The next year, molecular biologists at the Austrian Academy of Sciences reported that genes from a previously unknown virus had repeatedly integrated themselves into the genes of tobacco plants. The problems begin, then, when people start mixing genes in combinations not found in nature. That petition can be found on the web site for the Institute of Science in Society . Every cell contains long molecules called DNA, divided into sections called genes, each of which contains instructions for a particular characteristic. In traditional plant breeding, farmers mate two closely related organisms with specific traits.
Farmers simply select which offspring to breed, a straightforward process.
To splice in new genes is an entirely different matter. The desired gene doesn't come unaccompanied. This promoter works with almost any gene, not just the genes from that particular virus. The CaMV promoter, which has been placed in virtually all transgenic crops on the market, can be likened to a remote control powered by a high-voltage car battery. This promoter is at the root of the horizontal gene transfer problem.