Research Product

In November 14-16, 1989, all investigators of research projects funded under the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) Biotechnology Risk Assessment Program assembled at the U.S. EPA Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory for their third review of the state of research, unresolved issues, and future directions. Expanded abstracts presented at the meeting form the basis of this report. The meeting provided a forum for the peer review of research performed by EPA scientists and extramural cooperators supported by the Program. A panel of scientific peers reviewed and offered analysis of the EPA-funded research, relevancy of research emphasis, and adequacy of research facilities. Their summary comments are included in this document. Fifty-three abstracts were presented during nine sessions that covered: development of recombinant microorganisms, detection and enumeration, dispersal and transport, gene exchange, effects of higher organisms, survival and colonization, molecular, physiological, and ecological approaches to the determination of environmental effects of GEMs, and risk control. Investigators within the program discussed development and refinement of a wide variety of test organisms, genetic constructs, and methods. In noteworthy developments since the last all investigators' meeting, researchers reported significant progress in gene transfer and in use of environmental simulators (microcosms) for risk assessments. Further, research results indicated for the first time that a GEM can induce non-transient changes on microbe-mediated ecological processes in non-sterilized soil. The successful completion of protocols to evaluate the impact of bacterial MPCAs on beneficial aquatic insects also was reported.