GM Antibiotic Resistance in China's Rivers

GM Antibiotic Resistance in China's Rivers: A new study conducted in China finds 6 out of 6 major rivers tested positive for ampicillin antibiotic resistant bacteria [1]. Sequencing of the gene responsible, the bl�gene, shows it is a synthetic version derived from a lab and different from the wild type. This suggests to the researchers that synthetic plasmid vectors from genetic engineering applications may be the source of the ampicillin resistance, which is affecting the human population. The bl�gene confers resistance to a wide range of therapeutic antibiotics and the widespread environment pollution with bl�resistant bacteria is a major public health concern.