But in recombinant DNA technology the normal arrangement is broken down. The foreign gene is deliberately made transcribable by the foreign recipient organism. If, for instance, a plant containing a transgene equipped with a microbial promoter decomposes in the soil, the probability of getting a transformation in the soil microflora is higher than with normal plant genes. The recombinant gene is something different. Against this there needs to be borne in mind the natural plant genes which can express in microorganisms, for instance in mitochondria and plastids.
Higher plants are like a symbiosis of cellular organelles of apparently ancient prokaryotic origin.
This allows the exploitation of maternal lines of inheritance in genetic engineering via the plastid genes. Whilst the laboratory tests may be extremely thorough, what is to be watched more carefully in the future is the effect of mass releases of combinations of transgenes. We need to keep in mind the distinction between risk assessment research and risk assessment evaluation. With the latter there is clearly scope for differences of opinion. What is worrying the opponents of the technology might be illustrated by the example of how patients often first present their problems to their family doctors.