I have been following the development of bioluminescent biosensors for 20 years. Hundreds or thousands of scientific papers have been published by using recombinant organisms with good sensitivity, ease of use and low cost for detection of different toxic compouds. It has been very strange to see that genetically modified food has entered our plates but still the legislation prohibits biosensor use very strictly. It is very difficult to plan any commercial applications based on bacterial biosensors because it is practically impossible to transport these tests to locations not having GMO use permission, specified laboratory and trained personel. Additionally, insurance companies are not able to determine the theoretical risk and therefore pricing for transportation is impossible. Those who are working with this topics, please comment if you agree/disagree!
The time is ripe! (non-prophetic!)
Major concerns are in the socio-politic domain! Certain issues with misplaced safety issues, misconceptions, lack of outreach, info dissemination lack, certain issues and mode's performance with lack of interest seem to be major causes. On the scientific term, the issue has not been in the next levels of (probably) serious practical well-demonstrated applications which, to my guess, will be/need be in bio-hazard, instant sensing, agriculture, geo-technicalities, etc. The organisms' virulence, colonization, safety, other chemo-biological interactions, and interfaces resolutions, replacements and genetic capture and wipe-out may be holding back! The process and involved procedures are although robust, reliable in performance, repeatable and validated; the issues and initiative, lack of interests (due to any and many reasons!) of different parties are holding back which are common to all new technologies and introductions!
Pl enlighten with your feedback and let to know more about your take and the perspective you are professing! I may not have fully got the essence of the problem! Pl correct me, if wrong!
Thank You & Regards!
Dear Juha,
I completely agree with your concern (and disappointment) that whereas GMO's are used to date worldwide in "food production" (with, however, the well-known opposition in Europe), this is not yet possible for their use in toxicity testing (at least in standard tests for current use).
Whereas scientists are publishing very interesting toxicity tests with GM test species, their use is to date virtually always restricted to their own laboratory (and their application in other labs - which many scientists would love - is facing an enormous amount of legislative and bureaucratic handicaps, so nobody ventures into this "can of worms").
As said by Riaz A.Khan (above), "the concerns are indeed in the socio-politic domain", but in the domain of toxicity tests these concerns are actually "minimal" (or even virtually none) in comparison to agriculture and environment.
Still, the "decision makers" will anyhow forward "the same" concerns, which will hence continue to preclude the international use of GM toxicity tests...
So I don't know how this can be bypassed or solved...
Best regards
Guido
Needless to say, field-trials will break many taboos and gradually pave the way where the journey may be a fast-forward depending upon the results. But, the big question is, where to start the field trials?!