in products without seeds before planting be a problem? - Will seeds containing the toxin ' If seed companies do indeed use tetracy- made by Terminator be safe to eat? anyone s knowledge. cline to set the cascade of toxin-gene activa- In fact, the effects of the toxin on the uses For example, an tion in motion, then they will have to soak a of the seed are a serious question. This issue very large amount of seed in the antibiotic. is discussed in the patent at the end of page ornamental sunflower Basically, every seed planted by the farmer 8. There the authors say: could spread Terminator will have to be so treated. How many In cotton that would be grown . 5 pounds of cotton seed or wheat seed commercially, only selected to an oil-seed variety, are needed to plant an acre, and how and then the toxin could lethal genes could be used since many acres will be planted? these proteins could impact the . . . . In fact, I am having trouble visualis- end up in edible oil or in sunflower seed meal. final quality of seeds... If the ing exactly how this will work, because seed is not a factor in the com - the seeds must be treated with tetracy- mercial value of a crop (e.g., in cline after they have matured com- forage crops, ornamentals or pletely (so that the toxin won't be made plants grown for the floral in the first generation), but before they industry), any lethal gene are planted (otherwise the farmer should be acceptable. would have to apply antibiotic to the This is dangerously reductionist plants). Handling seed that has been thinking, because people are not the soaked seems like a tricky process to only organisms that interact with seeds. me, but perhaps there are viable In forage crops, for example, all of the forage is not always har- methods. vested before seeds are mature, depending on conditions. How At any rate, even at low concentrations there will be a lot of will a particular toxin affect birds, insects, fungi and bacteria that tetracycline to handle and dispose of, and large-scale agricultural eat or infect the seeds? If a forage crop with toxin-laden seeds is uses of antibiotics are already seen as a threat to their medical left in the field and the seeds come into contact with the soil, how uses. Further, the increased tolerance of bacteria and residual or will that affect the ecology of soil organisms? These are impor- waste antibiotics may also have a harmful effect on soil ecology. tant questions because a variety of specific organisms are neces- Again, I am dismayed by the reductionist tone of the discussion sary for the healthy growth of plants. of these issues in the patent. On page 7, line 30, the authors state: Further, a floral or ornamental crop with Terminator may hap- ...since tetracycline has no harmful effects on plants or pen to grow near a related crop where the seeds are used; but if animals, its presence would not otherwise impede normal pollination occurs, the seeds will contain toxin without that farmer development of the plant, and residual amounts left on the knowing. The toxin could end up in products without anyone's seed or plant after treatment would have no significant knowledge. For example, an ornamental sunflower could spread environmental impact. Terminator to an oil-seed variety, and then the toxin could end up While tetracycline is an antibiotic that specifically inhibits in edible oil or in sunflower seed meal. chemical processes in bacteria but not directly in humans, its indi- Other potential problems with making novel toxins in edible rect effects, as defined by molecular biologists, can be severe. seeds have to do with allergenicity. The RIP toxin described ear- This is because we depend on myriad interactions with micro- lier may not be directly poisonous to animals but may cause aller- organisms for our daily functioning, from proper digestion to pro- The toxin could end up in products without anyone's knowledge. For example, an ornamental sunflower NEXUS 29 DECEMBER 1998 - JANUARY 1999