chapter 1 
Summary: Issues and Options 
The genetic alteration of plants, animals, and 
micro-organisms has been an important part of 
agriculture for centuries. It has also been an in- 
tegral part of the alcoholic beverage industry 
since the invention of beer and wine: and for 
the past century, a mainstay of segments of the 
pharmaceutical and chemical industries. 
However, only in the last 20 years have pow- 
erful new genetic technologies been developed 
that greatly increase the ability to manipulate 
the inherited characteristics of plants, animals, 
and micro-organisms. One consequence is the 
increasing reliance the pharmaceutical and 
chemical industries are placing on hiotechnol- 
ogv . Micro-organisms are being used to manu- 
facture substances that have previously been 
e.xtracted from natural sources. .Animal and 
plant breeders are using the new techniques to 
help clarify basic questions about biological 
functions, and to improve the speed and effi- 
ciency of the technologies they already use. 
Other industries— from food processing and pol- 
lution control to mining and oil recovery— are 
considering the use of genetic engineering to in- 
crease productiv ity and cut costs. 
Genetic technologies will have a broad impact 
on the future. They may contribute to filling 
some of the most fundamental needs of man- 
kind— from health care to supplies of food and 
energv'. At the same time, they arouse concerns 
about their potential effects on the environment 
and the risks to health involved in basic and 
applied scientific research and development 
(R&D). Because genetic technologies are already 
being applied, it is appropriate to begin con- 
sidering their potential consequences. 
Congressional concern w ith applied genetics 
dates back to 1976, when 30 Representatives re- 
quested an assessment of recombinant DNA 
(rDNA) technology. Support for the broader 
study reported liere came in letters to the Office 
of Technology Assessment from the then Senate 
Committee on Human Resources and the House 
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Com- 
merce, Subcommittee on Health and the Envi- 
ronment. In addition, specific subtopics are of 
interest to other committees, notably those hav- 
ing jurisdiction over science and technology and 
those concerned with patents. 
This report describes the potentials and prob- 
lems of applying the new genetic technologies to 
a range of major industries. It emphasizes the 
present state of the art because that is what 
defines the basis for the future applications. It 
then makes some estimates of economic, envi- 
ronmental, and institutional impacts— where, 
when, and how some technologies might be ap- 
plied and what some of the results might be. 
The report closes with the possible roles that 
Government, industry, and the public might 
play in determining the future of applied 
genetics. 
The term applied genetics, as used in this 
report, refers to two groups of technologies: 
• Classical genet/cs— natural mating methods 
for the selective breeding of organisms 
for desired characteristics— e.g., breeding 
cows for increased milk production. The 
pool of genes available for selection is com- 
prised of those that cause natural differ- 
ences among individuals in a population 
and those obtained by mutation. 
• Molecular genetics includes the technologies 
of genetic engineering that involve the 
directed manipulation of the genetic mate- 
rial itself. These technologies — such as 
rDNA and the chemical synthesis of genes 
—can increase the size of the gene pool for 
any one organism by making available ge- 
netic traits from many different popula- 
tions. Molecular genetics also includes 
technologies in which manipulation occurs 
at a level higher than that of the gene— at 
the cellular level, e.g., cell fusion and in 
vitro fertilization. 
Significant applications of molecular genetics 
to micro-organisms, such as the efforts to man- 
ufacture human insulin, are already underway 
in several industries. Most of these applications 
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